Pets/Wildlife

Kelli Carmack caught this brown anole just poised and chilling out on a plant near her front porch in Land O’ Lakes.

This blue heron caught a large fish in the pond behind Steve Vinik’s house, in Lexington Oaks, in Wesley Chapel. To prepare the meal, the bird carried the fish in its mouth into the pond and moistened it in the water, then brought the fish up the bank and placed it in the grass. The heron would scissor it in its beak and attempt to toss it down its throat. This took several tries, Vinik said, but, in the end, the heron managed to get its lunch.

Shealina is 3 years old and was adopted from Pasco County Animal Shelter two years ago. ‘Shea’ loves to lay on the footstool in the screen porch, and look at the birds and ducks in the backyard. This lovely lady resides in Land O’ Lakes with her proud owners, Frank and Nicole Magazu.

Male red-winged blackbirds are hard to mistake — as they are glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder badges. The males do everything they can to get noticed, sitting on high perches and belting out their ‘conk-la-ree’ song all day long. Females stay lower, skulking through vegetation for food and quietly weaving together their nests. Scott MacKay caught this red-winged blackbird taking off at his home in Concord Station in Land O’ Lakes.

Gaston is a 1 ½-year-old French bulldog that moved in September, to Wesley Chapel from Illinois. He’s still adjusting to Florida’s heat, but he’s living his best life — exploring and eating alfresco at all the restaurants in the area. Gaston lives with his proud owner Ariana Litt.

The red-shouldered hawk, referred to as a ‘hawk of the woodland’ (according to Audubon.org), is often heard before it is seen. Its clear, whistled calls are conspicuous, especially in the spring. Vic Anthony, of Land O’ Lakes, snapped this red-shouldered hawk atop a lamppost, which made for a perfect lookout.

This is 2-year-old “Pouf,” a chunky, cute White’s tree frog. She loves to eat crickets and hang out with her Cuban tree frog friends. Pouf lives in Wesley Chapel with her caretaker Sam Provda.

At certain times of the year, the male cardinal feeds his mate and it looks like he is kissing her. Karen Whitenton, of Lutz, enjoys watching the cardinals that come to her bird feeders throughout the year.

Finn found his way to his John and Kathy Goolsby’s home around February 2019, when he was about 6 months old. After the Goolsby family tried to advertise the cat as a ‘lost pet,’ Finn decided he already had found his ‘pawrents.’ Finn loves being inside but he does have a kitty door so that he can hang out on the porch and chase lizards, spy on the birds and squirrels, or just lay by the pool. Finn is the alarm clock in the household, too, and wakes his owners up at the exact time every morning to let them know it’s breakfast time. Finn lives with the Goolsby family in Land O’ Lakes.