Kapok Park - Wilson's Snipe

Wilson's snipe. A fairly rare bird in west central Florida area that shows up in winter. This was the first time I had seen one.

The snipe digging for food.

Just your average mockingbird but it looked so pretty posing for me on the top of that little tree.

Ibis reflections in the lake.

Limpkin standing on a small tree.

Snowy egret.

The weather called for rain. I woke up last Saturday morning and the sun was out. I checked the radar on my laptop and there was a nasty looking band of rain coming but not until later that morning. I rushed and got ready and headed out the door. Since I didn't have too much time I stopped by Kapok Park which is not too far from my house. I was able to get in a good hour and a half walk around the park before the sky got dark.  As I was heading for the boardwalk I saw several people with cameras and binoculars leaning over the railing.  I snuck up behind them and peeked over the railing. Everyone was so excited. I didn't see it at first until they pointed the snipe out in the reeds. I thought to myself "That little bird? It looks like any other shorebird." Apparently he's a rare find in Pinellas county.  So the first picture is my prized snipe picture.

Carillon boardwalk in north St. Petersburg.

Juvenile northern mockingbird. There were lots of mockingbirds there.

The usual alligator. He was swimming by the birds below.


Three juvenile night herons. The alligator was swimming close by. I think that's why they were standing at attention.

Lots of butterflies around.

Lots of turtles as well.

I found a new park close by work. It's actually not new, I just had not taken the time to stop there. I didn't think there would be much to see. It's a medium size lake with a boardwalk around most of it and surrounded on most sides by office buildings. There's a small section that has a trail and is covered by trees and mangroves. I left work later than usual one day recently and just decided to stop by and walk around. There was a handful of after work joggers running around. It had the usual water birds, alligators and turtles. I'll definitely stop there again since it's so close to work.

Kapok Park - turtles and birds.

Turtle basking in the sun.



Small turtle swimming in the lake.


White ibis up close.

Mockingbird hiding in a tree.

Limpkin up close.

Limpkin posing on one of the park signs.

There are lots of animals at Kapok Park right now. I went there before the weekend to see how the baby owl was doing. There was no sign of it. I didn't think it was old enough to start flying yet. I spent an hour looking for him and the parents. They were all a no-show. Maybe they all went out for dinner that night. I'm going to check back in before this weekend to see if they came back. Hopefully they haven't left yet for the summer.

Florida Botanical Gardens

Osprey with a big nest in some kind of utility tower.

Female cardinal hiding in a tree.

Tufted titmouse. My first picture of this bird. He was hard to get hiding in the trees.

Anhinga drying off in the bushes.

Northern mockingbird.

Lots of birds out at the Botanical Gardens in Largo. It was a sunny day and starting to get hot. I knew we would go right from winter to summer. Not much of a spring this year. This was my first trip to the gardens where I did not see a single alligator. I know they are there but they must have all been hiding under the water.

Bird variety at Kapok Park

Mallard swimming around. I love the colors on these guys - orange feet, yellow beak, green head.
American coot taking a bath.

This osprey looked strange. He doesn't seem to have as much brown on his head. It makes him look like a ghost bird.

Great blue heron eating with turtle friend.


Busy getting a snack!

Mockingbird sitting pretty.

The last couple of visits to Kapok Park had not been too exciting. I went this past weekend and there were more signs of life at the park. There were at least 3 opsrey flying over the lake trying to get lunch. Lots of ducks there. Soon there will be lots of baby ducks swimming around. Two specific things I was looking for but did not find were otters and owls. I have only seen the otters from far away and was not able to get any good pictures. I had heard the owls were back at the park but did not see them this past weekend. I also saw a picture of a bobcat that people say lives there. I'm going to be on the lookout for him as well for my next trip.

Roosevelt Wetlands

Tricolored heron braving the wind.

Immature blue heron. They are completely white their first 6-12 months and then start to turn blue.


My first northern mockingbird picture. This is the state bird. Florida Audubon has petitioned the state to change the state bird to the Florida scrub jay.

I took this picture into the sun and this is how it turned out without any editing. Looks like an Alfred Hitchcock picture.

My first female red-winged blackbird picture. I had to look this one up. Only the males have red on their wings.

Saturday I stopped by the Roosevelt Wetlands in Pinellas Park. It's a small lake that backs up to the back of the waste plant. There are always tons of birds there busy eating and swimming around. The cold and rain of Friday night must have driven them into hiding because early Saturday morning there weren't too many birds there. I did manage to find the few above. There were also 2 opsrey there. One was flying around but never tried to get any fish. The other was sitting on the empty nest post in the middle of the lake. Maybe this spring there will be babies.