Birds an hour north

On July 30, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

In mid-April I was at Chinsegut Wildlife area just north of Brooksville. They open at 8am and they sun was already up. Besides the great trails here they also have bird feeders behind the nature center so if I don’t see many birds on the trails I can take a break behind the center and see some usual birds.

I could still see the moon up high between the burnt branches. There was a recent prescribed burn in some of the areas.

One of the fun things about this wildlife area is that you can usually see lots of red-headed woodpeckers. They are rare in the Tampa Bay area (just an hour south) but here they are easy to find. I usually see them high up in the trees along the trails but this time several were close to the nature center and came to the feeders.

Eastern towhees are common here during migration and both a female (top shot) and a male (bottom shot) were hanging out near the feeders. It looks like they were eating fallen sunflower seeds.

Bluebirds were working on their nest in the nearby nest box.

The green lizard and common buckeye butterfly were fun finds.

Passionflowers were blooming along the trail.

A great crested flycatcher couple were hanging out together high up in the trees.

I was sitting on the bench behind the nature center and a bobwhite popped out from the bushes. He was pecking around in the grass below the feeders. He didn’t stay long and headed back into the bushes and disappeared. I don’t see these guys in the Tampa Bay area. Even though I didn’t see any new birds I did see a few that I don’t see near my home.

Sunrise over old Florida

On April 28, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I love coming up to Chinsegut Wildlife Area early in the morning to catch the sun coming up over the trees.

Sunrise here is what I think old Florida looks like. Lots of tall old trees and fog.

There were lots of birds behind the nature center including the female painted buntings that were in the platform feeder.

There’s a large red headed woodpecker population here but I’ve never seen them come to the feeder area until this morning. This one posed nicely for me.

Then he flew down to the suet feeder and snacked for a few minutes. This is the closest I’ve seen one and there were a lot of people standing on the deck behind the center so he wasn’t shy.

After spending an hour at the nature center feeders looking for the Scott’s oriole (see previous post), I headed out for a walk on the trails.

I made my way down to the lake which is mostly choked up on this side and there isn’t much water here. It’s all grown in and I would have to walk much farther down to the end of the preserve to find the real lake.

The sun coming up over the wild stuff growing in the water.

The sweetgum trees were finally turning to fall colors in late January.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

An easy new bird find.

On April 26, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I drove an hour north in late January to look for a rare bird. The sun had not gotten up over the trees as I was heading into the entrance to Chinsegut Wildlife Area.

Behind the nature center I found lots of bird feeders. The first birds on the feeders were goldfinches. The males don’t have their bright yellow breeding feathers yet so they are a little drab but still pretty.

Sitting behind the center I could see sandhill cranes flying far away.

A male (red feathers) and a female house finch joined the goldfinches.

Yellow rumped warblers were on the suet feeder. You can see by the one leaving on the right how they got their name.

Pine warblers sharing the suet.

Red winged blackbirds were enjoying the seed on the platform.

A pine warbler enjoying the jelly feeder.

The real reason I drove an hour north this early morning was to see the rare Scott’s oriole that comes in to feed on the jelly feeder. This is the first time I’ve heard of this bird being in Florida so it was a lifer for me. People had driven from all over the state to see it. These orioles live in the western half of the country, rarely coming east of Texas. He stayed hidden and only came to the feeder a few times this morning. So yes, it wasn’t like I was hiking around and looking hard to find it like usual. Other birders had been reporting it a few days before so it was an easy find to add to my list.

There’s a fairly large population of red headed woodpeckers here and one flew into a snag near the nature center and posed for a few minutes.

Sitting on the back deck

On September 23, 2023September 21, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In late May I spent a Saturday morning sitting on the back deck behind the Chinsegut Conservation Center. I wasn’t expecting to see many different birds but was hoping a few might still be migrating through. House finches are common here during migration.

I got a quick glimpse of an Eastern towhee.

All the usual birds that I could have seen in my backyard were there. Bluebirds, chickadees and downy woodpeckers were plentiful.

Here’s something I don’t see anywhere near where I live but I always see them here, a red headed woodpecker.

I was packing up to leave and I saw these out of the corner of my eye. A pair of Northern bobwhites came cruising through the back deck area. They stopped by the tiny pond for a few seconds and then headed into the bushes.

They were really skittish and disappeared quickly.

The view heading out on the trails. I didn’t walk too far this particular morning since my foot was still bothering me. It was nice to come and sit out on the deck for a while and watch all of the wildlife come through.

Cranes and old houses

On September 4, 2023April 7, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights4 Comments

It was early May and I was heading up to the Chinsegut Conservation Center to see if there were any migrating birds. I wasn’t sure if I would see sandhill cranes there. I hadn’t seen any there since early 2022. I was sitting quietly on the bench behind the nature center, waiting for birds to come to the feeders and this family came cruising through the area. They slowly walked around looking for bugs to eat. It was fun watching the two young ones acting like toddlers.

They were not shy and walked really close to me. I pulled out my phone and snapped the above.

I left the nature center and was heading back home on a back road when I saw more sandhill cranes out in a cow pasture. I pulled over and snapped a few shots of them and realized they were eating bugs off the cow poop. Yum!

I had heard there was a haunted house in nearby Brooksville so I made a quick stop. The May-Stringer house is said to be the most haunted house in Florida. You can read all about the house here. The house was built in 1855 and went through many owners before it was sold to the Hernando Historical Association in 1980. It was beautiful on the outside and they were closed the day I was there so maybe I’ll get back here and take a tour.

There is an old grave on the backside of the house.

The Saxon Manor house is another old historic home that was built in 1877. It’s now a wedding/event venue. There’s a lot of great old houses in Brooksville. I’m going to try and get back up here in the winter and do a tour of the old houses.

Just the usual birds

On June 5, 2023April 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I headed up north to Chinsegut Wildlife Area, north of Tampa, in late March. They have a great deck on the back of the nature center with lots of bird feeders off the deck. I was able to catch a few red headed woodpeckers on the way to the deck. The woods here are full of them and I usually see them when I visit.

The first birds I saw high up in the trees were these pale yellow ones. As I zoomed in on them I realized they were goldfinches.

I sat really still for a while and they came down to the feeders. I get one or two at my feeder at home in the winter but this was the most I had seen at one time.

I was hoping to see some different birds than the ones I already get in my backyard. Spring migration was just starting but the ones here were all of the usual wintering birds. There were lots of pine warblers, chipping sparrows, bluebirds, chickadees, titmouse and house sparrows.

A fuzzy caterpillar on the wall next to my seat.

And, they have tons of squirrels being cute, just like back home.

It was a beautiful morning and nice to sit out on that back deck and watch all of the usual birds flying in and out. Another trip in late April is in the plan.

Sunrise over a misty lake.

On May 25, 2023April 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I was heading up to Chinsegut Wildlife area in mid-March on a sunny cool morning. I got there early and decided to drive a lap around the nearby McKethan Lake recreation area. It’s a small park with a nice drive that runs around the lake and I didn’t think I would see much wildlife but I was just enjoying the quiet morning. I have heard this park gets pretty packed in the summer.

The sun had just come up over the trees and there was mist lingering over the lake.

The water level was really low due to the drought we have been having.

I found this cute bridge that takes you over to the picnic area.

There was only a few other people here this early in the morning.

I had to stop and get some shots of the goats near the road on the way back.

The welcoming committee

On January 27, 2022January 27, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The welcoming committee at Chinsegut Wildlife Area. This is the 3rd time I’ve seen these sandhill cranes hanging around the nature center. One is a juvenile and didn’t quite have the red on his face this past summer. It’s great to see the family is still together. I’m assuming they nest somewhere on the lake here.

Later when I was leaving they were hanging around the parking area and I snapped this with my phone.

I’m sure these are some type of weed but they were really pretty along the trail.

It was foggy when I first got there but wore off as the sun got higher.

A walk in the woods

On January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

The one that got away. I was walking down the back trail at Chinsegut Wildlife area and I hear a noise in the woods. Several deer were cutting across the trail way ahead of me and I just caught this buck peeking back at me before he took off into the woods.

I love coming here and seeing all of the red headed woodpeckers. They are everywhere here. And, this spring I AM going to get back up here to look for some woodpecker nests.

Another amazing thing about this place is that I was standing in one spot on the trail near the nature center and saw 4 different species of woodpeckers. Without moving I was able to get pictures of red heads and then I saw a downy, a red bellied and then a pileated. They were all hanging around the same area at the same time.

Of course I saw tons of pine warblers.

I did see an indigo bunting (either a female or immature male) at the feeder at the nature center.

My first common garter snake sighting. They are harmless and he was warming up in the sunny spot in the grass. I quickly shot this and kept going.

It was starting to look like fall in late December.

All of the different colors of birds

On November 6, 2021October 19, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In early October I went to see my favorite red heads. You can always find several redheaded woodpeckers flying around the short trail by the nature center at Chinsegut Wildlife center.