The usual gang at the Florida Botanical Gardens and the Largo Nature Preserve.
I caught this anhinga eating breakfast.
Other critters at the gardens.
Tag: moth
Early start to spring migration
My first ovenbird, hiding deep in the bushes.
My first Louisiana Waterthrush at the fountain.
An unidentified bird on the top. Any ideas? The 2nd one is a Cape May Warbler.
Eastern kingbird high up in the tree.
A blurry shot of a young blue grosbeak. I thought his color was interesting. I guess he’s molting into his adult male colors.
An osprey with a fish.
And a pretty moth.
By mid April there hadn’t been too many birds passing through on their way north for the summer. I headed down to Fort Desoto Park expecting not to find too much. As usual there were more people than birds on the trails. Not too many birds but some good ones. Two new birds for me, the ovenbird and waterthrush so it was a good morning.
Little critters at Bok Tower Gardens
There were Kermits in all of the fountains at the Gardens. You have to sneak up on them or they will jump in the water and hide if they see you. I took the above with my 300mm lens so I was pretty far away.
Even at the end of October, there were a lot of flowers still blooming and lots of tiny critters flying around.
It was very quiet at the Gardens early in the morning. I could hear the hummingbirds go whizzing by and several times was able to catch them resting.
I saw this little guy across the bushes and was hoping he was a rufous hummingbird. When I got home and cropped it and lightened it up I realized it was a male ruby throated hummingbird which are fairly common this time of year. The rufous would have more orange than green in his feathers. I’ve seen them there but I can’t get a shot of them.
A mockingbird was watching me while I was waiting for the hummingbirds to fly back into the bushes.
More pictures from my late October visit to Bok Tower Gardens in central Florida.
Lettuce Lake Park in August
Tiny critters at the park.
Creepy critters at the park.
Pesky squirrels at the park (I don’t know who thought that was a “Squirrel proof” feeder. It was hanging next to the nature center.)
Pretty prothonotary warblers at the park.
Just a few things from my walk in late August.
In the backyard this spring.
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.
These are baby starlings. They were eating bugs in the backyard. I think there is a nest in my neighbor’s oak tree.
An eagle hanging around the neighborhood late in the season. I saw him in late May on the cell phone tower outside of my neighborhood.
A few things in the backyard in late May and early June.
It’s getting hot out there
Beautiful glossy ibis with the sun shining on his breeding feathers.
A grackle staring at something in the water.
Woody in the woods.
A common yellowthroat warbler hiding in the bushes. Most of the warblers are gone now and are up north for the summer.
Moth or butterfly?
Dragonfly on a stick shot.
Cattails were everywhere. My dad loved cattails. I think they look like poop on a stick.
The gators were growling.
“Don’t give me that innocent look.” I said to the gator.
It’s June 1st. It’s going to be a long hot summer. It’s been hot since early April. These were taken in early May and it was stifling hot already at Circle B Bar Reserve. It’s time to hit the coast for the summer breezes and let the gators nap in peace for a few months.
Better than a candy store.
One of my favorite things we did in Key West was going to the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. I’ve been to several butterfly gardens but this was the first time I had been in a butterfly house. Butterflies were everywhere and were landing on people. It was muggy inside so I’m glad we went early in the morning. I can’t imagine being there late in the hot afternoon. I’m not going to try to identify all of these but I do know the big brown one with green spots is an Atlas moth. The largest moth in the world was everyone’s favorite. There were several there and they were kind enough to be still while everyone was taking their pictures.
