A face only a Mom could love

On June 24, 2026July 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

In early March word got out that there was a barred owl nest at Largo Nature Preserve. I made it over there a week later and the nest was easy to find. It was sitting right on a main trail just off the parking lot. There were 2 babies but after standing there for over an hour I only saw one. These were all taken with my 600mm lens and cropped up so we were actually across a creek from the tree.

Sleepy baby was yawning.

Looking across the creek near the nest.

Mom was sitting in a nearby tree keeping an eye on the nest. We didn’t find Dad that morning. I’m sure he was sleeping somewhere nearby.

Scratching an itch on that big foot!

Something pretty was growing on the bottom of the nest tree.

A red maple tree was full of those “helicopter” seeds.

Lantana growing nearby.

I had to go back to see both babies so more on this nest later.

The yard in early March.

On May 8, 2023April 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

Look who showed up in the backyard in early March. Last year they were here all winter but I hadn’t seen any parulas at all until March. I was sitting outside for a while enjoying the cool weather and the above got close enough for me to get some shots.

That lone robin was still hanging around in the backyard.

Bluebirds were stopping by.

A lone turkey was cruising by for a few days and one day I caught her taking a nap just outside our window.

We get tons of woodpeckers at the feeder and bird bath.

Butterflies on the hanging lantana.

Someone nearby is feeding these ibis. I saw them pecking around the tree and when I went outside to sit down one of them walked right up to me. I had to step back up against the house to fit him in the picture. He wandered off when he realized I wasn’t going to feed him.

Gardenias were starting to bloom.

Two new birds in the backyard

On January 30, 2023January 22, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

Two new birds in the backyard (although I’ve seen them both before somewhere else). Two brown headed cowbirds stopped by but didn’t stay long. A hermit thrush has become a regular visitor since early December.

An eastern phoebe has stopped by a few times this winter. I caught him taking a bath one morning.

Regular visitors include a black and white warbler, cardinals (who are usually shy and don’t come out in the open but I caught this one on the bath) and bluebirds.

Every few weeks a yellow throated warbler stops by. He usually hunts for bugs in the small palm tree next to our house. I went outside to get these since he was hiding under the palms.

I heard her before I saw her. I heard the pileated woodpecker’s loud scream as she flew into our oak tree. I snapped this quickly through the window before she took off.

I went outside to get this shot. Actually, I went out to try and shoo him away from the window and took my camera out with me. He is not easily scared. I’m glad he hangs out in our corner of the neighborhood but I don’t want him too close to the window where Buddy and Harley stay (in the sunroom).