No birds, just old boats

October 7, 2012, 4:49 am

≫ Next: Crazy anhinga in Sarasota

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This is a tourist post. On a recent Sunday, hubby and I drove up to Tarpon Springs, about 45 minutes from our house.  It’s a small town right on the water that is like stepping back in time.  Tarpon Springs was settled in the early 1900’s by a large Greek population to dive for the thriving sponges at the time. Now most of the industry is fishing and shrimping but the Greek food there is amazing. We walked around the shops and docks and then had a big lunch. We stopped by our favorite Greek bakery and bought a box of pastries to take home. No dieting in this town. I love to see the old boats all along the water so I snapped a few of them this trip. Plus, an old friend recently asked me if take pictures of anything other than birds. Well, here you go.

 

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Crazy anhinga in Sarasota

January 30, 2013, 4:23 am

≫ Next: Tarpon Springs – Skywatch Friday

≪ Previous: No birds, just old boats

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Hubby and I were admiring the nice view of Sarasota bay.

I saw this anhinga looking at me. She looked like a character.

It’s like she was saying “Hey lady come over here. I got a nice boat to sell ya.”

“Really cheap. I’m practically giving it away.”

“There it goes lady. It can be yours for a nice price.”

There was a nice small park next to the Mote Marine laboratory in Sarasota. Right next to a bridge that leads out to the open gulf. People were sitting on the benches admiring the big boats going by. It was a beautiful morning for January.

Tarpon Springs – Skywatch Friday

January 16, 2014, 8:54 am

≫ Next: Right before spring break at the beach.

≪ Previous: Crazy anhinga in Sarasota

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The sign you first see when you turn down the famous sponge dock road.

Cool old boats. It amazes me that most of these boats are still in use. Some of them look like they may sink any minute.

Tourist photo opp – the statue of the sponge diver in the middle of the sponge docks.

One of the best tourist stores on the street.

More boats at the dock. On a Sunday morning they were all in at the docks.

Miss Lexy looking good!

A mural depicting the old ways of sponge diving.

Yes, I’m in short sleeves and capris the Sunday before Christmas. The skies were blue and the weather was warm. It would have been nice to at least have long sleeves on but I’m not complaining.

One of the stops on our Christmas tourist tour while my sister was visiting from South Dakota was the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs. We grew up going there when we would come down to the area to visit the grandparents during the holidays. I guess that’s where my love for Greek food came from. The little town is about an hour north of central Tampa but worth the drive for the pastries. It was a beautiful day for a walk and lunch.

Off my silly tourist topic, if you get a chance, head over to Scott Kelby’s blog to read a guest post by Moose Peterson. It’s very inspiring and makes me want to get up out of my chair at work and go out and take pictures. It’s hard to balance a hobby you love and work that pays for the hobby you love (and the bills). Although, would it be a hobby you love if you did it all the time? According to Moose it is! I met him last winter at Fort De Soto park. We talked for a few moments and I told him were the owl’s nest was at the park. A few hours later I found him there waiting for the baby owl to wake up. We chatted for a while. Very nice guy. I also have his book Captured which I’ve read twice.  See his guest post here.

Check out more sky pictures at 

Right before spring break at the beach.

April 16, 2015, 9:01 am

≫ Next: Hanging out at the marina

≪ Previous: Tarpon Springs – Skywatch Friday

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The laughing gulls were pairing up. Chasing each other and fighting over the ladies.

Young herring gull with a snack.

Blurry picture of a barn swallow. These guys rarely sit still. I saw him from across the lagoon.

The dolphins were active this Saturday morning.

Heading towards the pier.

One of the bird steward volunteers at the park. He was checking out the roped off area for nesting birds. They work on keeping the tourist out of the nesting area and answer questions about the birds.

Rush hour  traffic in the bay.

Having fun on a boat ride.

A few things at Fort Desoto Park in mid-March.

 

Hanging out at the marina

June 11, 2015, 8:46 am

≫ Next: Is summer over yet?

≪ Previous: Right before spring break at the beach.

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During our vacation trip to Key West, we spent a lot of time at the marina. It was a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The first morning we walked over to catch the ferry to the Dry Tortugas. The first 3 pictures were taken from the top deck of the ferry before we left, around 8am. The next morning we walked back over to catch a catamaran to go out sailing for the morning. We also walked over for dinner several nights. It was very quiet in the morning but crowded later at night.

Is summer over yet?

September 15, 2016, 9:01 am

≫ Next: Fun morning at Fort Desoto

≪ Previous: Hanging out at the marina

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Not for us down here in central Florida. September is one of the hottest months because we usually don’t get the afternoon summer rains to cool down.  It’s a perfect time to start heading back to the beach since most of the tourist are gone after Labor Day.  On a nice quiet Saturday morning, all that’s left are sea oats and ghost crabs.

Fun morning at Fort Desoto

June 15, 2017, 8:52 am

≫ Next: Clearwater sights

≪ Previous: Is summer over yet?

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“Don’t go in there” said the lizard. “I had beans for lunch.”

Even the cactus were looking crispy from lack of rain.

On the fishing pier, the pelican stole the fish from the cormorant.

Flyby on the pier.

Cormorant with an itch.

Rush hour traffic in the gulf.

It was a windy morning so the kiteboarders were out.

Clearwater sights

February 15, 2018, 8:02 am

≫ Next: Big birds and little birds at Fort Desoto

≪ Previous: Fun morning at Fort Desoto

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The Saturday after Thanksgiving I took my sisters over to the beach for a walk before lunch. We walked around the marina and stopped in some of the gift shops there.

Later on that day we walked on the causeway from Clearwater to Tampa and watched the sun go down before heading home for dinner.

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Big birds and little birds at Fort Desoto

July 16, 2018, 7:30 am

≫ Next: Sleepy summer day at the fishing pier

≪ Previous: Clearwater sights

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The nanday parakeets are always goofing around.

A male and a female ruby throated hummingbird.

A great egret going by with a snack.

Little critters in the park.

A manatee cruising by the fishing dock.

Big boats going by.

From the fishing pier at Fort Desoto Park.

Sleepy summer day at the fishing pier

September 10, 2018, 7:28 am

≫ Next: Like ships passing in the day

≪ Previous: Big birds and little birds at Fort Desoto

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Birds hanging around the fishing pier in the summer.

A beautiful day at the beach.

A manatee was cruising by the pier in the first shot.

Someone had caught a small shark.

Out in the gulf, boats go by.

Like ships passing in the day

December 18, 2018, 5:12 pm

≫ Next: Being a tourist, continued

≪ Previous: Sleepy summer day at the fishing pier

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Early one morning in November I was out at Fort Desoto and noticed a lot of big boats in the area. Fort Desoto sits at the end of Tampa Bay and the boats pass by the park on the way into Port Tampa from the gulf.

The guys on these boats must have a very strange life. Being gone long periods of time out at sea. I always think of the movie Captain Phillips and wave as they go by the fishing pier. I’m sure no one is paying attention. They are probably working in the cabins getting ready to head out or come in to port depending on which direction they are going.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

Being a tourist, continued

February 2, 2019, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Early morning at Fort Desoto

≪ Previous: Like ships passing in the day

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If you look closely you can always find birds at a marina. While my sister and I walked around the Clearwater Beach marina, we saw tons of pelicans, great egrets and snowy egrets. Birds we didn’t see that are usually there are great blue herons and green herons. They hang around the docks hoping to be fed the scraps when the fishing boats come in and the fisherman fillet the fish right there. I recently found out that it’s illegal to feed birds fish parts. The pelican’s pouch is very delicate and made to swallow the fish whole. If there are bones sticking out, they will puncture the pouch and tear, keeping the pelican from being able to scoop up fish on their own. They will eventually starve. The bird sanctuaries in the area are full of pelicans with torn pouches from eating fish parts. Another reason why wild animals should not be fed.

Signs at the fishing piers that people seem to ignore.

Early morning at Fort Desoto

April 4, 2019, 8:22 am

≫ Next: Hanging out at the beach.

≪ Previous: Being a tourist, continued

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Terns, willets and laughing gulls out on the beach.

A lone prairie warbler on the trail.

Someone caught a creepy crab while fishing on the pier.

A common sight around the fishing pier, a snowy egret hitching a ride.

The morning started off cloudy, looking like it was going to rain but the sun came out before noon.

Hanging out at the beach.

May 16, 2019, 8:18 am

≫ Next: A windy day at Fort Desoto

≪ Previous: Early morning at Fort Desoto

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A beautiful morning at Fort Desoto out on the beach.

Watching all of the big boats go by, wondering about that life at sea. I recently started following a guy who  pilots the big boats in and out of Tampa bay on Instagram. It’s cool to see his pictures from the boat. I bet he has some great stories to tell. You can find him at Tampabaypilot.

It’s always fun to see the dolphins swimming around the fishing pier and the little terns diving for fish.

The cactus all over the park are blooming.

Brett and I spent a Sunday morning in April just hanging out on the beach. With work, chores and family we don’t get there as much as we use to.

 

A windy day at Fort Desoto

June 6, 2019, 7:55 am

≫ Next: “A three hour tour!”

≪ Previous: Hanging out at the beach.

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I had a rare Friday off in mid-April and headed to Fort Desoto to see if there were any birds migrating through. I was really too early since a storm was just starting to move through. It was drizzling on and off most of the morning but it was still fun to be out at the beach, even in bad weather.

Birds were diving in the water to catch the tiny fish near the pier.

The usual great blue herons and pelicans were flying close to the pier.

A lone frigatebird was hovering right over the pier. They usually stay high up in the sky but this one was right over my head. She just kept hovering in the wind. The above are not cropped at all. I felt like I could almost reach out and grab her.

Before leaving I hit the back trail and caught this nanday parakeet peeking out of a hole in a dead palm tree. I think they nest back here but I rarely go back this far in the summer since the bugs will attack no matter how much bug spray you use.

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“A three hour tour!”

July 8, 2019, 7:19 am

≫ Next: A holiday weekend at the beach.

≪ Previous: A windy day at Fort Desoto

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While we were in Naples we took a boat ride around the bay and out to a spoil island. We passed the big boats and big houses near the marina.

It was a beautiful day out and there was not much traffic on the water.

 

We saw so many dolphins along the way. They were coming right up to the boat. The bottom two shots I took with my phone.

A lot of the channel markers had osprey nests on them. Most of the babies were grown up and yelled as we went by.

We cruised for almost an hour to a spoil island where there was no one else on the beach. Just us and a few other people that were on the boat. We walked around for close to an hour looking for shells.

Not many birds on the beach but far away we saw an osprey had caught a fish and had landed on the beach with it before taking off again.

A holiday weekend at the beach.

August 1, 2019, 8:29 am

≫ Next: Being a tourist in my hometown.

≪ Previous: “A three hour tour!”

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We always say that we stay away from the beaches on a major holiday weekend. We broke our own rule on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We decided to go spend a few hours in the morning at Fort Desoto Park and then swing by to visit Brett’s aunt since her nursing home is close by. We were there before 9am and left before lunch. The crowds were thick before we left.

Sea hares in the water and on the beach.

A manatee cruising by the fishing pier.

On the fishing pier, I caught this dragonfly resting on a fishing pole. This poor shrimp was bait.

Ships passing by the pier and snowy egrets hanging out on the shelter.

We took the scenic route over to St. Pete beach before heading to visit his aunt.

Being a tourist in my hometown.

August 22, 2019, 8:11 am

≫ Next: Sunsets never get old.

≪ Previous: A holiday weekend at the beach.

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In July, I decided to take a break from walking around in the parks and headed to downtown Tampa to take a walk along the riverfront. I headed out early since it was going to be a hot day. Not many people out that early.  Just me and a few joggers when I first got there. The downside is that the sun was behind the buildings so it made sunny shots a challenge. The upside was that I was walking in the shade for the first part.

Along the Tampa convention center.

Lots of activities on the water. You can rent boats of all sizes or take a water taxi around the area.

The old Cass street bridge that was built in 1926.  Everyone is wondering when they are going to tear it down. It adds a bit of history to the area even if it’s an eyesore.

When I got back to Riverwalk Park, they had turned on the water fountain. I really wanted to walk through there.

Sunsets never get old.

November 7, 2019, 8:11 am

≫ Next: Lunch in Tarpon Springs

≪ Previous: Being a tourist in my hometown.

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These are some older pictures I took years ago on a sunset walk around the yacht basin at Davis Islands in south Tampa. I have not been over there in a long time and was recently thinking I needed to go over there to walk. I’m sure the view is the same.

Sunsets with boats never get old.

Lunch in Tarpon Springs

December 21, 2019, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Clearwater marina

≪ Previous: Sunsets never get old.

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Boats along the waterfront in Tarpon Springs. While my sisters were here for Thanksgiving weekend, we headed up to have lunch and walk around the docks. When I was little we use to come down to the Tampa bay area to visit my grandparents and my parents loved to make the drive up to Tarpon to walk around. Little has changed since the 70’s here with the exception of some new public restrooms. The tourist shops have the same stuff and we always leave Hellas with a lot of desserts. The bakery there is the best. They even have chocolate covered baklava.

A small sampling of the desserts and pastries.

Natural sponges are still being harvested today although most sponges you find today are synthetic. Tarpon Springs was built on sea sponges being harvested in the area.

Christmas decorations along the docks. It’s always fun to take a selfie in the big ornaments.