Around the neighborhood in early January

On May 18, 2026May 11, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

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.

Shots from the yard in early November

On February 28, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

We had the usual visitors to the yard in early November (with one new one). The cute yellow pine warblers were visiting the suet feeder. They would line up on the oak tree and the feeder stand waiting their turn.

Bluebirds were still coming through because I had the dried mealworm feeder up for the first week in November.

Yellow throated warblers are winter visitors. They eat from the suet feeder and stop for a drink from the bird bath. They like to look for bugs under the palm fronds.

A new visitor to the backyard was a yellow bellied sapsucker. He only stayed for a few minutes. I’ve seen this type of woodpecker in the parks but not often.

A pileated woodpecker also stopped by for a few minutes.

Brett yelled “There’s an eagle in the backyard”. I jumped up and grabbed my camera. He was on the other side of the fairway so I was able to sneak outside and catch him before he took off. I thought he had caught something but he didn’t have anything in his talons when he left.

A blue jay sits in front of the window. I think he was telling me the feeder was out of bird food.

Squirrels getting frisky on the patio chairs. I took this through the window.

We had heard that the Northern lights might be visible as far south as central Florida. We went out after 10pm and this is what I caught in the neighborhood. I’m not sure if they really count at as Northern lights but the sky looked different and had a little bit of color that night. People an hour north of us got some brighter pink and purple in their shots.

Critters and storms in the yard in late August

On January 3, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Skies in the back and front yard in late August. We were getting rain almost every afternoon.

The juvenile bluebirds were still hanging around. We had at least 8 from 2 different families coming to the feeder and bath.

A lizard was molting.

Fred, my regular visitor to the back window, was also molting and I ran outside with my phone and was able to get a video of him trying to get his molt off his face. He let me get really close and I was tempted to try and pull it off his face but thought I would spook him so I let him do it himself.

More tiny frogs and a beautiful yellow moth.

When I see pileated woodpeckers fly into our oak trees I run outside with my camera. They are usually too high up for me to get shots through the window. This guy was sticking his tongue into a hole looking for bugs.

This is either a young juvenile blue jay or an adult that is molting.

Doves soaking in the bath.

A tiny rainbow at the end of our street.

More red after a storm.

We had some dead fish floating in the neighborhood ponds from all of the chemicals used on the golf course that run into the ponds after repeated heavy storms. The great blue heron wouldn’t even eat the dead fish.

Visitors to the yard in early August

On December 13, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The summer storms in early August brought out the tiny baby frogs. After a shower they showed up on the windows and cactus plant.

Bigger ones show up also but they come all the time. One afternoon I found one on the side of the house and one was in the bird house hanging on the wall outside.

The squirrels were getting frisky. I took the above through the window. I didn’t want to go out and interrupt their fun on our patio.

Bluebirds in the backyard.

The ibis missing a foot came back to visit. He walked up on the patio when he saw me through the window. I threw out some bird seed for him. He seems to be doing okay though.

My first 5-lined skink in the backyard. He was resting on Brett’s flip flop that was right outside the back door. He eventually ran under some leaves and was gone.

I think this blue jay was letting me know they needed more seed in the feeder.

Dark skies in the backyard.

Critters in the yard in late July

On November 22, 2025November 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I don’t like it when the crows come to the yard. They scare off the little birds and sometimes bring food they have found to soak in the bath (making it yucky). I had never noticed the blue feathers they have on their wings.

In late July we had a male ruby throated hummingbird show up for a few weeks. The females stay all summer but the males usually pass through. It’s hard to get a good shot of his red throat through the window.

Later we had a few juvenile males come through. They had just a few red spots on their throats.

The lady was sitting high up in the tree when the males came to the feeders. I took the above through the 2nd story window.

Bunny was eating our ivy one afternoon. We’re always trimming it back so we don’t mind if she has a few bites.

The black bellied whistlers made another appearance in the backyard and this time there were 3 of them.

All of the usuals paid a visit. A bluebird, a molting cardinal and a drenched blue jay.

More tiny frogs after a storm. This one was smaller than my thumb.

Around the yard in late April

On September 1, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Everything was blooming in the front courtyard in late April.

My neighbor’s plumeria was peeking over the wall.

The lady ruby throated hummingbirds were coming several times a day.

The titmouse were checking out the unused bird house but they didn’t build a nest.

We had several young squirrels hanging around the backyard and they think our philodendron plants in between the two big oak trees are their playground. One morning I was sitting on the patio with my camera hoping to catch the hummingbird and this squirrel had the best time playing in the plants.

Taking a break from playing to eat a snack.

This blue jay is not shy and flew right over and sat on my chair and watched me reading for a while.

By late April the suet feeder was down and I added a small open feeder on that hook. I filled it with mixed seed and dried mealworms, hoping to attract the bluebirds back. In the beginning all I saw were the usual birds including woodpeckers and titmouse.

Sunset across the street.

Things in the yard and neighborhood

On August 11, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

We have a little spot of dirt in our front yard that gets full sun so I planted sunflower seeds and a few weeks later they started coming up.

Near the end of April this one was the first to start blooming.

A tiny Eastern amberwing dragonfly was flying around the sunflower plants.

A titmouse was showing off his snacks. I’m assuming he had a nest somewhere high up in the tree. I kept seeing him fly up there but couldn’t tell where he was going.

A moth through the window. Taken with my phone.

This blue jay was driving me crazy. He kept eating the suet and digging around in the plants for bugs. He lets me get really close. I took the above with my phone.

Critters on the flowering plants in the front yard.

I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my computer when I looked up and saw a hummingbird flying around in front of the window. I pulled out the old window feeder that I hadn’t used in a long time and made some extra food and put it on the window. By the next day she was coming to the feeder. If I was standing still in front of the window when she flew in she would continue to feed as long as I stood still.

A video of Fred flirting with me through the window.

It was almost time to take the suet feeder down. It’s just too hot once May comes and even through the package says they don’t melt, they do. The woodpeckers will just have to eat the regular sunflower seeds instead for a few months.

I kept hearing a peeping noise when I went out to water the plants and saw a downy woodpecker hanging around a spot high up in the oak tree in the backyard. I saw the woodpecker fly away and walked over and saw the above juvenile looking out from a hole underneath a branch. So I did what any normal bird nerd would do, I went inside and got my camera and dragged my patio chair under the tree and waited for the parent to come back.

The parent came back several times. There were two juveniles in the hole but only one popped out at a time. It must be tight in there. I could see the red on the young one’s head so I knew it was a boy. There was also a female.

Both parents stayed busy bringing in food but they would stick their head far into the hole to feed the kids so I couldn’t get a shot of them feeding it.

I knew that the babies were about to be too big for that hole and a few days later I saw them chasing the parents on the trees.

A regular visitor to the backyard.

I was out running errands and on the way home I saw these 3 on the sidewalk in front of the utility field down the street. I pulled over on the nearby parking pad and got out with my camera and crossed the street. Then they started crossing the street and heading right for me. These guys were strutting around like they owned the neighborhood.

I realized there were 2 females behind the trees on my side of the street. The males got close to the females but the females ignored them and went into the woods.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

In the backyard in early April

On July 21, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

There’s at least 2 female ruby throated hummingbirds coming to the yard since early April. I see them almost every day, usually in the morning and late afternoon. Most of the time I see only one at a time but several times I’ve seen one on the feeder and then chasing another coming in to feed. I now have another feeder in the front yard just outside the kitchen window as well.

The red shrimp plants were blooming and she was coming to them as well. She also comes to the gardenia bush and the coral honeysuckle but I can’t seem to get shots of her on those.

Squirrels in the backyard being cute.

Northern parulas visit from spring into fall. I was outside when I saw these coming down close to the bird bath and was able to get some shots of them.

A skipper on the salvia. The purple salvia died pretty quick but the red salvia has been blooming. I have yet to see a hummingbird on it though.

Two fly-overs that I was able to catch while I was outside in the backyard was a swallow tailed kite and a short tailed hawk.

I’m assuming this blue jay was working on a nest. I couldn’t see where he went with this beakfull of nesting material.

When Fred’s not feeding on bugs he sleeps the day away just outside our window. I think he was flirting with me here. He is not shy or skittish.

A few days later I realized he was shedding. One morning when I put my phone up to the window he came right up and posed for me.

The full moon in the backyard, taken with my phone.

A little later I went out with my camera and shot the above.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

In the yard in early January

On April 12, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Even though it’s winter we still have butterflies coming to the hanging baskets in the backyard. We didn’t get any really cold days until later in the month.

I had seen a few wintering robins at the end of December and they came back a week later. One morning I saw one in my neighbor’s maple tree.

Later that afternoon I had 2 on the bird bath in the backyard.

The next day more showed up.

They were not shy and didn’t leave the trees when I went outside to shoot the 2 above.

Later a few more friends showed up.

A blue jay had a berry on the bath. Later I saw him with a clump on the ground. I’m not sure what was in that clump of dirt. Maybe a bug?

Getting a drink.

A common grackle looking at the bird bath.

I snuck outside to get the above when I saw the pileated woodpecker fly into the oak tree out back. She was too high up to get a good shot from the window and they usually don’t fly off right away when I’m in the back.

Things blooming in the front yard.

Red skies in the backyard.

Looks like spring in the fall

On March 3, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants3 Comments

While most people up north may still have snow, this is what central Florida looks like now. These are from my trip to the Florida Botanical Gardens at the end of November. It was warm then and even though we had a few cold weeks it still looks like spring here now.

There were still a lot of blooms before winter here.

I love seeing the light up flamingos that are part of the holiday lights.

The bald cypress trees were just starting to shed their leaves.

I interrupted this blue jay trying to snack on the berries.

Parts of the gardens were still closed due to tree damage from the hurricanes.

My favorite trees here are the silk floss trees that bloom in the fall. There are two large ones here and this one in the parking lot is the smaller of the two as you can see by the shadow on the ground.