Take Me Out To The Ball Game

We went to our second and last spring training baseball game at Legends Field to watch the Yankees take on the Detroit Tigers. It was another sellout, as every game the Yankees play at Legends Field is. I guess when you field an All-Star at every position, you gotta expect that.

It was a much cooler day then last weeks game, but not a cloud in the sky. The game started off good, and like last weeks game, was entertaining until around the seventh inning when all of the starters from both teams were substituted with minor league players, but nonetheless, it was a great game, and another Yankees win.

	R	H	E
DETROIT TIGERS	8	12	4
NEW YORK YANKEES	9	13	1
W: R. Mendoza (2-0, 1.93); L: J. Zumaya (0-1, 6.39) SV: M. Myers (1); HR: DET: C. Shelton (5). NYY: B. Crosby (2).

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Boyd Hill Nature Trails

While we were driving to a new location we decided to visit, we came to the conclusion that it will take us forever to visit the vast amount of parks, preserves and sanctuaries just in the Tampa Bay area itself, much less in Florida. There is just so many places one can go, it's mind boggling.

Today we picked Boyd Hill Park in St. Petersburg to walk the trails and see what we can find. It was breezy and unseasonably cool, but the animals sure were perky, since they seem to enjoy the cooler weather. Boyd Hill Park has over five miles of walking trails in the more than 245 acre park, and we hiked the entire trail today. It was really interesting to walk through the different parts of the park, from the Cypress Trees, Slash Pines, Willows, Scrub Flats, Marshlands and Oak Forests. It was a reminder and look back to what Florida was like before it was commercialized.

As we walked through the park, we came across numerous Egrets, Moorhens, Ospreys, Monk Parrots, Vultures, Woodpeckers, and two of the around two-hundred Alligators that reside in and around Lake Maggiore. The two we saw were in the seven to eight foot range, but paid us no mind as they slept on the banks of the lakes soaking up the sunshine.

Just outside of the education center, there is an aviary that houses a Southern Bald Eagle, Turkey Vultures, Red Shouldered Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls and Screech Owls. Even though they are all injured and cannot be released back into the wild, they all seem very happy, healthy and really enjoy the attention when we came by to check them out. It was a great day of hiking and learning and well worth the trip.

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Getting Bigger

We stopped by Honeymoon Island yesterday evening to check on the progress of the baby Great Horned Owls, and boy, are they ever getting bigger. They don't look like little Weeble Wobbles anymore.

In just over a week since we last saw them, they are growing bigger and looking more then ever like their momma. We watched as momma owl was ripping apart an animal she caught and feeding both of the babies, all the while they were screeching for more.

Won't be long now we should see both of the babies come out of the nest, for they are getting very interested in their surroundings and they are getting very curious about the world around them.

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Legends Field

Ever since I was seven years old, I always wanted to do two things: 1) go to Yankee Stadium in New York and 2) go to a Yankee Spring Training game in Florida. We have been to Yankee Stadium several times, even to several playoffs games and sat in the infamous Section 39 Bleachers. Today however, the best was yet to come, a Spring Training game at Legends Field in Tampa, Florida.

It was a beautiful day for a ball game. Temperatures in the low 80's, blue skies and a light tropical breeze. All of the Yankee starters were in the line-up for the first time this spring, so we picked a good game to go to. Legends Field is an outstanding facility, and was very comfortable to sit and watch a ball game on a Sunday afternoon. We even saw "The Boss" himself taking in the game, George Steinbrenner, and all of our favorite Yankees including Jeter, Rodriguez, Johnson, Sheffield, Williams, Giambi and the newest Yankee, Johnny Damon.

The Yankees took on our old hometown Cleveland Indians, and the game was entertaining until around the seventh inning when all of the starters from both teams were substituted with minor league players, but nonetheless, it was a great game and Spring Training in Florida is everything I had hoped it would be.

	R	H	E
CLEVELAND INDIANS	0	6	0
NEW YORK YANKEES	2	9	2
W: R. Johnson (1-2, 3.50); L: J. Johnson (0-1, 3.60) SV: T. Sturtze (1); HR: None.

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Off Topic: Non-Profit

Once in a while, we have read or heard about some very disappointing news. Over the past several months, we have learned more about some of the non-profit groups here in the Tampa Bay area, particularly some of the "Animal Rescue" organizations that are disturbing.

When we first arrived to the bay area, we were both excited to visit some of these rescue and rehabilitation facilities, namely The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and Big Cat Rescue. Each of them specializing in the rehab and care of animals, like Dolphins, Turtles, Fish, Birds, Panthers, Cougars and Tigers, and that in itself is a huge undertaking and requires support from the community through donations and the hard work of volunteers.

We have visited all of the animal rescue organizations in the area, and enjoyed our visits to each of them, and learned a great deal about the wildlife in the area, and the opportunity to see these animals up-close is special.

However, over the past several weeks, we have read disturbing news about what really goes on within the confines of these organizations. Since each of these organizations are classified as 501-C Non-Profit, they rely generally on the generosity of the public for funding to operate, as well as government funding at the local, state and federal level.

But recent news about the Big Cat Rescue that many of the cats living there weren't in need of being rescued, but were purchased from breeders to be bred is simply tragic. The report also goes on to say that Big Cat Rescue was simply formed so that the owner could have "the largest private collection of exotic cats in the world". Stunning.

Another report about the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary is in trouble, as their expenditures have exceeded revenue by more than $2 million, and also have been investigated for the purchase of a luxury yacht, all of which was paid for with donations. More then likely the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary will be closed down due to these investigations. What will happen to all the poor sick and injured birds remains unseen.

And lastly, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium begs for volunteers, so much so that many television and newspaper reports claimed that they had too many animals and not enough volunteers to care for the sick turtles that washed ashore last summer due to the out break of Red Tide. However, when we went there to apply to volunteer, not only on staff, but also to contribute a professionally designed web site to replace the horrible one they currently use, we never heard from them, ever. From what we have been told, you have to "know someone" there and be in the "clique" to volunteer there. Huh? To volunteer?

So the sad ending to this is of course these organizations, while they may of started out with good intentions, turned bad. The public will in the end loose something special in this area, and also obtain a bad taste making it harder for other organizations to become successful. But when the lights go out, the ones that will truly suffer will be the animals, for without us taking care of them, we will loose them. That in itself is the true and sad reality.

Off Topic: Nature Reality

Ever since we arrived here in Florida, we have enjoyed the immense amount of nature and beauty that the Tampa Bay area offers. While we are out exploring our new home, we also have enjoyed learning, observing and photographing the vast amount of wildlife, from the Ospreys, Eagles, Owls to even the little Anoles that also make the Tampa Bay area home. I can't begin to describe the experiences we have had so far, for they have been truly life changing for us both.

Over the past several weeks, I have been busy photographing the numerous birds and wildlife in the area, to create a depository of photographic documentation of what kind of wildlife is literally right outside our door, and in doing so, it has helped us to learn to appreciate these resources. Living here in the Tampa Bay area is a shooter's paradise, for the weather is perfect year-round, and just the sheer amount of animals one can find is simply mind blowing. Plus the fact that being able to get outdoors, to relax and stay healthy year-round is worth the price of admission itself.

However, we both have known in the back of our minds that maybe, just maybe, someday, we more then likely would run into a situation that would require us to stop being an observer, but a participant. We thought our first encounter would be with an Alligator or Panther, and whenever we are in the areas where they are likely to be found, we are very careful and observant. But our first encounter that we have gotten involved with was something we never expected.

Since the weather here lately has been outstanding, my wife went to Honeymoon Island to walk the beach and look for sea shells, Dolphins and other sea life creatures. While she was walking the beach, she came upon a very badly injured Cormorant. It's leg was badly damaged, looking as it might have been in an accident with a boat, for Cormorants fish for food in the ocean by diving several feet down, snag a fish, and swim back to the surface. Just maybe at the time it surfaced it was hit by a boat, but we are unsure if that was the case.

She wrapped it up in a beach blanket, even though it was in severe pain and bleeding very badly, the Cormorant was calm, almost as it knew she meant it no harm and wanted to help save its life. As she walked down the beach to try to find a park ranger or someone who could get help, a group of tourists saw her carrying the Cormorant, and got excited. This made the Cormorant very nervous, and it started attacking her. It was dangerous situation for them both, since she suffered a busted lip, bruises to the face and cuts and abrasions to her nose. Cormorants are known that when they are threatened, they attack the face, since it is the most vulnerable part of the body.

To make a long story short, the Cormorant was safely transferred to the park ranger station, where it was picked up by the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary for treatment. While my wife was bloody, scared and upset, hopefully it will have a happy ending. Did she do the right thing? I think so, even though she did pay a price for her kindness, but time heals all wounds. It just reinforces the fact that while it may seem all nice to be out in nature and enjoying it's beauty, one must also practice care and caution, for at sometimes, it almost seems that we are in a zoo because of the vast amounts of animals we may see in any one given place. But we are in "their home", "their territory" and "their world", so we must respect them as such, and when we see injured or sick animals, we must do the right thing. I know my wife did.

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UPDATE: We spoke to the head veterinarian at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and was informed that the Cormorant didn't make it through the night, and was put to sleep. They think that the Cormorant was a victim of a shark attack by the severity of the wounds and the location of the injuries, both internal and external.

Books & Birds

Today was one of extreme opposites. I headed down to St. Petersburg to the Coliseum, and went to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair to meet my "Miami Connection", Edie and Steve that I met back in January when I was in Miami Beach. It was great to see them again, and have some time to chat.

Walking around the book fair was nothing like I had ever seen before. All of the books and vendors at the fair had rare, first editions, collector editions of books that ranged from several hundred to well over twelve thousand dollars. Since I was just "window shopping", it was real neat to see such rare treasures, and learn more about the history of some of these books.

I said goodbye to Edie and Steve after we talked for a few hours, and headed back north to one of my favorite places, Honeymoon Island. It was hot today, around 85 degrees, and the animals were out all over the park. As I drove into Honeymoon, I came across numerous Gopher Tortoises, just lumbering around eating most likely their first meal of the spring, since many of them were hibernating for the winter. Anoles were also everywhere on the lookout for bugs, as were Armadillos, Rabbits, Raccoons, Woodpeckers, Cardinals and even a pair of small Ground Doves.

We took a different way back on the hiking trails, and we came across a small opening that we headed down, and it opened up into the most beautiful mangroves we have ever seen. The warm water was crystal clear, and fish, birds, crabs and conchs were everywhere in the shallow waters.

We heard off in the distance the sounds of the Ospreys, so we headed over to the Osprey Trail to se what all the commotion was about. We came upon the momma Owl again, and she was sitting in her nest, and this time, we saw both of her babies. It was exciting to the second baby this time, for until today, we never saw him. While we were watching the Owls, the Ospreys were circling all around us, screeching and swooping in and out of the tree tops.

We walked further down the trail, and came upon a large concentration of nests, and the activity was at a frenzy pace. Several pairs were flying from tree to tree, almost as if they were in a courtship ritual, and I was able to get some great action shots of them as they flew and swooped all around us. We also spotted a lone, very small bird, sitting in a tree. We have not yet identified it, but from all accounts it looked like a baby Hawk.

All in all, it was a great day to be out exploring and learning about nature, and the weather sure wasn't all that bad either.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Owl Update

We raced down to Honeymoon State Park to check on the momma Great Horned Owl we have been watching, and see if we could get a glimpse of her babies. The sun was setting fast, and she was very active, looking all around, awaiting the cover of darkness.

Just as we were about to go, and seeing no sign of any of the babies, momma owl got up and perched on the side of the nest, and up popped the babies, peeping and stretching their newly found wings. Momma owl peered over the side, while the babies gently pulled at her tail feathers, and she took off in flight. She landed several yards from the nest, high up in the tree tops, pruning and straightening her flight feathers, getting herself ready for a night of hunting.

Within minutes, it was completely dark, so we had to leave, but hopefully soon we will see the babies take their first look around their new world.

Spring Break

It's March, and the rush is on. Spring Break has arrived, and with it brings not only the college kids, but the tourists, baseball spring training fans and the snow birds are still here. Getting around is tough, but weather makes it bearable. I'm thinking of photographing all of the out-of-state plates around town, since already I have seen just about one from every state, including much of Canada.

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I found my way to the tallest building in Clearwater, and took a series of photos and made a panorama of the entire downtown Clearwater area, including Clearwater Beach to Caladesi Island:

View Panorama of Clearwater, Florida

Great Horned Owl

We got up at first light to head down to Honeymoon State Park, and get some photographs of the nesting Great Horned Owl we have been watching the past several weeks. Since the nest is facing east, morning light would be ideal to capture her in the nest.

When we got there, the Ospreys were busy flying around, fishing for their morning breakfast of Sheepsheads, and we took off down the trail to check on momma owl. We didn't see the babies this morning, since they were fast asleep deep down in the nest, and momma owl was also fast asleep, oblivious to all the activity going on around her.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

No Right Tern

So far, so good. Since last Friday, I have been testing my new "Birdie Lens" at a frantic pace, and so far, have been extremely pleased with the results. For my last test, I decided to go out and shoot probably the most difficult subject in the harshest condition. So I headed down to Sand Key to capture the Royal Tern. I got there around high noon, the harshest time to photograph, plus, with the Royal Tern being both black and white, sitting on the white sandy beaches and with the aqua waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the background, I was gonna see just how good this lens was.

As I was crawling around on the beach, creeping as close as I could to the resting flock of Terns, I quickly saw how good this lens really is. I also captured probably the smallest bird, a Snowy Plover, measuring less then five inches, and almost blending into the sand on the beach, the lens performed like a champ, in both resolution and contrast. After getting some good shots of the Terns, I spotted a lonely Black Skimmer in the middle of the flock, which was a great misfit moment. As I was leaving, I even got a Blue Jay sitting up in tree, and each shot looks as good as the last. This lens is a keeper.

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Osprey Trail

Spring is in the air. We have been noticing an increase in the amount of birds in the area, including the Ospreys. We headed back to Honeymoon Island to go hiking down the "Osprey Trail", a two mile walk through the nature part of the island. The trail is appropriately named, for there are large numbers of Osprey nesting along the trail, ready to have their spring young.

We were able to catch numerous Ospreys in flight, as they were all busy flying around, breaking off branches in flight and carrying them back to their nests to strengthen them. We also spotted several that returned from the gulf with a fish clutched in their mighty talons, as they landed high up the dead tree tops to eat. We also saw female Cardinals, Sparrows and Woodpeckers, and even spotted a hungry Armadillo digging around for food.

The highlight of the afternoon was the witnessing of the pair of Great Horned Owls, whom we have been watching for the past several weeks. The male was no where to be found, but we did hear him off in the distant on occasion. As we watched the female in her nest, suddenly a small, white fuzzy newborn peeked up to take a look around. We estimate that it is about two weeks old, and was a sight to behold. It was another ending to a perfect weekend.

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Boca Ciega

While we were watching television last night, we saw a commercial for "Nature Day" at Boca Ciega Millennium Park in Seminole, Florida, so we decided we would go down to see what it was all about. It was another beautiful spring day, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures in the high 70's. It also gave me an excuse to try out my new "birdie lens", so we packed up, and headed to the park.

We didn't know what to expect of this 185 acre park, but when we arrived, we quickly noticed that of all the parks we have been to so far, Boca Ciega has the largest concentration of birds of any we have been to. Cormorants, Mallards, Blue Herons, White Herons, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Wing Blackbirds, Woodpeckers, Ospreys, Hawks, Egrets, Wood Storks and Mockingbirds were spotted as soon as we drove into the park.

We also found numerous Turtles, Dragonflies, Butterflies, Squirrels, Fish, Fiddler Crabs and the largest Alligator we have seen around Tampa Bay, a seven footer soaking up the morning sunshine on the bank of a large freshwater pond.

The park had several educational displays set up, and the biggest surprise was to see and learn about Screech Owls. These owls are very small, and very common to the area, but are extremely hard to find for not only are they small, but they blend into the environment extremely well. We even learned how to build a owl and kestrel nesting box.

After we walked around the nature displays, we went hiking to check out the rest of the residents of the park. We ended up staying there all day, and had a great time learning, watching and exploring all the abundant wildlife in the park.

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Birdie Lens

After waiting all day for the UPS man, he finally arrived and dropped off my new "Birdie Lens", a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. After mounting it to the camera, I decided to see how good it really is. Of course, the first shot was the ever-popular "cat" photo (glad I have one to practice on).

The sun hadn't set yet, so out the door to the lake behind the house, and took some more shots of the Alligators and Great Blue Heron that were along the shore. So far so good, but I'll see how good it is this weekend, and I'll try to get used to the weight of this massive piece of glass.

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