Sunset one night in the middle of May. We had storms most of the day and they moved out just as the sun was going down behind the pond across the street. I ran out the front door with just my phone.
The sky started out bright orange.
I was keeping an eye on the alligator in the water just at the edge of the grass.
The sky turned shades of purple and pink at the very end.
My neighbor’s pots blooming along the sidewalk in late April. I kept admiring them as I passed them during my walks.
Videos of ibis taken through the window. They often come by and poke around in the dirt for bugs. If they see me in the window they come up to the window or door hoping for a handout. Someone close by is feeding them.
A lizard looks at me through the window. This isn’t Fred, the lizard that spent last summer sleeping in front of the window. He had a weird humped ridge on his back.
A bunny was eating right under the bird feeder. The grass must taste good in that spot.
The young Carolina wrens still had their fuzz on the top of their heads.
The parents were always close by. One afternoon I was outside with my camera and caught the parent on the roof with a snack.
A swallow tailed kite cruises by overhead. I saw them regularly during the spring. They leave in late July to head back to south America for the winter.
A chickadee hanging around.
Rainbows from the backyard.
Sunsets from across the street are best after a storm.
The flower moon on May 1st.
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.
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.
Sunset across the street from my house in early April.
The Pink Moon (refers to the blossoms blooming in April) from the front and back yard and taken with my phone.
Storms were brewing but we got very little rain in April.
A cloudy sunset over the pond across the street.
The sun going down on the gators across the street. Some nights there are two.
There were so many things blooming in the yard by mid-March. The gardenia bush blooms only for a few weeks here. I wish it continued through the summer since it smells so good by the front door.
The bluebirds were still working on a nest. That silly lady couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get those long sticks through the holes.
Mr Bluebird was nearby, shaking his head and probably laughing.
Northern parulas were always in the backyard. They have such a distinct sound and that bright yellow chest is easy to spot.
I was outside in the back and saw an osprey fly by and land on a tree across the fairway. I grabbed my camera and walked a little closer and he took off. I think he was looking to catch some fish in the tiny pond nearby.
A swallowtail kite flew by as well.
White ibis come through the yard often. They are always pecking around in people’s yard and many locals call them “Florida chickens”. Someone is feeding them nearby because they will come up to the back door if they see me in the window. They are always looking for a handout.
Beneficial little green critters in the backyard. Both the Mabel’s Orchard Orb Weaver (in the first two shots) and the long legged fly are good at keeping tiny pest at bay.
We don’t often get cloudscape sunsets in late March since there isn’t a lot of rain but this night was perfect.
Bluebirds were working on a nest in the nest box in early March like they have done the past few years but they haven’t actually nested in it. Next spring I’m going to move it much higher and to the other side of the tree.
A juvenile red shoulder hawk was sitting right outside the window.
I slowly opened the back door to get a shot with my camera and he flew off and landed on the cart path. He quickly ate what looked like a cricket and then took off again, flying so close that I cut him off.
I heard cedar waxwings in the trees in the front yard and ran inside to grab my camera. I saw some birds flying across the street (next to the pond) and when I walked over I realized they were brown-headed cowbirds. We don’t see them often here.
After snapping the cowbirds I heard the waxwings again. I turned around and saw them flying towards me.
They landed in a tree right over my head and stayed for a while. It was such a treat to see these beautiful birds right on my street. They only come through in the spring and some springs we don’t see them at all.
Things blooming in the yard in early March.
I bought a small basil plant thinking I would be cooking more but I forgot about it and it grew quickly and started blooming. I’ve heard that once they bloom the leaves become bitter so I haven’t used them. It smells good when I walked outside though.
Green lacewings are highly beneficial feeding heavily on aphids, mealybugs, thrips, and mites. I usually don’t see them until the middle of summer so this one was early.
Inside flowers from Valentine’s Day.
I was still spending quite a bit of time at the pond across the street watching the black bellied whistling ducks. It was fun to watch them all fly in at the end of the day.
Swallow tail kites had arrived.
The clouds in the back turn bright orange when the sun sets.
We had a big freeze in early February for central Florida. We had 3 nights below 30 degrees. My bird bath was frozen solid. The first night it was just a thin layer of ice on top. By the 2nd night it was frozen. This was a first in our 24 years in Florida.
Our blushing philodendron looked like this a few days later. I covered all of my hanging plants and most of my smaller bushes but did not cover these. The one on the left is completely dead and rotten so we’ll pull that up eventually. The one on the right has come back and already had new leaves.
A few days later it started to warm up a little. A dove was taking a bath and then sitting on the leaves in the sun to warm up.
Yellow throated warblers only come through for a short time in the winter to feed on the suet.
Pine warblers, yellow throated warblers, catbirds and downy woodpeckers were fighting over space on the suet.
A hermit thrush stopped by for a quick drink several late afternoons in a row.
Bluebirds and robins were regular visitors to the bath.
The black bellied whistling ducks were still hanging out in the pond across the street in big numbers. I think that great blue heron was trying to take back his space.
Sometimes they were sleeping peacefully and sometimes they would have squabbles with ibis and amongst themselves. It’s been such a treat to have them across the street and hear them whistling as they come and go.
There was another chance of seeing northern lights in late January in central Florida and of course I was out in the backyard. I didn’t see any northern lights but could see the stars.
One afternoon I was across the street at the pond looking for ducks and this anhinga popped up in front of me with a fish. She seemed proud of her catch and showed it off for a few minutes before throwing it in the air and swallowing it.
Across the pond, another anhinga was drying off in front of the blooming bottle brush tree.
A hawk flew over my head.
One morning I was on my way to the grocery store and down our street was a flock of Canadian geese. They migrate through the area but I don’t see them often. Luckily I had my camera in the car and pulled over to get the above. They were gone when I got back.
A few days later I went for a walk and when I got down to the other end of our street I saw sandhill cranes. I ran back and got my camera. One of them was trying to get a leaf off his beak.
As they passed by me I noticed one of them had a big scratch on his neck.
I was across the street and there wasn’t any car traffic but people are always walking their dogs here. I saw a couple coming with their dog and motioned for them to please go around me but no, they just walked along that side of the street and let the leash out so the dog could chase after the cranes. Off the cranes went. Up and over the trees and out of the neighborhood. Ugh!
In the backyard, a house finch was waiting for the bluebird to finish before he jumped in.
I don’t know what this squirrel was eating as he sat right in front of the window.
Another foggy morning in the front yard in early January.
The winter birds were coming to the suet feeder every day including pine warblers and yellow throated warblers.
Annoying blue jays are always around but I don’t see them take a bath often.
At some point I realized that black bellied whistling ducks were hanging around the pond across the street. I would hear them whistling in the morning or near the end of the day. The pond is shaped like a big square and there are houses on two sides (woods on the far back side and the front side runs along the street in front of our house). I think they must have been sleeping here. Some mornings they would take off and come back right before dark. Some days they were here most of the day. I was able to sneak over and hide behind a tree and get some shots of them.
They would spend the morning flying back and forth across the pond and chasing each other around. They would get water and hang out with the ibis. I rarely saw them swimming in the water (aren’t ducks suppose to swim?). Later in the month I counted over 30+ here and I took tons of pictures of them so more on them later.
An anhinga swimming by me wondering why I was hiding behind the tree.
I always keep my eye out for the gators. I’ve seen 2 in this pond.
A snapping turtle came up on the grass while I was watching the ducks.
Flowers blooming around the yard before the cold spell hit.
I saw the neighborhood coyote couple again. They were in the same spot where I saw them last summer. This time I had my camera in the car as I was leaving the neighborhood. It was early on a Sunday and there were no cars behind me so I was able to get some good shots of them as they crossed the street in front of me again.
They are such a handsome couple although I would not want to be walking by myself at night and come across them.
