Tag: coyotes

Another “As the Eagle World Turns” chapter

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

In early February the baby eagles in my neighborhood were getting big enough to get some great views of them. One was down in the nest sleeping on this morning.

Mom was leaving the nest several times a day to get food. I think there was something stuck in that straw because she dropped it off and the baby started eating something.

Mom keeping an eye out and taking a much needed break.

This was Mom’s new boyfriend, Mickey, coming in with a stick. Her mate was hit by a car in January and this guy moved in quickly. The babies would not let him land on the nest and he didn’t seem to push it. One morning he started bringing in sticks and then taking them to the other side of the utility tower. I think he was working on a new nest.

The kids are wondering what this new guy was doing.

Mom landed on the that side of the tower and was helping him place the sticks. I was wondering if they would actually start a new family while those kids were still over on the other side.

Mickey was bringing in food for Mom and after a few bites she would take the rest over to the kids.

Then they mated! I guess this means they are now an official couple. They didn’t finish the new nest and eventually Mom and the babies let Mickey land on the original nest. More to come on these babies growing up.

There’s always a squirrel on this feeder nearby. The owner has it hanging on a tree close to the branch. I wonder if they think the birds are eating all of the seeds.

A crow landed in front of me with a snack.

The kestrels are always around when I visit the eagle nest.

The cardinal’s color pops out in the dead reeds.

One morning a bluebird couple was hanging out on the bat box in front of the eagle nest. He had a snack and did not share it with his girlfriend.

As I stood there waiting for the baby eagles to wake up I looked over towards the reeds and saw the above in front of me. There was only a short 2 rail fence in between us but I didn’t think they would come over the fence. I had my monopod and big heavy camera in front of me.

That black coyote is beautiful. This couple has been seen a lot early in the morning in this area.

They both looked over at me. I heard something right behind me. I turned around and a guy was walking his 2 little dogs. I said to him ‘Do you see those 2 coyotes over there?” He said “I do now” as he picked up both dogs and walked backwards towards his condo. The coyotes trotted off and into the reeds.

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Around the neighborhood in early January

On 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.

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Around the yard in December

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

The squirrels were getting frisky in the backyard in mid-December. Don’t they know it’s not mating season? Actually early December is the start of their winter mating season so I may be seeing some tiny ones soon. Just what we need, more squirrels digging up the backyard.

It was good to see that the neighborhood turkeys survived Thanksgiving as they cruised through our backyard. There is almost no turkey hunting in Pinellas county due to the density and urban nature of the area and there are no public hunting areas so these turkeys are generally safe in our neighborhood with the exception of being hit by a car.

A juvenile little blue heron looking for a snack (lizard) along the sidewalk to our front door.

I hate it when the grackles come to the feeder (which isn’t often) but they are pretty.

Black bellied whistling ducks in the rain. I was standing outside with a big golf umbrella watching them as they found a little puddle to drink from.

I was adding some red lights to the back along the roof when this guy fell down. I’m glad he didn’t land on me because neighbors from many streets over would have heard me scream. I know they are out there but he caught me by surprise.

Blooming in the front yard in December.

Brett and I took the long way around the neighborhood after dinner out to see some lights. We saw a lot of deer out feeding.

This is not a great video since it took Brett a while to stop and I was filming from the moving car but the coyote couple passed by us on the sidewalk. The green eyes glowing belongs to the black coyote that almost blends in. It was really cool to see them in the dark but they kept moving fast.

SkyWatch Friday