Winter is the perfect time to enjoy a quiet paddle in Cockroach Bay -- an ugly name for a beautiful place! White pelicans, lesser scaup and other "snowbirds" keep you company as you glide through clear waters beneath robin's-egg skies. The Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve...
No place I'd rather be than on the water instead of in a shopping mall on Black Friday! Photo taken in Double Branch Creek – Nanette O'Hara...
Wading birds enjoying the fall weather in downtown St. Pete at the USF campus, nice seeing wildlife in such a developed setting. – Gary Raulerson...
A native green anole suns on a fence post at the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve in northeast Hillsborough County. This beautiful area of pine woods and cypress heads in the Green Swamp is part of the Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Preservation...
I took this photo recently at Blackwater Creek Preserve in northeast Hillsborough County. It shows the caterpillar of the Common Buckeye butterfly munching on a native plant called False Foxglove. Blackwater Creek is part of the Hillsborough River watershed. Miles of hiking trails showcase native habitats...
Egmont Key is a Florida State Park and a National Wildlife Refuge! It's also on the National Register of Historic Places! It's an island at the mouth of Tampa Bay and since it lies within the Tampa Port shipping channel, is within Hillsborough County. It has...
Foggy morning at Upper Tampa Bay Park. – Ethan Hobbs...
Tourists aren’t the only ones in search of fun in Tampa Bay. Residents list water recreation as a main reason they live here. Boating, fishing, paddling, swimming, or simply gawking at a gorgeous sunset are essential to our collective zen. Stand-up paddleboarding is a popular way...
A least tern shades its chick beneath a wing in this heartwarming image captured by photographer Joan Miller. Terns, plovers, and skimmers nest in colonies on sandy beaches in the Tampa Bay region. Their well-camouflaged eggs and chicks are hard to see, and the parent...
The clear, emerald waters off the beaches of Manatee and Pinellas counties attract large numbers of migrating tarpon every Spring. The tackle-busting "silver kings" lure anglers from near and far, hoping to hook up with one of the world's premier gamefish. Fly Fishing guide Bryon...