A stroll down my street.

On February 25, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants5 Comments

In late October I was out for a walk in my neighborhood. The sun was just coming up over the trees. I had walked to the utility field hoping to see some critters hanging around.

Taken with my phone, I could see a bald eagle sitting high up on the tower.

Native bladderpod was going dormant for the winter but there was still a few green pods on the plant.

Rattlebox starts out with beautiful yellow flowers, then turns in bean pods that are highly toxic. Originally they were planted to help with erosion and they grow like crazy but were later found out that the beans were bad for critters to eat.

I’m not sure what these are but they were in the same area.

A red shoulder hawk was sitting on a light post, looking around for a snack.

A crawly critter on the sidewalk.

There are several bird of paradise plants along my walk.

When I got back home I could see a tiny alligator out in the middle of the pond across the street.

Hibiscus blooming in my front yard.

Around the yard in late April

On September 1, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Everything was blooming in the front courtyard in late April.

My neighbor’s plumeria was peeking over the wall.

The lady ruby throated hummingbirds were coming several times a day.

The titmouse were checking out the unused bird house but they didn’t build a nest.

We had several young squirrels hanging around the backyard and they think our philodendron plants in between the two big oak trees are their playground. One morning I was sitting on the patio with my camera hoping to catch the hummingbird and this squirrel had the best time playing in the plants.

Taking a break from playing to eat a snack.

This blue jay is not shy and flew right over and sat on my chair and watched me reading for a while.

By late April the suet feeder was down and I added a small open feeder on that hook. I filled it with mixed seed and dried mealworms, hoping to attract the bluebirds back. In the beginning all I saw were the usual birds including woodpeckers and titmouse.

Sunset across the street.

Around the yard in late March

On June 23, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Things blooming in the front yard in late March. The bottom one is a fire star orchid that was gifted to my neighbor from a friend who was moving. It’s a huge potted plant that is full of blooms. When she brought it home in the winter it was a pile of dead sticks. She said her friend said to trust her and wait until spring.

We had another dove couple (or it might have been the same couple from the other tree) nesting on a palm tree on the other side of our driveway. They nested much higher up and I could only get a shot of one baby when it was getting big although there were two. They grew up so fast and were gone before I could get another shot of them.

Fred spends the afternoon sleeping on the old small trellis in front of our window. He’s got distinctive ridges on his back and he never runs away when I get close to the window.

We finally got a new bird bath. The old plastic one covered in metal lasted 20 years but was falling apart in the Florida weather. The squirrels love the new one.

Birds coming to the backyard in late March included a great crested flycatcher (the first 2 shots). I think he was going to get a drink but wasn’t sure with the fountain going. Northern parulas were plentiful in the yard and I don’t know what that crow had in his beak. He might have gotten a mouthful of leaves with a caterpillar or maybe he was building a nest?

Right before dark I was going out to get the mail and I kept hearing black bellied whistling ducks calling from the pond. One day I took my camera and walked across the street and saw them sitting on the bank on the other side. For at least 2 weeks they would come in late in the day. I wondered if they were nesting nearby but I couldn’t start walking through people’s backyards looking, could I?

This is when I would hear them whistling. Right before the sun went down behind the trees across the pond.

The sun was coming up through the fog one morning as I was heading to the grocery store.

I knew the eagles in my neighborhood were sitting on eggs in the nest for a while and eventually I saw them sitting up on the edge of the tower and had been bringing in food. I was thinking maybe the babies had hatched but it would be a while before they were big enough for me to see them.

Finally, weeks later I could get a decent shot of the baby. I had seen glimpses of gray fuzz for a few weeks but now I could see the face. It looked like there was only one baby.

A week later the baby was much bigger and I could see one of the parents feeding it on the nest. I’m glad they have a baby. The Dad is a first time dad since he was only a 4th year juvenile last year when he started “dating” the Mom who had lost her mate earlier that year. You can read my post about the loss of the eagle family last March here.

Dad flies off to get more food.

One day another juvenile eagle went flying over the nest. The parent chased him away. It might have been a baby from the nest on the other side of the neighborhood. Those babies were born much earlier but it’s too far away to get pictures of that nest.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Around the yard in early March

On June 2, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants5 Comments

Things blooming in the front yard in March.

I was taking pictures of the flowers in the front yard and saw this ibis over by the pond across the street. I walked over and realized he had a snack (frog). He flew off with it in his beak.

The great crested flycatchers were back for the summer. I heard them calling when I was taking the garbage can out early one morning and ran in and got my camera. They stayed high up in the trees.

A brown thrasher was also in the trees in the front yard.

Swallow tail kites cruise along the golf course and they don’t hang around for long. I saw this one across the fairway from the window and ran outside with my camera. He flew close and quick right over my head and then flew off over the trees and was gone.

I don’t see snakes often in the yard so I was excited to see this harmless black racer cut across the yard. The first shot was through the window and then I crept outside and was able to get a shot of his face before he slithered under the neighbor’s bushes.

The bunnies have been coming by the back yard since January. They usually come right before dark and don’t stay long.

Nanday parakeets feeding on the bottle brush tree down the street.

Sunset from the front yard and across the street.

The full moon from the backyard in March.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Around the yard in February

On May 10, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

In early February my neighbor told me he kept seeing a dove fly into the palm tree in between our driveways, near our garage. I got my camera out and saw that she had a baby. We get a lot of doves in the backyard. They like to sit on the bird bath when it gets dark. I wasn’t expecting to see them nesting high up in the palm tree.

A few days later I realized there were 2 babies. They were growing fast.

Days later a bad storm came through and I went out after the storm right before dark to make sure the babies hadn’t gotten blown out of the nest. They were pretty big at this point. This was the last time I saw them in the nest. At some point over the next few days they flew the coup.

Then I noticed 2 juvenile doves in my backyard under the bird bath. They stuck close together and they didn’t have their full black spots on them and their beaks were still small so I’m thinking these were the 2 babies.

A week later I was out doing some yardwork and noticed a dove picking up sticks and bringing them up to another palm tree in front of our house.

This couple was building a nest. I don’t know if it’s the same couple that had the babies near the garage.

Northern parulas were regular visitors to the backyard in February.

Some bigger birds lurking around the yard included a great egret and little blue heron.

The tiny mini-squirrel (who I think is a juvenile) was taking a nap on the unused bird box.

This Mom was watching me from the tree. She looks like she had recently been nursing so I’m thinking this is mini-squirrel’s Mom.

The bunny has become a regular visitor.

My neighbor’s hibiscus bush was blooming.

In the yard in early January

On April 12, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Even though it’s winter we still have butterflies coming to the hanging baskets in the backyard. We didn’t get any really cold days until later in the month.

I had seen a few wintering robins at the end of December and they came back a week later. One morning I saw one in my neighbor’s maple tree.

Later that afternoon I had 2 on the bird bath in the backyard.

The next day more showed up.

They were not shy and didn’t leave the trees when I went outside to shoot the 2 above.

Later a few more friends showed up.

A blue jay had a berry on the bath. Later I saw him with a clump on the ground. I’m not sure what was in that clump of dirt. Maybe a bug?

Getting a drink.

A common grackle looking at the bird bath.

I snuck outside to get the above when I saw the pileated woodpecker fly into the oak tree out back. She was too high up to get a good shot from the window and they usually don’t fly off right away when I’m in the back.

Things blooming in the front yard.

Red skies in the backyard.

Around the neighborhood and backyard in October

On February 22, 2025February 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In late October I saw a lone eagle on the utility tower in my neighborhood. He was calling for someone. I had been seeing one around the area but this was the first time I had seen one on the tower where they nest.

A few days later both eagles were on the tower nest and they were having a conversation. What do you think they were saying???

Coming home I ran into the turkey family again. They were just hanging out on the road.

On my way to the store I stopped by the utility field in our neighborhood and saw two deer hanging out in the far corner. One of them had a big booboo on her neck.

Bluebirds were still coming to the bird bath in the backyard.

Yellow throated warblers were also coming to the bath.

The feeder was busy in October with pine warblers, Carolina wrens (who are here all year long) and house finches.

Palm warblers showed up by the tons and we have so many in the backyard. They come right onto the patio looking for bugs. They are not shy.

I saw the pileated woodpecker flying into our oak tree and ran outside with my camera to get the above. They stay high up in the trees and it’s hard to get them from the window.

Our hibiscus bush was in full bloom.

Babies around the yard

On September 12, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was mid-May and a tufted titmouse family came for a bath. There were 3 babies and 1 parent that came to the bird bath every day for a week. The babies still have a little cream color on the beak near their faces and didn’t have that little bit of rust in their bellies. They were so awkward trying to take a bath.

I’m not sure why this squirrel was licking the plant. He might have been licking the ants off of it?

A male cardinal got a snack underneath the bath and then took a bath.

We also had a lot of juvenile bluebirds coming for a bath for several days. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. They were so cute.

A lone brown headed cowbird was in the grass just past the feeder. I don’t see them often but this was the 2nd time I had seen one in the backyard in 3 years.

Two juvenile northern parulas were hopping around the tree in the front courtyard waiting for Mom to bring them bugs. I saw them moving around and snuck outside and got the above shots.

Hibiscus blooming in front of our driveway.

I planted sunflower seeds in a small spot in the front that gets a lot of sun in late April. By mid-May I had big stalks coming up, almost as tall as myself. I was excited, hoping I would get a few blooms. One morning I walked out and realized deer had eaten half the plants. They pulled most of the leaves off one plant and half of the other. There were hoof prints in the bed. I was crushed. I left the stalks thinking they would come back and finish eating them but they never did. They continued to grow and eventually bloomed. More on those later.

Sunset across the street.

My neighbor’s church was having a fundraiser lunch and their theme was “Spring birds in Florida”. She asked me if they could use some of my pictures and I said sure and then I was asked to talk about them so I gave a presentation on birds in the neighborhood. It was hard to narrow down to 30 minutes worth of pictures from the tens of thousands I have taken over the years. It was a fun afternoon.

Visitors to the backyard bath.

On August 26, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

This is summer in central Florida. The philodendron plants turn yellow in the summer.

It was already so hot in early May that the squirrels were taking a nap in the shade on the empty nest box.

Bluebirds were coming by to take a bath.

Northern parulas were coming down from high up in the trees to take a bath. They usually don’t come down this low.

A cardinal and red bellied woodpecker share a drink.

A new visitor to the backyard, a female redstart stopped by the bath for a few minutes.

A young titmouse family stopped by. There were 3 juveniles that hung out on the bath for a while. The parents spent the time at the feeder.

A juvenile cardinal that was just starting to molt into his red feathers was still being fed by Mom.

Up-close with my neighbor’s hibiscus.

As I was taking some macro shots of the beautiful hibiscus I realized her plants were covered in mealy bugs. They had taken over the entire 2 bushes. We sprayed several times with neem oil and tried to get them all off. They were gone for a few weeks then came back even worse. We finally chopped the bushes way back to just sticks. They are already started to get leaves again so it will be interesting to see if the bugs come back again. I hope not. Any advice here?

Some of the other blooms in the front courtyard.

I found a ladybug on a plant. I rarely see them anywhere.

The sun going down behind the lake across the street.

Around the yard in late April.

On August 5, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

My hanging petunias did really well over the winter and added a lot of color to the backyard. The problem with petunias is that they don’t produce a lot of nectar so they aren’t big on attracting critters. I didn’t see any bees or butterflies around them. They started to die back in May so I replanted the 2 pots with hummingbird friendly plants.

My neighbor’s hibiscus bushes were in full bloom in the front courtyard (our townhouse shares a small courtyard with our neighborhood)

It’s always fun watching the squirrels getting water in the bird bath. I’ve read that they only take dirt baths so I’m not expecting to see them splashing around.

This cute little juvenile tufted titmouse was up in the oak tree out back. I went outside to get this shot. You can tell he’s a young one with that bit of beige around his beak.

His parents were busy coming to the suet feeder that I still had out so I sat down and watched them for a while. I took the suet down in late May once it was so hot and most of the migrating birds had moved through.

I was able to get a good shot of a chickadee while I was sitting outside watching the titmouse.

A Carolina wren also stopped by.

The squirrels were getting frisky on the unused bird nest box.

I was a day late in early May when everyone was seeing the northern lights in the lower 48 states. They were seen as far down as central Florida and several people I know got some great shots of the lights near Tampa the night before. There was a chance to see them again the next night. I went out at peak time and kept my eye out but the lights didn’t get far enough south the 2nd night and were only seen from the top half of the country. I did manage to catch the Starlink satellite array that went up (the line of white dots in the middle right).

I went out to the backyard where it was darker but still didn’t see the lights. I’m not out in the middle of the dark golf course late at night often. Too many questionable critters lurking but I noticed how you could really see the stars on this clear night. The above was taken with my phone. One of these days I will get out here with my camera and tripod (maybe in the winter so I don’t get eaten alive by mosquitoes).