Birds on a mountain

Posted on June 11, 2018 by dinajohnston

Chickadees were the most common bird in my sister’s backyard. There were several on the feeders the weekend I was visiting along with a few cardinals.

I saw one brown thrasher. I was sitting on the back porch and saw him land in the tree right in front of me.

Many other birds passed through while I was there. Brown headed cowbird (I don’t see these near my home in Tampa), carolina wrens, towhees and titmouse. I think the titmouse was working on a nest.

I don’t know what this. Might be a juvenile house sparrow.

I think these are all chipping sparrows. They were all over the yard.

My sister Debbie lives north of Birmingham on a small mountain in Odenville. It’s quiet there and they have woods that back up to their yard. Her and her husband have put in a lot of work making the backyard into a mini botanical gardens with beautiful bushes, flowers and trees. They have 2 fish ponds and several bird feeders which attracts a lot of birds. We spent the afternoon sitting outside chatting while I took pictures of the birds passing through. I was glad I brought my 300mm lens along so I could just sit there and take the pictures.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Early April walk at 2 parks.

Posted on June 4, 2018 by dinajohnston

Lots of brown thrashers were being seen in April. First 2 were taken at Chesnut Park and the bottom 2 were taken at Possum Branch Preserve later that morning. The video is a short one of the thrasher singing at the top of his lungs.

Other usual suspects at Chesnut Park.

The mulberries were ripe, waiting for the birds to come chow down in early April. I didn’t realize Possum Branch Preserve had so many mulberry trees along the trail. The birds eventually showed up in late April. More of that to come.

A small gator sleeping on the grass. I took this from across the pond.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Summer at the lake

Posted on September 11, 2017 by dinajohnston

Lots of the usual birds at Lettuce Lake Park in late July. The first shot is a very young parula and the 2nd is a shot of the young parula being fed by the parent. The last shot is of a very young red bellied woodpecker waiting for the parent to give him a bug.

The usual titmouse and I caught a glimpse of a brown thrasher high up in a tree.

Things along the boardwalk.

There’s water somewhere in that lake. These were taken before the rainy season and the plants had taken over the lake.

Our World Tuesday Graphic

A Saturday morning walk at Chesnut Park

Posted on September 24, 2016 by dinajohnston

A dragonfly blending in.

Cardinals on the boardwalk.

Dirty faced squirrel.

Pretty in the pond.

Hanging on.

I was having a conversation with this limpkin on the dock. He stayed and listened for a while until someone walked up with a dog. Off he went.

Brown thrasher looking for food.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

More birds passing through

Posted on June 1, 2016 by dinajohnston

A very young Baltimore oriole way up high in the tree. He didn’t have all of his adult feathers in yet.

A black throated blue warbler.

A black throated green warbler.

A few blackpoll warblers in the mulberry bushes.

I think this is a female black throated blue warbler.

Brown thrashers were eating the mulberries.

Summer tanagers were in the oak trees.

This is either a female scarlet tanager or a summer tanager.

A lone indigo bunting.

Spring migration felt a little slow this year. It was much harder to find the birds at Fort Desoto. It felt like there were more people than birds in the woods. It was still a fun morning out. No new birds this spring but there’s always next year.

Birds and beasts at Chesnut Park

Posted on October 13, 2014 by dinajohnston

Cardinal wanting a handout.

His mate wanted a handout as well.

A wet brown thrasher hiding in the bushes.

Something yellow. I’m thinking a female common yellowthroat?

A carolina chickadee high up in the trees. I could not get a good shot of this guy.

A male common yellowthroat high up in the trees.

Mom alligator still guarding her nest. I thought it had been close to 2 months since I had seen the alligator nest mound she was resting on. Still no babies on this trip. The area is fenced off so I took this in between. She’s got some nice teeth.

Turtle hanging out near the alligator’s nest.

Buzzing around.

I saw this beautiful dog walking with his owner and had to take a picture.

Another quiet morning at Chesnut Park. There were a few migrating birds showing up but most stayed high up in the trees. I’m having a hard time seeing many of the fall migrating birds this season. It always rains during the week when the birds stop by for a rest and I can’t get out of work. By the sunny weekend, they all have heading on their way south for the winter.

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Birds at the Botanical Gardens

Posted on July 5, 2014 by dinajohnston

A young osprey sitting on the nest which is on top of a drum on a utility tower. He was probably born in February or March? He still has the bright orange eyes and spots on his feathers that juveniles have.

A green heron hiding in the pond.

A house sparrow hiding in the tree.

A very young starling getting a drink in the fountain.

A brown thrasher hiding in the tree.

There were two thrashers flying around the herb garden.

One flew on the fence. Yuk, is that a bug he was trying to eat?

Now he’s just posing for me.

Yes, more baby moorhens. They are everywhere.

Look how big those feet are!!

There is a fruit garden section and this squirrel has grabbed some type of fruit that had fallen on the ground. Looks like an apple or pear. He hit the jackpot with that big piece.

Just a few things on my walk around the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. It was pretty quiet. I had not been there since late December and the grounds looked really nice. A lot of work had been done by volunteers. It’s free to get in so it’s a nice place to stop and walk around for an hour or two. Plus, you might find a few birds there.