Baby skimmers all grown up

Juvenile skimmer staring at himself in the pictures. The cones above were stationed all over the beach area where the skimmers had been nesting.

Juvenile skimmer getting a drink a water. He kept his eye on me. This was my first time seeing a baby in the water.

Getting some shade under a sign (or hiding from the tourists).

All lined up.

Stretching!

Ready for take off. He didn't go very far.

Practicing their duet?

Parting shot.

I'm sure there's still a few straggler babies hanging around but by now most of these are gone. I took these a couple of weeks ago after work. I would think the parents are tired of staying in the same spot for several months and are ready to move on. I'm not sure if the babies go with the parents or take off on their own right away. Most of the year you won't find many skimmers on this stretch of beach so I probably won't head back here until early next spring. It was so much fun watching these little birds grow up but nerve wracking as well. Watching them fight over space and food. I saw a few ones that didn't make it. I'm not sure if there was an official count done but there had to have been at least 100 babies born in this little spot this year. Hopefully, next year I'll be back with a new batch of baby pictures.  Below is the 3 phases of the black skimmer.

Check out more birds at World Bird Wednesday. 

Spoony babies update - 3rd week at the zoo.

"Mom, we don't see it."

"Mom, tell Bubba to get off me."

"Everyone, look busy. Here comes another photographer."

"Don't worry, that creepy lady with the black box can't get you."

"But we can if you fall down"

Third trip to Lowry Park zoo since the roseate spoonbill babies were born. I think the lady at the front gate gave me a "You're here again?" look. A week later and they are getting big. Their bills are starting to really look like a spoonbill beak. The pink is just getting a little deeper. They were busy all morning. They kept trying to climb over each other. People were noticing the nest more than before. That big group of pink really sticks out over the alligator exhibit. I think at least 2-3 trips are still in my future. I'd like to see them taking those first flights but it would be shear luck if that happened on the weekend. There are a lot of baby blue herons that are just growing up flying from tree to tree and there are still a few late couples just laying eggs.

Limpkin family from far away

I found this limpkin preening on top of a small hill. It looked like he was sitting on an empty nest.

Limpkin mom (with her head stuck in the water) and 3 babies.

Mom hanging out with the kids.

One of the babies. They look almost full grown but still have a little fuzz on their heads.

Baby staying close to mom.

On a recent stop at Kapok Park after work, I saw a limpkin family from across the lake. I walked around the park for a while thinking the night was going to be a bust. All I had seen so far was moorhens (more on those later.) I walked further around the lake than I usually do and found a lone limpkin sitting on an empty nest. I was thinking that I must have missed out. As I walked back around the lake I noticed some movement in the reeds across the lake. Luckily, I had my 500mm lens with me, even though that didn't even get me close. It was also just starting to get dark when I found them so the light on these pictures where tough. The babies were almost grown but they were still pretty cute. They stayed close to mom.

The family life of tricolored herons.

"I still look good for my age." An adult tricolored heron strutting.

"We're hungry!!!"

"Contemplating life." These babies are getting big.

He's saying "What's that big black thing attached to your face?"

Three siblings being quiet for about a second.

Newborns.

A short video of a tricolored heron parent bring in food to the babies who are pretty big at this point. They are very aggressive and were attacking her for food.

Tricolored herons are my favorite babies to take pictures of. They're so animated and have the funniest looks on them. Tricolored herons are not as common as great egrets or great blue herons. I see those birds everywhere. Only occasionally do I see a tricolored heron. It's weird to watch a group of them fighting over sticks for nests and space on the bushes. I guess it's like The Truman Show for birds. We stand on the boardwalk and watch all of these birds live their life. Getting food, making nests, raising babies. They seem to tolerate us watching but could probably get nasty with that sharp beak if we got too close. Do they know that humans don't want to cross that water with alligators in it? Hopefully, they'll all come back next spring.

Go and check out more MyWorld images at the MyWorld Site! My World

Babies at Gatorland

Baby wood storks. Unfortunately, wood storks nest across the lake and the sun is hard on that side so it's hard to get decent pictures of them.

Snowy egret was just born.

Snowy egrets hiding under mom.

Baby anhingas high up in a tree.

Which feet are Mom's?  (the bright yellow ones)

One down and three to go. This mom's going to be busy.

Just a few more baby pictures from my last Gatorland trip.

Baby great egrets at Gatorland

This mom has her hands full. Three baby great egrets. These were the only babies at Gatorland when I was there. I'm thinking they were the first ones born. There are several other nests with eggs so soon the bird rookery there will be loud with babies crying to be fed. I missed the other parent flying in with a fish but made it as the mom (I'm assuming the female) started feeding them. It looked like she was eating first and then upchucking pieces of fish to give them. Yum! The babies are so cute with their fuzzy heads and big yellow beaks. They were moving around quite a bit. That nest is going to be full when those babies start to grow. Hopefully, none of them will fall out as the nest overcrowds. There are hungry alligators waiting below.

Find more bird pictures at:

Baby squirrel

My friend Carrie and I were walking around the park near the St. Petersburg Pier and noticed something squirming under some overgrown mangrove trees. It looked like a baby squirrel had fallen out of the tree. It still had it's eyes closed but was moving around pretty good. There were several adult squirrels running around close to it. We decided to leave it alone and walked around for a while. We came back a little later and it was gone. We think the parents must have hauled it back in trees. There weren't any other animals around that could have gotten it. The parents were really watching us and came down close to the ground. Hopefully, the little squirrel was okay. I've never seen a baby before.

New babies at the zoo

Baby orangutan playing.

Momma duck with her new babies.



New baby white rhino in the African section of the zoo being very curious. Yum!


New baby zebra nursing.

Baby siamang gibbon learning to swing.

There are lots of babies at the Lowry Park zoo right now. While I was there recently, they were all running around playing since it was still a little cool out in the morning. Soon it will be so hot that all of the animals will be sleeping most of the day. There were already several baby duck groups. The pond in the elephant exhibit had a duck with several babies. I guess they don't mind swimming with the elephants. The above picture of the ducks were taken in one of the primate ponds. Soon the zoo will be full of baby ducks. The wild birds were starting to nest in the area around the alligator exhibit. Little blue herons were sitting on nests. There were already baby great egrets high up in the trees. Caution note - keep an eye out in the trees on the boardwalk there. You could get pooped on by the wild birds who live up in those trees.