Morning walks at the marina

Posted on July 25, 2022 by dinajohnston

The Dunedin marina area is one of my new favorite places to walk in the mornings. Even though it’s miserable hot, there’s usually a breeze here on the water. During the week, before 9am, it’s pretty quiet and easy to get a good parking spot.

Two juvenile osprey were trying to catch some food. After a while they both ended up on the same tree on the water’s edge.

This anhinga had no problem catching her fish. I think she was showing it off.

Juvenile house sparrows were digging in the sand for bugs to eat.

I found these fuzzy plants on a fence near the water. It looked like cotton but a month later I would find out what they were. More to come on these.

A great egret ready to take off.

Backyard visitors in October

Posted on December 12, 2020 by dinajohnston

Some of the birds visiting my feeder in the backyard. I usually only get house sparrows and blue jays but the woodpecker was fun to see.

The common ground dove was waiting his turn for the feeder. I’ve since redone that hanging plant with mums.

Once in a while I get a cardinal as well.

Other bigger birds cruising by were a little blue heron, a white ibis on my neighbor’s broken dock and a great blue heron. All of the above were taken through the bedroom window.

When I saw the osprey on my neighbor’s sailboat mast, I ran out and took the picture from the backyard. For years there was an osprey that slept on the mast every night but she hadn’t been doing do that for about 2 years. Just recently one has been stopping by for a while during the day. I wonder if it’s the same bird.

Things growing in the yard including the pink muhly grass in front of our screened porch.

Sunset in the back yard.

A mid-summer trip to the zoo

Posted on October 23, 2017 by dinajohnston

It was very hot in late July but I stopped by the Lowry Park Zoo early one Saturday morning to see how the wild baby birds were doing.

There were a few late little blue heron babies still on the nest but I didn’t see any baby house sparrows. I saw a few nests tucked away around the gift shop but I didn’t see or hear any babies at that time.

Front yard and backyard

Posted on September 25, 2017 by dinajohnston

Two grumpy night herons on our dock in the rain.

Taken from the bedroom window, this young blue heron would not turn around.

We’ve had a lot of house sparrows hanging around our backyard lately.

Rainbow in the front yard.

Weird skies in the backyard after a storm.

In the backyard this spring.

Posted on July 16, 2015 by dinajohnston

Moth on the screen.

A green heron was preening on my neighbor’s sailboat mast.

A house sparrow family living in our dock. This was the 2nd set of babies they had this spring. As they grow up, they hang around the backyard for a while.