A new cuisine in the backyard cafe

Posted on March 4, 2023 by dinajohnston

During a cold spell I added a suet feeder to the backyard. I was getting bird seed at the hardware store and saw them on the shelf. They were less than $2 for a block so I thought I would put it out while I had taken the seed feeder down to scrub out. I wasn’t sure what I would get because I’ve never used them before but boy, those pine warblers love it. For 2 days there were tons of them waiting their turn at the suet.

A chickadee also stopped by to check it out.

The cardinal sat on it but I didn’t see him eat it. He was probably wondering where the regular seed was.

The Carolina wrens like it as well.

When I put the seed feeder back out I moved it to the side of the bushes closer to the house. This catbird guarded it and wouldn’t let the little birds on it for a while. The pine warblers would sit on the hanging plant and wait for him to leave. I’m on my third block now which should be gone by the end of March if not much sooner. Then I’ll wait until after the hot summer months are over to put one back up.

Rolling in

Posted on March 2, 2023 by dinajohnston

I had to get out of the house so I went for a short mini walk in late January at the Dunedin marina and the fog started rolling in. It started out sunny but got foggy pretty quickly.

Standing on the pier, looking back into the marina, I could see the sun trying to stay out. It cast a sleepy glow back on land.

Out in the water I would see a fog bow.

The usual docile birds were hanging out on the pier.

The sea fog kept rolling in and getting thicker as I was leaving.

Splish splash in the bath

Posted on February 27, 2023 by dinajohnston

The little hermit thrush has been stopping by the bird bath most days. He always shows up late in the day, sometimes right before dark. A quick drink and dunk and he’s gone.

Even though the weather was cold in mid-January, all of the usuals stopped by for a bath.

My first robin in the backyard. He was all alone and at first he hung out at the bottom of the oak tree.

A little while later I caught on the bath. He has stopped by several times now for a bath.

This red/yellow finch has been a regular for a while.

I’ve been seeing this young little blue heron often. Sneaking around looking for bugs.

My Christmas cactus finally started blooming around mid-January. A little late but still pretty.

🎵”Everybody was kung fu fighting” 🎵🦃

Posted on February 25, 2023 by dinajohnston

In early January I looked out the back window and saw some turkeys across the fairway. There were a lot more of them than the usual 7 that often come by. It looked like 2 of them were fighting and their beaks were locked. I’m not sure if these are the young ones from this summer that are all grown up or a different group.

The 2 fighting turkeys kept pushing towards the palm bushes and ended up in the middle of them. All of the other turkeys were standing around watching.

After a few minutes the other turkeys started chasing each other around. I’m assuming the ones with the red down their throats are the males? Is this a territorial fight?

Many of them started running across the fairway towards our building. One of the younger turkeys had it’s head under the wing of an adult. Was it hiding for safety? It was pretty confusing.

A few of them got chased off and flew over our building. I’m assuming those were the interlopers. It was crazy and only lasted a few minutes. I took all of the above through the window with the exception of the last 3. I snuck out at the last minute just as 2 were flying away. I could see my neighbor across the fairway taking pictures as well.

Cruising past cow pastures

Posted on February 23, 2023 by dinajohnston

I’ve been out on my bike quite a bit now that the weather is warmer. It’s an easy way to get around with my foot still hurting. There’s not a lot of places to ride with a lot of nature instead of traffic but there’s a bike trail just north of me that goes through cow pastures. As soon as I got on the trail I heard the sandhill cranes. Flying across the pasture. They were pretty far away and I had only brought my shorter lens but it was cool to see them flying by.

A kildeer was far out in the pasture.

And of course lots of cows. And lots of babies! There were a lot of cream colored babies out there and a lot of them were nursing. Next year I need to get out here much sooner when they are tiny.

I saw this sandhill crane by himself standing near the fence.

Another eagle nest up in a utility tower. One of the parents was feeding a little one.

The other parent took off across the trail.

This morning started out sunny but dark clouds started to move in as I got half way down the trail so I didn’t stay too long. Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions on my foot issues. I have seen a podiatrist and gotten a painful shot. Keeping off my feet a few more weeks and hoping for the best (along with the stretches, exercises, icing, etc).

Sulking in pain in the backyard

Posted on February 20, 2023 by dinajohnston

More of the usual visitors in early January. House finches, goldfinch and lots of pine warblers. Red bellied woodpeckers show up every day.

Also the same birds at the bird bath but now we have a lot of yellow rumped warblers visiting as well.

A downy woodpecker was giving me a “Why haven’t you taken down your Christmas lights yet” look. I had some green lights wrapped around our two short trees in the backyard that finally got taken down.

The lone hermit thrush showed up again.

I’ve been sticking close to home for a while now. In a cruel twist of fate, just as I was started to head out on hikes with my longer heavy lens and camera after my shoulder surgery, I developed a nasty case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot with severe heel pain. It’s been going on forever, almost 6 weeks and is taking forever to heal. I’m doing all of the standard stuff to help it heal but it’s being stubborn. Any one ever had to deal with this? Any words of wisdom? I’m icing it, rolling the ball on my foot, sleeping with a plantar boot, stretching, etc. I’ve always worn orthopedic shoes and slippers. On a fun note, I’ve been seeing lots of interesting things in the backyard.

Splish, Splash

Posted on February 18, 2023 by dinajohnston

In early January I headed out to see what I could find on the Dunedin causeway. I was hoping for another look at the black scoter in better light since I heard she was still around and it was a sunny morning. I couldn’t find her and heard that she was floating around on the other side of the bay. I did find an oystercatcher couple though.

Both of them were feeding when I first saw them. Then they both started taking baths.

It was fun watching them splashing around. They both eventually came out and started walking down the causeway. It would be great to see them with a baby this spring but I’m sure they nest on one of the spoil islands close by. Once all of the spring breaks start this causeway will be packed.

Out and about

Posted on February 16, 2023 by dinajohnston

I found a great blue heron nest in the neighborhood. It sits high up in the pine tree over a small pond. I’ll be keeping an eye for babies but I won’t see them until they are pretty big since the nest sits far back on the branch.

I’ve been stopping by the neighborhood eagle nest almost every day hoping to see a baby head pop up. This was in mid-January and at this point I wasn’t even sure there was a baby although an adult has been sitting here every time I go by. I hadn’t seen anything being fed at this point. It was still early though.

I noticed the kestrel is back. There was one hanging out around the eagle nest all last winter so I wonder if this is the same one.

It’s a few days later and I see an eagle sitting on the nest tower. I couldn’t see another one but the mate might have been laying down on the nest. A turkey vulture flew close by.

I drove by the big open field in front of the utility towers near the back of the neighborhood and I could just barely see movement on a tower far down the clearing. I got my camera out thinking it was probably an osprey on that nest. The top shot was cropped up a little and I can see there’s an eagle on the nest. When I extremely cropped it up I could see a baby big enough to be sitting up on the nest. (There were 2 babies on this nest). I can’t get any closer to this nest since it’s sitting on Duke Energy property.

I could see a red shoulder hawk sitting high up in the tower in front of the eagles.

After seeing the far away nest I turned around and saw white pelicans flying high overhead. I waited a little while hoping they would get closer since they were just circling around. They came a little closer and then took off over the trees.

A few days later I stopped by RE Olds Pier to see if any eagles were fishing along the pier but all I found was a great egret and a spotted sandpiper.

The tide was so low that you could see an old crab trap out in the water. I wonder how long this has been sitting there with all of those barnacles on it.

The vertical oyster garden ropes that are hanging off the pier were exposed and are starting to get covered with barnacles. There may be some small oysters forming on it as well. They placed them here to grow oysters since they help filter and clean the water.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2023 by dinajohnston

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Valentine bird (sandhill crane).

Teeny tiny critters

Posted on February 13, 2023 by dinajohnston

We had a warm morning in early January so I headed out for a quick trip to nearby Folly Farms in Safety Harbor. The neighborhood community garden has a small butterfly garden and if there isn’t any birds around I can usually find some tiny critters. There was still enough blooming to keep the garden full of bees and butterflies. The fun catch was the ladybug. I don’t see them very often.