Tag: fawn

So many spots

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

At the end of August I made another late afternoon drive through at Chesnut Park, hoping to see more of those cute spots.  There were a lot of deer along the back wooded line of the ball field including the guy above.

Then I saw 4 fawns playing together at the farthest end of the field.  I think this was a big year for baby deer.

After a few minutes they all headed into the woods so I continued my drive through the park.

At the other end of the park I found a Mom and baby.

I sat in my car and watched them feed on a beauty berry bush.

Then I found 2 more at the far corner of the park. These two were also playing and then one crossed in front of my car.

This lady was alone and I waited for her to cross the bridge and go onto the trail before passing by as I headed home. This was a fun afternoon.

Saturday's Critters

Seeing spots

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

In mid-August I was leaving the house and took the long way out of the neighborhood. I had my camera in the car and was thinking I wouldn’t see much like most mornings. But this morning I got lucky and saw a baby deer with his Mom down the street. He was running, trying to keep up with Mom, and then stopped just before entering the next street over.

I pulled over and watched for a few minutes as the baby was watching the Mom.

I think Mom saw me and I was expecting her to bolt but I stayed in the car and she continued to graze.

It looked like she was cleaning up the baby’s legs.

What a cutie!

A few days later I slowed down at the same spot and there again was a baby and Mom. At first I thought it was the same one I had seen earlier but after studying the spots I realized it was a different baby. It was also a little taller. Just as I pulled over the baby started nursing.

There were two does along with a buck.

They hung around the pond for a few minutes before a landscaping truck pulled up and scared them into the woods. This was the last time I saw any babies in the neighborhood.

 

Almost all grown up

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals2 Comments

Early in September I made a quick drive through Chesnut Park on the way home and saw the twins again. They were getting big but still had those spots on them.

I didn’t stay long and shot the above from the car.

Mom was close by checking me out.

Later in the month Hurricane Helene came through and the park was closed for several days while the rangers removed the fallen trees off the roads. They only opened the front part of the park and I stopped in the next day. I’m sure the deer and other critters liked having the park to themselves but everyone was wondering how the wildlife faired in the storm. Right when I drove in I saw a Mom and young one playing and chasing each other. I snapped the above from the car.

Then the young one stopped in front of my car and was digging around in some debris. She was almost as big as Mom and her spots were starting to fade.

The park still had a lot of trees down and the back part was closed for for several more weeks.

Many of the big oak trees here have resurrection ferns growing on them. The fern goes dormant and brown when it hasn’t rained for several days but then after a storm and lots of rain it comes back to life and turns green. You don’t really notice it when it’s dormant because it blends into the trunk and branches but when it turns green it’s pretty in the trees. I noticed all of the green since we had so much rain during the hurricane. It almost made the woods look like an enchanted forest.

“Oh deer, don’t come any closer”

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

This lady was already molting at the end of July. They shed their fur twice a year, in spring and fall. Maybe she was just shedding from spring? I took this through the back window.

A little blue heron came walking by the back window.

I wasn’t getting a lot of birds in the backyard in late July. Mostly the usuals including blue jays (above), cardinals, titmouse and chickadees. With all of the rain we had been getting they weren’t coming to bath as much but this blue jay couldn’t pass up a good clean bath.

Fungus growing on fallen branches and in the hanging baskets. They dry up pretty fast once the sun comes out for the afternoon.

I took the above with my phone through the back door. It had just stopped pouring and the squirrel had found the few sunflower seeds that had fallen out when I brought the bird feeder in before the storm.

I kept my camera in the car hoping I would see some baby deer as I was going in and out of the neighborhood. One morning I saw a young buck on the way out and quickly pulled over and snapped the above.

The next morning I was leaving much earlier and took the long way out of the neighborhood. I saw a fawn and Mom heading into the woods. I was able to catch them leaving and the baby stopped for a few seconds and looked back at me. I wonder if the people in the nearby homes feed them.

A few days later I stopped at the utility field on my way out and saw the above. I wasn’t in a hurry and parked the car and got out. I was across the street and trying to hide behind a big bottlebrush tree but they knew I was there. I don’t often see the males in the neighborhood and it was cool to see two big racks together 😉.

They spent a few minutes feeding along the sidewalk on their side of the street.

All of a sudden this guy crosses the street and starts walking right towards me. I walked back to my car in the grass and away from them. I was not going to test his friendly manner and let him get any closer.

He walked around the tree I had been standing behind and looked at me as if to say “This is my tree.”. I took these from behind my car. They both eventually headed towards the nearby woods.

Summer sky in the front yard.

 

More of the same

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

More of the same from my walk in late September. I was heading into Chesnut Park for a quick visit and I saw a fawn walking towards the woods. I snapped the above quickly through the window before it was gone.

When I got to the area to park there were several deer hanging out in the playground. I had just parked and they started walking towards me (I was between them and some woods). They slowly walked by and headed into the woods. They were not in a hurry.

I immediately found several female American redstarts on the boardwalk. They were not shy and came down pretty low in the trees.

Some of the usual birds, a blue jay and a blue gray gnatcatcher.

You would think it was fall by this picture but I think the maple leaves were turning red due to the extreme drought. It was still so hot in late September. They were pretty though.

A squirrel eating some yummy berries.

I ran into some more deer as I was walking the trail through the woods.

It still looked and felt like summer everywhere else in the park but the trees provided some much needed shade. Most of the trails and boardwalks here are shaded which makes it a good spot to walk when it’s sunny and hot.

Most of the small docks over the lake have roofs which also keeps the heat down.

We’re heading into the middle of December and now it’s much cooler here. Even if it warms up to 80 degrees in the late afternoon the mornings are in the 60’s and it’s so nice to be out this time of year. It’s that time of the year when people are posting pictures of snow in their yard and we are just happy to be wearing long sleeves!

an image of a red sports car with a lady caricature going at Vroom Vroom high speed, Senior Salon Pit Stop Vroom Vroom Linkup

September in the yard

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals10 Comments

I looked out the back window one morning and saw deer on our patio. One was so close. I took these with my camera through the window. I knew they would take off if I opened the door but I think they still saw me.

One walked over to my Christmas cactus (that wasn’t blooming at the time) and started eating it. I took a video of if and above is one of the stills. She demolished it. It was a small one and wasn’t doing very well so I didn’t try and stop her. I replanted the pot with petunias.

Bluebirds taking a bath.

Across the fairway I could see a spoonbill sleeping under a tree. I went outside and snapped the above from our little yard. A little later I saw it feeding in the newly formed pond from the much needed rain we had. I didn’t see anyone on the course so I snuck across to get a little closer.

I sat down under a nearby tree and watched as the spoonbill was feeding. A juvenile little blue heron and a few white ibis were also there.

The young turkey showed up with Mom again. I went outside and took these. They didn’t seem to mind me sitting in the grass nearby. They stayed for a while, pecking around the yard.

I saw another lone turkey taking a nap (or a dirt bath) nearby.

I finally saw the twins in my neighborhood. I was coming home from running errands and had my camera in the car. I pulled over right before my house and snapped them heading into the woods at the end of our street.

The view from across the street in mid-September.

I took these with my phone from the upstairs bathroom window. This was the only night we had a good lightning storm this summer.

SkyWatch Friday

A quick walk at Chesnut Park

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

It was the end of August and I kept missing all of the fawns this summer. I finally found one with Mom at Chesnut Park. The baby was getting pretty big but still had spots. I only saw them for a minute and they took off deep in the woods.

I found the osprey eating a fish right off the parking lot. I snapped a few pictures and she looked over at me like “I knew I was being watched.”

A scruffy looking female cardinal was eating seed that someone had left on the boardwalk rail.

Reflection of a green heron.

The eagles were back for the winter. I found one hanging out near the restrooms.

The sun was coming up over the trees.

As I was leaving I saw a couple hanging just outside the fence. I pulled over and watched them for a few minutes from the car.

Deer in the neighborhood

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

These 2 bucks were grazing along the golf course in our back yard early one morning. I ran outside to shoot the above.

I was coming home from running errands in mid-August and saw these two along the road in my neighborhood. Luckily I had my camera with me so I pulled over and shot these from the car. At first I just saw the one fawn but then the other one came over quickly to see what was going on.

They were right along the golf course and spent some time running around playing. I was afraid I would spook them into the woods so I stayed in the car watching for a while. I’ve spent so many years looking for fawns in different parks around the area and it’s really cool to see them in my new neighborhood.

A busy fawn season

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

These must be the same deer that are being feed  I was walking on the back trail at Chesnut Park and several deer walked right up to me  I took the above with my phone.

I didn’t find the twins again but there were 2 Moms with one baby each.

Mom taking care of the baby.

I walked down one of the side trails and found this big guy resting.

I’m not sure if this was a Mom and grown baby or siblings but they were so cute preening each other.

Not a deer but a female redstart. I guess fall migration had started with a small trickle of birds coming through.

Eagles, owls and deer, Oh my.

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

 

My first eagle sighting of the season. He was hanging out near the restrooms at Chesnut Park. He didn’t stay long, taking off towards the lake. It was mid-August. I didn’t realize they come back that early.

I had heard there was an owl sitting at the end of the boardwalk so I quickly walked down to the end thinking he would probably be gone by then or I wouldn’t be able to find him. There he was, sitting almost eye level. He sat there for a while as I snapped a ton of pictures. He was checking out critters on the ground and I was hoping he would swoop down and catch something but that didn’t happen.

I was walking on the back boardwalk and came across a Mom and her baby. As the Mom was feeding the baby was walking around and walked over to it’s sibling.

I had found the twins. It was interesting to see them both licking each other.

After walking around for a while I came back to the back boardwalk and one of the babies was still sitting there with the sun coming through the swamp. The other twin and Mom were feeding behind some trees.