The backyard in early May

Posted on July 24, 2023 by dinajohnston

My neighbor’s plumeria plant was blooming in early May. I was able to snap the above before the squirrels ate them.

The young Carolina wrens were looking for food in the bushes. Mom was still feeding them bugs. The young ones are as big as Mom but they still have a lot of yellow around their beaks.

I hadn’t been seeing many bluebirds in the backyard (I think they have been nesting). I saw this young one sitting on our feeder and then others started showing up again.

The first week in May was the last time I saw a parula. They must all be north for the summer (I don’t blame them although this year it may be just as hot up there).

By early May I was getting hummingbirds every day at the feeder. The male only showed up the first few days and now I only see females.

The squirrels were still getting frisky.

By now the only birds coming to the suet were woodpeckers and blue jays. Once this one was gone I took the basket down for the summer.

A butterfly on the lantana basket.

The sunset shining through the moss across the street.

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Posted on October 24, 2022 by dinajohnston

I saw a hummingbird buzzing by the window in late August so I put the feeder back out. A few hours later there she was, getting a snack. She came to the feeder several times the next day and that was the last I’ve seen of her so far.

Walking by the window I saw the turkeys roaming around the backyard. A few minutes later they had disappeared. Where did they go that fast? Was that one in the tree? I snuck out the back door with my camera and found them all over the big oak tree. They were settling down for an afternoon nap so I quickly snapped these and went back inside.

About an hour later I peeked out the window and they were back on the ground feeding. I took all of these through the window. Some golfers had come by, causing them all to stand at attention for a few seconds but they went back to feeding as the golfers kept going on the cart.

Getting a drink on a hot afternoon.

That’s not a bird sticking his head out of the bird house. I hope this frog doesn’t plan on living in it. Although the birds aren’t using anyway.

Road trip to central Florida

Posted on October 3, 2022 by dinajohnston

Bok Tower Gardens was bursting with color this summer.

I struggled to get a decent shot of the hummingbird. The light was bad but I managed to get the above. It was hot and muggy so it makes it harder to wait to get the hummer in those fleeting seconds of feeding.

It’s hard to ignore the cute cottontail bunnies

The bell tower

After leaving the gardens, I headed to a nearby fish camp to see if I could find any birds. It was quiet the morning I was there but I’m sure on the weekends it’s busy.

I did find two sandhill cranes feeding along the drive in.

Looking out over the lake, it was such a beautiful calm scene. It’s these small hidden places that make Florida special.

Humming along in the backyard

Posted on August 13, 2022 by dinajohnston

I put up a hummingbird feeder in the backyard back in April. I had it up through May and didn’t see a single hummer so I took it down since it was so hot in early June and I was cleaning it every day. Then in mid-June I started seeing one around the gardenia bush and when I saw her feeding on the purslane plant in the backyard I pulled out the feeder and put it up later that day. She showed up the next morning. I loaded my camera up on the tripod in front of the window and waited behind the curtain with my remote shutter release. She came several times throughout the day for 3 days. I saw 2 flying around together but only saw one at the feeder. I’m not sure if this is only one or if they took turns coming to feed. I kept the feeder up a few days after that but I hadn’t seen them since that 3rd day.

Around the house in mid-June

Posted on August 4, 2022 by dinajohnston

The downy woodpeckers and the chickadees keep coming to the feeder together.

Another set of Carolina wren babies were hopping around our backyard. I think they had been born in my neighbor’s pot because I kept seeing an adult flying over there with bugs. Mom was close by. You can still see the fuzz in their head and necks.

A beautiful cooper’s hawk in our tree. I was walking back from getting the mail and he landed on my husband’s car in the driveway. I ran back in and grabbed my camera thinking he would be gone when I got back outside but he flew up to the tree when I came out.

I have seen hummingbirds coming through the backyard but this is the first time I was able to catch one. They were buzzing around my gardenia bush but they don’t stay long. I was looking out the back window watching a squirrel and saw her fly in and feed on my hanging purslane flowers. I grabbed my camera and waited, half hiding behind the curtains. She came back again and I was able to snap the above but then she took off and I didn’t see her again that afternoon.

A smiling gator drying out behind the pond near my house. I was riding my bike around the neighborhood with my camera and stopped to catch it.

Juvenile osprey are everywhere in the neighborhood. There’s a nest in every utility tower across the neighborhood and they are all filled with osprey.

As I was biking home I stopped at the pond down the street and noticed something moving around with an adult limpkin. I was glad I had brought my camera in my backpack. At first I thought there was just one baby but when they started swimming across the pond I could see all 5 of them. The pond turns into a river that runs through the neighborhood and once they crossed they started heading behind some houses so I lost track of them.

The rain was starting to move in. I love the summer skies after the rain. The lake across from my house is going to be a good spot to catch some orange sunsets.

Bok Tower Gardens

Posted on May 4, 2021 by dinajohnston

Even though chipping sparrows are not rare, I don’t see them often.

I found a female ruby throated hummingbird feeding in the english garden at Bok Tower Gardens in late February. It almost looks like she was molting around her face.

I was standing on the path for a while under a pine tree waiting for the hummingbird to come back to the flowers and someone walked by and said “Look at the owl over your head”. I didn’t even notice him when I walked up earlier. I’m glad he didn’t poop on me!

Butterflies and flowers in the garden near the bell tower.

The door to the courtyard at the historic house on the grounds. The Pinewood Estate is closed for now but you can still walk around the grounds.

I found the Fairy Garden on this visit. I usually don’t venture into the children’s garden there but it was a quiet morning so I wandered in to see if there were any good birds back there. I loved the big oversize nest and the little houses made from nature. It’s so creative.

Color at the botanical gardens.

Posted on June 29, 2020 by dinajohnston

The butterfly garden at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo was living up to it’s name with tons of butterflies the morning I went in early May. There were lots of different ones besides the usual monarchs.

Lots of color blooming as well.

I caught one hummingbird flash by.

Our World Tuesday Graphic

A new bird at the turtle pond.

Posted on June 23, 2020 by dinajohnston

I stopped by my new favorite turtle pond at McGough Nature Park in early May. I went there looking for birds but had to stop and watch the turtles napping for a few minutes.

I saw this hummingbird go by in a flash and landed on a branch right in front of me on the trail. She only stayed for a few seconds and then took off.

This black and white warbler was looking for bugs.

A redstart in the bushes.

A red eyed vireo high up in the tree.

My first yellow throated vireo. I watched him for a while as he picked up worms and caterpillars in the tree. This beautiful bird was having a feast. Fattening up before he heads north for the summer. I found him near the closed playground.

A walk at the Botanical Gardens.

Posted on November 27, 2018 by dinajohnston

It’s always fun to watch the wild parakeets eating high up in the trees. They are so loud that it’s easy to spot them.

Lots of the usual birds at my walk at the Florida Botanical Gardens.

Across the pond, an osprey flies by with a snack.

Just a few plants at the gardens in early October.

Linking to Wednesday Around The World

Birds at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Posted on October 22, 2018 by dinajohnston

This young Carolina wren was hopping all over the place.

Usual birds: a sparrow, robin and baby mockingbird.

A rare bird for me, one that I don’t see in my area of Florida is the American Goldfinch. There were several in the back of the gardens eating the flowers.