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| John Chesnut Sr. Park |
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| Betty on her birthday |
Then, it was down to home – or close to it. Scott and I both grew up in Clearwater, which is in Pinellas County. Now, the few remaining Stevens in Florida have moved north to Pasco County, where Scott's mom lives. Her 93rd birthday was our main reason for visiting.
We stayed with Scott's brother and sister-in-law, Craig and Cheri.
The day after her birthday, we got together with family for an ice cream social at her living facility.
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| Craig, Cheri, Betty's friend Bobby, Betty, Gabby, Jon with Vivi, Scott and me |
Philippe Park
But, we had a little time to explore the area as well. This included going to Philippe Park, which is just down the street from where I grew up.
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| Philippe Park is on Tampa Bay |
I actually went twice, once with Scott and his mom ...
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| Betty and Scott |
And, then by myself the next day with the next day with one main goal: to see if I could photograph the Great Horned Owls that nest there. Bingo! I got the entire family ...
Mom ...
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| Mama Owl |
Dad ...
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| Daddy Owl |
And, their single baby ...
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| Baby Owl |
That was a treat.
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| Mama Owl attending to her baby |
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| A Northern Mockingbird watches us |
Located in Safety Harbor, Philippe Park is named after Count Odet Philippe, who was the county's first non-native settler (in 1842!) and is credited with introducing grapefruit to Florida.
Situated on 122 acres that was once part of Philippe's plantation, the Park also features a Tocobaga Indian mound.
The temple mound is one of the last remnants of the Tocobaga on the Pinellas Peninsula. Most of the tribe succumbed to European diseases, and many were forced into slavery working in the Caribbean. How sad. But, a beautiful park filled with huge graceful oak trees and lots of animals.
John Chesnut Sr. Park
Every time I am in Florida, I try to run by John Chesnut Sr. Park because it always delivers.
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| John Chesnut Park is always leafy and green |
Located on five-mile-long Lake Tarpon, John Chesnut Sr. Park is named after a Pinellas County Commissioner, who served from 1937 until 1953. Organizer of the Pinellas County Park Board, Chesnut worked to make access to County Parks easy for residents. In addition to creating parks, Chesnut was instrumental in building the Belleair Beach Causeway and the first Sunshine Skyway Bridge. His son, John Chesnut Jr., served on the Board of County Commissioners from 1976 until 1992.
John Chesnut Sr. Park has sports fields, a boat ramp and picnic areas plus a self-guided nature trail and a number of elevated boardwalks.
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| Scott watching the Alligators |
Built in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, John Chesnut Sr. Park covers approximately 255 acres near Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs in northern Pinellas County.
While there, we saw lots of Alligators ...
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| Most were juveniles |
Common Gallinules ...
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| These birds are also called Moorhens |
A somewhat-rare Purple Gallinule ...
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| A very colorful bird |
Lots of Anhingas ...
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| A male Anhinga |
White Ibises ...
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| Standing on one leg |
More Pileated Woodpeckers ...
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| A colorful and large Woodpecker |
Lots of small birds, including Tufted Titmouses ...
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| Such a cute bird |
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers ...
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| Another pretty, small bird |
Carolina Chickadees ...
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| A curious Chickadee |
Yellow-throated Warblers ...
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| Another colorful bird |
Pine Warblers ...
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| This was a lifer for me |
Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers ...
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| Just a quick glimpse as it flew away |
Plus, there were Turtles and Lizards ...
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| A Florida Redbelly Cooter and a Brown Anole |
And, bees ...
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| European Honeybees |
And, this was all in less than an hour.
Big Cypress and Everglades
After spending time with Scott’s mom, we took a quick day trip down to the Big Cypress Preserve (mainly along Turner River Road) and just a tiny smidge of Everglades National Park (the Monroe Scenic Loop). Scott had heard it is easy to see Florida Panther there. It is not.
But it is easy to see American Alligators – big …
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| American Alligator in a roadside canal |
Really big …
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| This one was still and dusty; we thought it was dead until it moved |
And not so big …
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| A young gator at the Big Cypress Preserve Visitors Center |
Plus, we saw lots and lots of Red-shouldered Hawks (14 of them!) ...
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| Red-shouldered Hawk |
This included light-colored adults …
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| Adult Hawk |
And, more vibrantly colored juveniles …
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| Juvenile Hawk |
We also saw lots of Black Vultures (hundreds!)…
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| Black Vultures |
Ospreys ...
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| This one is having lunch |
A Bald Eagle ...
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| A dramatic perch |
A lone Limpkin …
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| The name comes from the Limpkin's rolling gait |
Some Eastern Phoebes …
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| Eastern Phoebe |
Lots of Anhingas; this male is sharing space with a Great Egret …
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| Two birds on a limb |
... and these females were sunning and swimming ...
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| You can see why they are sometimes called "Water Turkeys" |
We also saw Boat-tailed Grackles ...
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| This female was trying to hide behind a stick |
Then, while on the Everglades Scenic Loop, in addition to the lovely Cypress Swamp ...
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| Everything is so green! |
... I saw some beautiful Little Blue Herons …
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| Little Blue Heron |
And, the ubiquitous Anhinga …
Lido Key is a barrier island off of Sarasota that is connected to the mainland Sarasota by the John Ringling Causeway.
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| Photo: Scott Stevens |
Featuring numerous sandy beaches facing the Gulf of Mexico, the island is well developed with a wide variety of luxury hotels and beach houses.
These are the kinds of beaches I am used to: deep sandy expanses with a few small dunes, not a great deal of vegetation and relatively few shells.
The water is warm and extremely gentle except during storms. the most important characteristic is, of course, that the sand is fine a white – very white. This has fundamentally spoiled beaches for me.
While Florida Gulf beaches do have birds and dolphins, you don't see a lot of fish – and certainly no colorful reef fish.
Trip date: February 12-19, 2020
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