Late September in the yard

On January 11, 2025February 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

In mid-September I bought a new bird feeder. I had white millet and black sunflower seeds in it. For the first two weeks only the usual birds were around. We had a lot of rain and the feeder was full of water soaked seeds and fell apart. Some of the metal pieces broke apart and we couldn’t fix it. So, I put the old one back up. Still looking for a new one.

I noticed this lizard sitting on the patio chair was just starting to shed his skin.

A female redstart showed up and spent an few hours in and out of the bird bath. She didn’t mind when the yellow throated warbler stopped by. These were taken through the window.

The yellow throated warbler is a winter regular visitor.

The frogs were still showing up after afternoon storms and I realized they were sleeping in my cactus plant near the window.

Late in the day after a storm I looked out the window and saw this beautiful guy.

I grabbed my camera and went outside to snap these from the patio. They were on the other side of the fairway and he saw me. I was afraid they would take off but he looked at me for a second and then continued to graze with his girlfriend.

They only stayed for a few minutes and then continued down the fairway.

Seeing spots

On December 28, 2024December 18, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

In mid-August I was leaving the house and took the long way out of the neighborhood. I had my camera in the car and was thinking I wouldn’t see much like most mornings. But this morning I got lucky and saw a baby deer with his Mom down the street. He was running, trying to keep up with Mom, and then stopped just before entering the next street over.

I pulled over and watched for a few minutes as the baby was watching the Mom.

I think Mom saw me and I was expecting her to bolt but I stayed in the car and she continued to graze.

It looked like she was cleaning up the baby’s legs.

What a cutie!

A few days later I slowed down at the same spot and there again was a baby and Mom. At first I thought it was the same one I had seen earlier but after studying the spots I realized it was a different baby. It was also a little taller. Just as I pulled over the baby started nursing.

There were two does along with a buck.

They hung around the pond for a few minutes before a landscaping truck pulled up and scared them into the woods. This was the last time I saw any babies in the neighborhood.

Sunsetting on dolphins

On December 18, 2024January 21, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation13 Comments

While on our “No power” road trip we booked a sunset/dolphin cruise in Vero Beach. We booked the tour through the Environmental Learning Center on the causeway and headed out at 4:30 pm with only a few other people on the boat since it was a little chilly.

We saw a few stranded boats along the way.

I was hoping thick clouds didn’t move in and hide the sun but the ones there made for an interesting sky.

We first saw a few dolphins chasing after fish and I barely caught a fish trying to get away.

We saw several more dolphins before the sun starting setting.

We ended the tour with a beautiful sunset. And, as the sun was setting I got a text from my neighbor that our electricity had just come back on after 7 days of being off. Luckily we were planning to go home the next day.

The sun was really putting on a show as we came back under the bridge and back to the dock.

Grinning ear to ear knowing we would have power when we got home the next day. We were very fortunate that we could pack up and leave and take a mini-vacation while the electricity was out back home. Some of my neighbors were able to go stay with friends in the area but since the power outage was so widespread there wasn’t many that had power the first few days.

Fly away, high away, bye bye

On December 9, 2024January 21, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation1 Comment

So many butterflies. I could have spent all day at Butterfly World near Ft. Lauderdale. The best thing to do is to find a good spot to sit and wait for them to land. I’ve heard they don’t flutter around as much later in the day but then the aviary would be crowded with people. We were there when it opened and there were only a few other people there

These black ones with yellow bodies were all over the aviary. I found a few pairs mating.

There were so many different ones. I’m not even going to try and identify these.

One of the rooms had a waterfall and bridge and you could see most of the area from the bridge.

One of the cool things was seeing the rows of pupas in all different stages. They had these plus many more set up in front of windows and you could see the butterflies emerging.

When I see butterflies I think of Elton John’s song –

You’re a butterflyAnd butterflies are free to flyFly awayHigh awayBye bye

Almost all grown up

On November 30, 2024November 18, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals2 Comments

Early in September I made a quick drive through Chesnut Park on the way home and saw the twins again. They were getting big but still had those spots on them.

I didn’t stay long and shot the above from the car.

Mom was close by checking me out.

Later in the month Hurricane Helene came through and the park was closed for several days while the rangers removed the fallen trees off the roads. They only opened the front part of the park and I stopped in the next day. I’m sure the deer and other critters liked having the park to themselves but everyone was wondering how the wildlife faired in the storm. Right when I drove in I saw a Mom and young one playing and chasing each other. I snapped the above from the car.

Then the young one stopped in front of my car and was digging around in some debris. She was almost as big as Mom and her spots were starting to fade.

The park still had a lot of trees down and the back part was closed for for several more weeks.

Many of the big oak trees here have resurrection ferns growing on them. The fern goes dormant and brown when it hasn’t rained for several days but then after a storm and lots of rain it comes back to life and turns green. You don’t really notice it when it’s dormant because it blends into the trunk and branches but when it turns green it’s pretty in the trees. I noticed all of the green since we had so much rain during the hurricane. It almost made the woods look like an enchanted forest.

“Oh deer, don’t come any closer”

On November 16, 2024December 30, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

This lady was already molting at the end of July. They shed their fur twice a year, in spring and fall. Maybe she was just shedding from spring? I took this through the back window.

A little blue heron came walking by the back window.

I wasn’t getting a lot of birds in the backyard in late July. Mostly the usuals including blue jays (above), cardinals, titmouse and chickadees. With all of the rain we had been getting they weren’t coming to bath as much but this blue jay couldn’t pass up a good clean bath.

Fungus growing on fallen branches and in the hanging baskets. They dry up pretty fast once the sun comes out for the afternoon.

I took the above with my phone through the back door. It had just stopped pouring and the squirrel had found the few sunflower seeds that had fallen out when I brought the bird feeder in before the storm.

I kept my camera in the car hoping I would see some baby deer as I was going in and out of the neighborhood. One morning I saw a young buck on the way out and quickly pulled over and snapped the above.

The next morning I was leaving much earlier and took the long way out of the neighborhood. I saw a fawn and Mom heading into the woods. I was able to catch them leaving and the baby stopped for a few seconds and looked back at me. I wonder if the people in the nearby homes feed them.

A few days later I stopped at the utility field on my way out and saw the above. I wasn’t in a hurry and parked the car and got out. I was across the street and trying to hide behind a big bottlebrush tree but they knew I was there. I don’t often see the males in the neighborhood and it was cool to see two big racks together 😉.

They spent a few minutes feeding along the sidewalk on their side of the street.

All of a sudden this guy crosses the street and starts walking right towards me. I walked back to my car in the grass and away from them. I was not going to test his friendly manner and let him get any closer.

He walked around the tree I had been standing behind and looked at me as if to say “This is my tree.”. I took these from behind my car. They both eventually headed towards the nearby woods.

Summer sky in the front yard.

Twins on a hot morning.

On November 9, 2024November 9, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals5 Comments

I had a lot of fawn sightings this summer. In late August I spent the morning at nearby Chesnut Park. I wasn’t planning to walk around with my camera since it was so hot but I had it in my car. When I first drove in I saw the above crossing the street and pulled over and got out for a minute as this Mom and her baby went by.

Then I drove around to park to start my walk and there were twins! I pulled over before the parking lot since they were grazing right along the parking spots.

Trying to get the good leaves from up high.

The twins started to head into a small clearing in the woods and I was able to get the shots above through the trees. After a few minutes they started to make their way into the deeper woods so I left to start my walk.

Cool trees along the boardwalk.

It was quiet along the lake. Not even a whiff of a breeze.

A tiny alligator next to the dock. You can see the oil slick next to him. There are lots of boats on this lake.

Walking back to my car in the shade.

As I was walking back next to the lake a few deer came running in front of me, heading to the woods.

A walk in the park

On October 28, 2024December 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals2 Comments

I was out for a walk at Chesnut Park in mid-August with just my phone. It was too hot to be lugging my heavy camera around and I didn’t think I would see too many birds and the baby deer were being elusive. I did have my camera in the car just in case though.

This lady was feeding along the back boardwalk.

The swampy areas were full of water due to the recent summer rains.

It was a beautiful day.

Virginia creeper growing on a dead stump.

Even though there are big flashing signs when you enter the park to “NOT feed the wildlife” I still see where people have left bird seed. They leave it for the birds but the squirrels eat most of it. Due to all of the feedings the squirrels here are very aggressive and will jump on you to see if you have food so there is a big campaign to stop it.

Trying to stay in the shade as I walk around the lake to get back to my car.

As I was leaving the park I saw a baby deer up ahead. I pulled over and grabbed my camera and took these from the car. I didn’t want to spook them into the woods.

It was a family. They fed for a while but kept an eye on me. Eventually people were walking by with dogs and the deer headed into the woods.

A quick trip down south

On October 17, 2024December 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation7 Comments

Over 4th of July weekend Brett and I (along with his sister and brother-in-law) went down to Fort Lauderdale to visit some of his relatives. Everywhere we went we saw iguanas. They were literally everywhere. In parking lots, along the streets, around our hotel and in any park we stopped at for a quick walk. They were different shades of green, some were brown and blue, some were beige and orange. I think I saw more iguanas than squirrels. Most were pretty skittish.

Above is a quick video of one leaving the sidewalk and taking off into the grass as I walked towards it. They are very fast.

I saw a lot of these. I think it’s a curly tailed lizard, either a Bahama or Caymen.

I think this is a cuban knight anole. This was the only one I saw and he was pretty small, more like the size of our lizards back home.

A brown and tan one walking across the parking lot where we were having lunch.

We were able to make a quick stop at the beach. It was hot though and we didn’t stay long. With the ports nearby there were so many cruise ships and container ships out on the horizon.

The view from Brett’s aunt and uncle’s retirement home. We could see rain out on the beach. Looking right we could see Hollywood Beach and looking left we could see downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Driving home across Alligator Alley (I75), we hit a lot of rain.

The sun came out as we crossed over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Mellow yellow at Myakka River State Park.

On August 22, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, flowers and plants5 Comments

It doesn’t get much better than standing in a huge open field of yellow flowers. The pictures would have popped more if I had a blue sky but the clouds kept the heat down as I hiked out into the field. It was quiet and I was early enough that there wasn’t many people around, just a few others farther down the field.

I hiked down a side trail along the tickseed fields hoping to see some critters but this was all I got at the end of the trail. A big pond without a bird or critter around.

I drove to the boat ramp and got out and walked towards the big lake. I had to walk down worn paths through more tickseed. All of this area was under water at one time but the lake had been losing a lot of water over the years and keeps getting smaller.

I was walking along the edge of the lake but kept my distance from the water, keeping my eye out for alligators. This area may be under water right now during the rainy season but in mid-May when I was here we hadn’t had much rain for a while.

Another trail takes you where the water turns into the river and you can see the other side closely. This is where the alligators tend to hang out. The area closest to the water here is roped off for obvious reasons. I was using my 100mm-400mm lens to get these shots of the alligators napping on the other side. I love seeing them from far away.

The water was shallow here and you can clearly see them laying in the water. There were so many of them in this corner of the park. I counted 22 along the river area.

There were some interesting tiny critters along this trail as well.

As I stood and watched the alligators sleeping a black bellied whistling duck flew by.

There are some really cool old trees here. I took the above with my phone on the wide angle setting.

Some vultures were hanging out in the parking lot.

I always stop at this one area for a quick walk before leaving. You can see the river farther down but the trail is short. This is what old Florida looks like. I wish this park was closer to me. It’s almost 2 hours to get home with traffic during the day.