Things in the yard and neighborhood

On August 11, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

We have a little spot of dirt in our front yard that gets full sun so I planted sunflower seeds and a few weeks later they started coming up.

Near the end of April this one was the first to start blooming.

A tiny Eastern amberwing dragonfly was flying around the sunflower plants.

A titmouse was showing off his snacks. I’m assuming he had a nest somewhere high up in the tree. I kept seeing him fly up there but couldn’t tell where he was going.

A moth through the window. Taken with my phone.

This blue jay was driving me crazy. He kept eating the suet and digging around in the plants for bugs. He lets me get really close. I took the above with my phone.

Critters on the flowering plants in the front yard.

I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my computer when I looked up and saw a hummingbird flying around in front of the window. I pulled out the old window feeder that I hadn’t used in a long time and made some extra food and put it on the window. By the next day she was coming to the feeder. If I was standing still in front of the window when she flew in she would continue to feed as long as I stood still.

A video of Fred flirting with me through the window.

It was almost time to take the suet feeder down. It’s just too hot once May comes and even through the package says they don’t melt, they do. The woodpeckers will just have to eat the regular sunflower seeds instead for a few months.

I kept hearing a peeping noise when I went out to water the plants and saw a downy woodpecker hanging around a spot high up in the oak tree in the backyard. I saw the woodpecker fly away and walked over and saw the above juvenile looking out from a hole underneath a branch. So I did what any normal bird nerd would do, I went inside and got my camera and dragged my patio chair under the tree and waited for the parent to come back.

The parent came back several times. There were two juveniles in the hole but only one popped out at a time. It must be tight in there. I could see the red on the young one’s head so I knew it was a boy. There was also a female.

Both parents stayed busy bringing in food but they would stick their head far into the hole to feed the kids so I couldn’t get a shot of them feeding it.

I knew that the babies were about to be too big for that hole and a few days later I saw them chasing the parents on the trees.

A regular visitor to the backyard.

I was out running errands and on the way home I saw these 3 on the sidewalk in front of the utility field down the street. I pulled over on the nearby parking pad and got out with my camera and crossed the street. Then they started crossing the street and heading right for me. These guys were strutting around like they owned the neighborhood.

I realized there were 2 females behind the trees on my side of the street. The males got close to the females but the females ignored them and went into the woods.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Watching the National bird grow up

On July 2, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Sunrise at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood. I was trying to get there early every few days since the baby was the most active in the mornings.

The lone baby was sitting in the nest waiting for a parent to bring food. Mom was sitting up in the same tower and she was probably wondering where Dad was with the squirrel or fish.

A few days later I was able to see him flapping his wings in place, building up his strength for that first big flight.

A few days later he was getting some air and made it over to the edge of the railing. It makes me nervous to see them first flying up to the edge. It would be easy for him to flap too hard and end up on the ground and not be able to get back up on the tower. That happened 2 years ago with one of the babies. Luckily some early morning dog walkers saw it and let me know it was on the ground. You can read more about the rescue in that post here.

This was taken with my phone and you can see how high up the towers are. The nest is in the right tower (on the top left side). That baby looks like a pin dot without binoculars or a long camera lens. I was using my 400mm lens for the up-close shots.

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.

The yard and neighborhood in late January

On April 21, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

There hadn’t been a lot of different birds coming to the feeder in the backyard in late January. The usual tufted titmouse were always there.

It had been drizzling all day when I looked out the window late in the afternoon. I saw tons of robins on the golf course. They were too far away to try and take pictures through the window so I grabbed my big umbrella and camera and went out the back door. Yes, I was that neighbor standing on the edge of the golf course taking pictures of birds in the rain.

The robins had the entire fairway to themselves and they were taking baths (even while it was raining) in the puddles that had formed.

Looking around I realized they were all over the fairway. They stayed all afternoon and were gone by dark.

I noticed the little soaked pine warbler in the backyard as I headed back in.

Squirrels being cute. I think these are both young ones born this past late fall. They were half the size of the adult Mom that was also hanging around.

We had a bunny in the backyard for 13 days. It came late in the afternoon or right before dark. We had some dirt spots in the back near the patio so Brett threw some rye seed out so it would be green through the winter and not get muddy if it rained. Once the seed sprouted this bunny showed up and ate through most of the rye grass. He was having a feast so Brett through some more seed out to replace what he ate. These were taken through the window. He was very skittish.

Taken through the window, this great egret was hunting around the bushes and came up with a lizard.

My Christmas cactus didn’t start blooming until late in January.

Sunset down the street at the utility field.

The turkeys were heading out on the field right before sunset.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Around the yard and neighborhood in December

On March 24, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

It was early December and I was seeing the eagle couple in my neighborhood pretty regularly.

My first robins showed up in mid-December. I was putting the garbage can out one morning and heard them in the trees in the yard so I ran inside and grabbed my camera. There were only 3 of them and they stayed high up in the trees. They didn’t stay long. This was the first of several visits from them this winter.

We had 2 turkeys cruising through the yard one morning.

This red bellied woodpecker was taking sunflower seeds from the feeder and sticking them in the palm tree outside the window. Was he storing them up for the winter? I wanted to tell him the squirrels would find them and eat them.

All of the usual winter birds were visiting including black and white warblers, yellow throated warblers and house finches. The downy woodpeckers are here all year round.

The hermit thrush is a special visitor. He only stopped by once this winter. There was one that came by for a month last winter. I wonder if it’s the same one. He eats bugs so he doesn’t go to the feeder but maybe he likes the bath.

By mid-December the eagles were spending a lot of time together on the utility tower that the nest is in.

A few days later I was running to the store and saw them flying near the nest so I stopped since I had my camera in the car. One of them came flying to the nest with a big stick. I’m sure the nest needed some work after the hurricanes from the fall.

I was about to leave when this juvenile little blue heron flew right in front of me. He must have been a late summer baby because he was still all white. They turn blue as they molt their feathers in the first year. I’m glad he caused me to pause because then the eagle came back with more nesting material.

It looked like he had a part of a bald cypress branch. He dropped it in the best spot athough I’m sure she’ll re-arrange it later.

My camelia bush was just starting to bloom.

Sunset across the street in mid-December.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Visiting birds in November

On March 15, 2025March 8, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In early November I was taking the long way out of my neighborhood and checking on the eagle’s nest. Both eagles were hanging around the nest pretty regularly but it was still too early for any action.

Pine warblers are regulars at the suet feeder in the backyard during winter.

Downy woodpeckers are usually lined up to get at the suet and only one comes at a time but sometimes they will let another smaller bird feed as well.

I had a “first time in the backyard” yellow bellied sapsucker in late November. It was hard to get a shot of him through the window but I was afraid he would get spooked if I walked outside. He didn’t stay long.

Every couple of weeks I get a pileated woodpecker come to the big oak trees in the backyard. I can usually go outside to get a shot since they stay high in the trees and aren’t shy.

House finches paid a visit in the middle of November. The males are pretty with red feathers (females are drab brown).

Tufted titmouse are usual visitors and they are not shy. I was outside taking pictures of the pileated woodpecker and they landed right in front of me and on the bird bath.

All of the usuals were here including chickadees, Carolina wrens and doves.

Squirrels being cute. He was eating a wild mushroom in the first shot.

Playing in the neighborhood field.

On March 1, 2025February 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

I never know what I’m going to see driving through my neighborhood so I usually keep my camera in the car. I was coming home and as I drove by the utility field I saw some deer in the back of the field. I pulled over and noticed it was the same doe I had seen a few days earlier with that big booboo on her neck. She was running across the field towards two more deer.

She stopped when she reached them and they all started grazing. I sat in my car for a few minutes watching them.

After a while they all started chasing each other around the field. I’m assuming they were playing. One looked smaller than the other two and maybe it was a juvenile that was born this past summer. They played for a while, then grazed for a few minutes and then headed towards the woods. I was so glad I had my camera in the car because they were far away on the other side of the field. What a fun thing to see that morning.

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.

Around the yard in late September

On January 27, 2025February 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It was late September and I was taking the trash bin to the end of the driveway and I heard whistling over at the pond. I ran in and grabbed by camera and went over to the pond across the street and there they were, black bellied whistling ducks. Both adults and juveniles were there (juveniles born this summer would not have pink bills yet). I snapped a bunch of pictures and then left them. They were gone later that afternoon.

A few days later I looked out the back window and saw a lone bird in the bath. At first glance I thought it was a northern parula but I decided to look closer. It was a female chestnut-sided warbler. She was really pretty with that lime green on her head but I kind of wished it was a male. They have the orange/chestnut sides. I’ve only seen him once last year at Fort Desoto and only got a blurry shot of it.

The turkeys were coming through the backyard and I caught them scratching around in the yard debris that was still piled up.

The day after Hurricane Milton came through a prairie warbler was in my tree. This is the first time I’ve had one in the yard.

A lone buck was grazing around the debris in the backyard.

Early that morning I was out front cleaning the yard and had my phone in my pocket. These 2 red shoulder hawks landed in the tree across the street and started mating.

It was a little late for nesting season so maybe they were just glad to see each other after the storm.

Right after the hawks came by a bald eagle flew high overhead.

The little froggies were still coming around and were hanging out on my Christmas cactus.

In the spring I planted a handful of sunflower seeds in a sunny spot and had tons of big sunflowers bloom. Late in the summer I planted some more hoping they would bloom for fall. This is the only one that bloomed. It survived the storm with only one petal missing.

The yard was covered with not yet ripe acorns.

Driving along the neighborhood we could see a lot of trees down. Some had pulled up sidewalks with it. Luckily none around us hit any houses or cars.

One morning I was coming back into the neighborhood from the grocery store and saw the turkeys up ahead. I pulled out my camera to get a shot but they had already started running so I started videoing them as I drove by. They were moving pretty fast. I’m not sure why they started running but they all of a sudden stopped.