Leftovers for dinner

On September 12, 2026September 11, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I was back at Philippe Park to see the great horned owl baby in early May. The baby was sleeping so I walked around for a while and saw a lone female blue grosbeak.

Far out in the bay I could see a dolphin swimming by the park.

A pelican takes off.

Finally the baby owl woke up and everyone started snapping away. The area was all roped off near the tree so we were standing pretty far away. You needed to be far anyway to see the baby in the nest.

Was she giving Mom a kiss? Or letting her know she was hungry?

Mom started digging around in the nest and picked up a part of a rabbit. I guess they were having leftovers for dinner.

It was pretty amazing to watch Mom feeding the hungry baby.

A little later Mom pulled up a rat to eat. This is why it’s so important not to use rat poison. An owl can eat several rats a day and many more when they are feeding their babies. They are the nature’s best rat control. If they eat a rat that had eaten rat poison the owl will die as well.

Flying away from a loud bang

On September 9, 2026August 25, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In mid-April I was still hoping for a decent spring migration. The palm warblers were still hanging around in big numbers. They spend the winter here. This guy was already getting into his pretty breeding feathers.

Rabbits were along the trail at Possum Branch Preserve.

Turtles were also along the trail.

I had come to the preserve looking for the cedar waxwings who had been hanging around for a few weeks. They weren’t on the mulberry tree this morning but I found them on the other side of the preserve, close to a busy street.

There were tons of them in the trees on the back side of the preserve and there were several other photographers there. We were quietly waiting to see if they would start feeding on the seeds of the trees they were in.

All of a sudden we heard a loud bang from the construction on the road behind the preserve and the birds took off. The construction has been going on for years and recently they have been very loud. I’m surprised any birds were in the preserve. The waxwings took off across the preserve and far over the trees. After about 30 minutes they still hadn’t come back so I headed home.

Yard visitors in April

On September 7, 2026September 9, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

In April I found this lady on my gardenia bush. At first I got excited thinking it was a native ladybug but after doing some searching I found out it was an invasive asian lady beetle. They are known to infest homes but we haven’t seen any inside yet.

A moth on the blooming leopard plant in the backyard.

Squirrels being cute in the backyard. I don’t know if that first one is eating bark or eating the ants off the bark.

A new visitor to the backyard was a yellow throated vireo. He showed up for a few days. He was constantly singing but I never saw a mate.

The first Carolina wren babies of the year. Mom in the top shot and the babies in the bottom with that bit of baby fuzz still on their heads.

The usual visitors included northern parulas and chickadees.

Sunsets across the street. In spring the sun goes down in the far left side of the lake.

A quick video of some black bellied whistling ducks flying over to the other side of the lake at sunset.

This guy hangs out in the lake so I have to keep an eye out when I’m getting sunset shots.

An anhinga drying off.

One night I was able to get a video of her flapping her wings dry on a branch.

Fish for breakfast

On September 5, 2026August 22, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

A pelican drying off in the sun at the Dunedin marina. I made several trips to the marina in mid-April, watching the baby osprey grow up.

When I first got there I didn’t see anyone on the nest. Then Mom flew in with a big stick. I guess she was adding to the nest but that nest was already so big.

After dropping the big stick the babies popped up. They had grown so much in the last week. Their orange eyes were glowing in the sun.

Then Dad flew in with a fish.

Dad did not stay long. After a few minutes with the family he took off to let Mom feed the babies.

This time the babies were on the other side of the nest and I could see Mom pulling off fish but I couldn’t see the babies eating from this angle. I went around to the other side of the marina but I couldn’t get them from that side either. They were down in between the 2 lights.

Dad had flown over to a nearby boat which you could tell he had been eating in that spot for a while with all of those fish parts on it.

I was still keeping an eye on the purple martins but it was still too early to see signs of them feeding babies.

Fun things at Sand Key Park

On September 2, 2026August 25, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I was out at Sand Key Park in April right as the sun was coming up over the trees. I was hoping spring migration was getting better and I’d see a few more birds than I saw on my last trip here a few weeks earlier.

A nice surprise was seeing a black throated green warbler in the mangroves. I hadn’t seen one since 2017.

A few usual migraters were there including the blackpoll warbler and the American redstart. But, it was still a slow morning with only the few birds above. This year was a really slow migration so far.

Of course there are always tons of palm warblers and they always pose nicely.

A flock of brown pelicans fly high up in the beautiful sky.

A typical Florida shot, a great blue heron posing on a pine tree.

A Cooper’s hawk had a nest nearby with babies but it was well hidden so all I got was the Dad hanging out.

Blooming along the sandy trail included beach sunflowers, bitter gourd (or bitter melon) and morning glory.

I saw lots of rabbits this morning.

“Run bunny run!” I yelled as one took off into the bushes.

A small park with a big heart.

On August 31, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Beautiful canopy at Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater. I stopped in for a quick walk in April. This is a great park packed in a small space near very busy streets in Clearwater. If I’m going for a long walk I usually don’t come here but I had heard they had feeders up and painted buntings were sighted so I had to stop in.

This park also sits next to the neighborhoods where the wild peacocks roam so there are usually some hanging around the park.

A tiny bit of purple on brown on the trail.

Permanently injured birds live here and the volunteers here work with rescue birds as well. Both bald eagles were outside this morning. I think one is missing an eye and one is missing a wing.

The hawk was looking right at me and I could see his eye missing.

A screech owl popped his head out.

They have a cute little turtle pond.

A few bird feeders were behind the nature center. I sat on a bench for a while and only saw the one female painted bunting. No multi-colored males this morning.

A peacock was feeding along the road as I was leaving the park.

Hoping for a face only a Mother could love

On August 29, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

In the middle of April we thought the great horned owls at a nearby park had a baby. Mom was looking down at something. We were hoping a baby was still too small to see yet. This couple has had a rough year and it was late for baby owls. They usually hatch in January or February here. The couple sat on eggs back in the winter twice and lost both clutches so we thought they were done. Last year their baby didn’t survive so this couple has had a tough time. Then we realized they were sitting on eggs again in a different tree (just across the parking lot of from the old nest tree).

Dad was sticking close to the nest which also made us think a baby had hatched.

There are so many squirrels in this park.

I came back a few days later after hearing someone had seen the small baby. We were all standing far back and this was the view when you turned around. Not a bad view to sit and wait for the owls to wake up from their morning nap.

That squirrel in the bottom right above is either stupid or brave, getting so close to the owl and the nest. He got even closer but panicked and ran away quickly.

Dad was still sticking close to the nest tree.

Finally I got a peek at the baby (see the yellow arrow). It really blended it to Mom’s feathers. There was only one baby and the locals called her (or him) Hope.

The baby was finally waking up and it definitely has a face only a Mother could love.

At first glance it looked like Mom was giving the baby some kisses and baby was kissing back but I think that’s the baby’s way of saying “Mom, feed me!”

Since this park is so close to my house I stopped in several times. This park is a great place to walk along the water and the owls are a bonus. More to come on this little one.

Blooms and birds in the yard

On August 26, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was late March and this was the first time the philodendrons have bloomed in the backyard in the almost 5 years we have lived here.

So many other plants were also blooming.

Little critters in the yard. We only had a few of those tussock moth caterpillars this year. A few years back the backyard was covered in them and I was hosing off our patio every day. Those tiny things pack a big sting or rash.

Great crested flycatchers were showing up. They nest in the area during the summer months.

I found a yellow-rumped warbler in his breeding colors. We usually only see them in their drab cream during the winter months.

A titmouse and a catbird were eating caterpillars.

A young pine warbler.

At the end of March a ruby throated hummingbird showed up. I had just put out the feeders a few days before and didn’t expect to see one so fast.

A brown thrasher was singing for his mate.

The black bellied whistling ducks were still hanging out across the street in large numbers.

The sky late in the day after some storms passed through.

Zooming in on the full moon on April Fool’s Day.

Blooming in the butterfly garden

On August 24, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The butterfly garden at Wall Springs Park was in full bloom in late April.

I only saw one butterfly though.

A squirrel was posing for me (he was probably checking to see if I had snacks).

I walked past the natural spring (you can no longer swim in it).

Many of the trees were still bare from the hurricanes in late 2024. I’m not sure if these will grow back.

A climb up to the top of the tower is always fun. I take the stairs up and the ramp down.

The view from the top looking west and then east.

A mangrove tunnel out to the lagoon.

The only bird I saw this morning was a Cooper’s Hawk high up in the pine tree. I was wishing I had my camera. He preened for a few minutes and then took off.

The masked birds and a gator

On August 22, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

This guy greeted me when I started to walk down the trail at Possum Branch Preserve in mid-April. He was in the middle of the pond and looked like he was trying to take a nap in the water.

Blooming along the trail.

As he hovered over the pond, an osprey was doing his angel pose while he looked for something to eat

I made it to the big mulberry tree and I got lucky this trip. The tree was already full of cedar waxwings feasting on the berries. Sometimes I get here and there isn’t anything on the tree and it can be a long wait before they fly in. They fed for about 10 minutes before flying across the trail to the cypress trees.

They rest for 20-30 minutes and then fly back to the mulberry tree to continue eating. The waxwings are migrating birds and are here anywhere from January through April. Some years I will see them several times and some years I won’t see them at all. This year they hung out at this preserve for several weeks.

More berry eating.

As I was leaving the alligator had come up to the bank of the pond to take a nap. I walked on the far edge of the trail and kept an eye on him as I walked by. If they see anyone on the trail here they usually slip back into the water but you just never know.