Along a Florida river

On April 16, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park has 2 entrances. The back entrance which puts you at the main park was closed due to flooding and damage to the main entrance building from the hurricanes so when I went to visit in January I stopped at the tourist entrance on the main road. From there you have to take a ride on a tram or a boat to get to the park area. I decided to take the boat since I hadn’t done that it many years. It’s a 12 minute ride through a typical Florida river. The guide talked about the different wildlife and plants you see along the way. This river runs through the park.

There are wood duck nesting boxes along the river and although it was too early for nesting we did see some of the wood ducks hanging out on the boxes.

After my initial fun of seeing the wild manatees I started looking around the park for any birds. I found some pileated woodpeckers right along the boardwalk where the manatees hang out in the winter. The top one was eating those berries. The two on the bottom were eating bugs around the bottom of the trees.

As I was taking pictures of the woodpeckers I could hear wheezing above me. I realized there were cedar waxwings eating the small dark berries in the tree over my head. At first they were high up in the trees but a few came down closer.

They are beautiful birds that look very distinguished with that black mask and yellow tipped tails. They only pass through here in the late winter into spring.

The resident injured white morph great blue heron was close to the boardwalk. It’s rare to see the white morph version of this gray and blue bird. I’ve only seen one in the wild at Fort Desoto many years ago.

A typical Florida sight, a great blue heron sitting on a sideways growing palm tree.

As I walked along the boardwalk that runs along the river I could see many of the trees were uprooted during the hurricanes.

The water was calm and clear on this chilly morning.

Feasting on mulberries

On July 6, 2023July 3, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

I was standing on the trail at Possum Branch Preserve in April and I saw the above. I wasn’t surprised to see hundreds of cedar waxwings flying across the pond there. They’ve come for a visit at this preserve for several spring seasons. They usually stay for several weeks. The trick to see them up close is to catch them feeding at the big mulberry tree on the trail.

I brought a chair and waited for them to land on the tree. They are very skittish and sometimes only land for a few minutes before taking off across the preserve again. There were several of us sitting quietly on the other side of the trail as they landed in a tree near the mulberry tree.

After a few minutes they all headed over to the mulberry tree and started feasting on the berries. Most of the time they land on the back of the tree that backs up to the pond but sometimes a few might land on the front of the tree. Since this is a short walk from the parking area I spent some time this spring sitting in my chair near the tree.

Across the pond I could see the local residents.

Pedaling around the neighborhood

On May 11, 2023April 29, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals7 Comments

I was heading out on my bike for a ride through the neighborhood when I saw a swallow tailed kite cruising by. I snapped the above and then he was long gone over the trees. I’ve been seeing them flying high over the neighborhood for several weeks but they don’t hang around long. One or two circles around the area and they fly fast and high.

I keep stopping by the great blue heron nest but I haven’t seen any babies. One of the neighbors nearby said that last year they didn’t have any babies either.

I was pedaling along the golf course and some birds flying into a tree caught my eye. I stopped and realized there were cedar waxwings were up there. I got my camera out of my backpack and watched them for a while. Luckily I was far enough away from the fairway that I didn’t have to worry about getting hit in the head with a golf ball.

They were feeding on the nearby small pepper tree. They would fly back forth between the pepper tree and the big oak tree. I just sat down on the grass half way behind an oak tree and watched them gorge on those pepper berries.

A juvenile blue heron sitting in the grass along the bank of the pond.

One of the regulars going down for a nap.

Snacking in the swamp

On March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

We were expecting rain late in the afternoon so I went out for a quick bike ride in the neighborhood hoping to beat the rain. I got down to the end of the street where the woods start and noticed a few robins in the Brazilian pepper bushes. I quickly biked back home and got my camera hoping they would still be there when I got back.

They were still there and pigging out on the peppers. There were a lot of robins popping back and forth into the bushes. They didn’t seem to mind me standing there in front of the bush snapping pictures of them.

Then I realized there were cedar waxwings mixed in with the robins. The waxwings were a bit shy and stayed near the top of the bushes.

They all spent quite a bit of time gorging on the berries. Eventually it started to drizzle and it was time for me to head home. A few days later I rode past the bushes and all of the berries were gone.

The swamp near the berry bushes was full of water. The robins and waxwings would fly into the swamp when they were finished feeding and others would fly from the swamp to the bushes. Back and forth they went.

Beautiful flying things

On July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I was at Possum Branch Preserve in late April and caught the cedar waxwings filling up on mullberries. This was the last time I saw them so I’m assuming they were fueling up for their trip north for the summer. They are beautiful even covered in berry juice.

I saw this pair of swallow tail kites soaring high over the preserve. I think it may be the first time I’ve seen two flying together.

I stopped at nearby Folly Farms next to quickly walk through the butterfly garden.

A two park morning

On June 16, 2022March 22, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I stopped at nearby Folly Farms to see if I could find some hummingbirds in the butterfly garden. I only found butterflies but there were lots of yellow ones which I don’t see often.

I caught this downy woodpecker with something in his beak. It looks like a cocoon. He pulled it out of a hole in the fence.

I stopped at Possum Branch Preserve on the way home. As I headed out on the trail I caught a limpkin flying by and an osprey overhead looking for fish.

The bunnies were still around long after Easter. This one was snacking in the mimosa groundcover which blankets the preserve in the spring.

This goes under “the one that got away”. This was the only shot I got of the boblonk. It was a female. I saw the pair several times from far away as they were flying off. I had seen them here several years ago but was bummed I couldn’t get a decent shot. Hopefully they will stop by next year.

The cedar waxwings were still there, hanging out on the far end of the preserve.

The return of the waxwings.

On May 23, 2022March 21, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I always love seeing cedar waxwings. They looks so magestic,. This is the 2nd spring I’ve seen them at Possum Branch Preserve. They are usually hidden deep in the trees but if you are really quiet you can hear them wheezing up there.

A few minutes later they all took off and moved over to tree on the other side of the pond. I noticed the yellow tips on the bottom of his feathers in this shot.

There’s always a lot of alligators and bunnies here.

One of the ponds here is fenced in. It’s used as a watershed but I’m not sure why this one is fenced and the others are not. I found a family of limpkins moving along the fence in early April. The parents had 4 babies. They stayed hidden in the brush along the fence but I could see them looking for a way into the fenced pond. One of the parents flew in and two of the babies were able to get through the fence holes. The other parent stayed on the outside with the other 2 but eventually they also made it through the fence. If they stay in the fenced area another day or two those babies won’t make it back through until they can fly out.

It was a warm sunny morning and this great blue heron was panting.

All of the critters were feasting.

On July 6, 2021June 13, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

The usual things to see at Possum Branch Preserve.

Alligators are also usual things there. That alligator in the first one thinks that grass is hiding him. That alligator coming up behind him knew he was there.

There were no spring migrating birds feeding in the mulberry tree but the woodpecker was getting his fill.

This female red winged blackbird had 2 snacks, a caterpillar and a dragonfly.

Another usual suspect here is a brown thrasher.

Not a usual suspect in the mulberry trees right before I left. A small flock of cedar waxwings landed on the back side of the tree. I’ve seen them here once before several years ago. It was hard to get shots of them on the back side of the tree that backs up to the pond full of gators. Standing under the tree I could see several at the top with their faces covered in berry juice. They are such an elegant bird, always so clean. I felt like I should have offered them a napkin but I left them to their mulberry buffet.

Rare birds and common ones

On July 23, 2018July 24, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I hadn’t seen cedar waxwings in years. They are somewhat rare here and only a few come through during spring migration. I saw one hiding deep in the bushes and was a little bummed he was not visible. Later in my walk a flock of them quickly flew by and one stopped for a few second right in front of me. They are beautiful birds.

A rare western kingbird. I’ve only seen these once before in the area in the last 9 years. At first I thought it was a great crested flycatcher which are more common but realized later it was a kingbird.

All of the usual birds that are at Possum Branch Preserve.

Not sure what this little yellow bird it. I’m thinking it’s an immature palm warbler.

Other little critters along the lake (besides alligators).

These were all taken at Possum Branch Preserve, a small watershed, near my home in mid-April.

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

We got fallout – Skywatch Friday

On May 1, 2014April 30, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography12 Comments

My first cedar waxwing of the year. There were several in the bush and this was all I got.

I think this is a female orchard oriole. With berry stains on her beak, looking at me.

Same as above.

One of the few male summer tanager sightings I saw.

Another yellow bird. I’m still going with female orchard oriole.

Same as above.

An immature rose breasted grosbeak with berry stains on his chest.

An immature male orchard oriole.

Eastern kingbird all covered in berry stains.

A male orchard oriole.

A summer tanager with a bug in his beak.

Hooded warbler with a bee in his beak.

A prothonotary warbler so busy eating he didn’t even notice us.

A few seconds later he looks up, all covered in berry juice.

A crow chasing all of the little birds away from the fountain.

What a busy morning. In mid-April we got spring migration fall out at Fort Desoto. We had storms earlier in the week but the birds stayed put through the weekend. I was expecting to show up at the park and only see cardinals. Birds were busy hopping from bush to tree and back. Most were eating the mulberries but some were also eating bugs. You really had to pay attention to get pictures for the few seconds they sit still which is hard to do when you keep running into people you haven’t seen since last spring migration and you want to catch up. There were a lot of people on the trails but everyone was nice and pointed out what they were seeing. There were lots of bird experts there and I was going to try to take notes but I was afraid I’d miss something if I stopped to write something down. April was a busy month so I’ll have more little bright bird pictures. If I got any of these wrong, please let me know.

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