Critters and blooms in late November

On April 4, 2026March 17, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

By mid-November the wintering birds were paying regular visits to the feeders including the pine warbler (top shot) and the palm warbler (bottom shot).

A Tufted titmouse with a snack.

Bluebirds were still coming for the dried worms and the birdbath.

Squirrels being cute in the backyard. I think that first one was eating a mushroom.

Thanksgiving weekend I put up some red lights along with the bistro lights in the backyard and a house finch was checking them out. He posed for me while I took the above through the window.

The leopard plants that we planted in the back in early July were blooming. These were the last of the blooms. The squirrels ate most of them.

The camelia bush in the front was covered with blooms.

A few poinsettia plants near the front door.

The Christmas cactus was already blooming.

A two park morning

On April 5, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

I found Pinky Nose again in early January. She was hanging out at the back boardwalk at Chesnut Park for weeks. She was not shy. I’m assuming people were feeding her.

The bald cypress trees at the end of the lake were still shedding their fall leaves. I pulled over and was on my way to get a shot of the sun coming through them when I saw the deer heading towards me so I backed off.

I was standing right off the trail and they walked right by me. They were so close so I took the above with my phone.

A quick video of them cruising by.

A pileated woodpecker was looking for bugs under the bark.

After my walk at Chesnut Park I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve to look for cedar waxwings. I had heard there were a few there the day before. There was only one there on this morning. They are usually in flocks so it was weird to see just one. He had been feeding on the mulberries and was taking a break.

A palm warbler with a mulberry bite.

I spotted a Wilson’s snipe, a winter visitor, deep in the reeds. He popped his head out for a few seconds and I caught the above.

This big one was taking a nap on the bank. It looked like he was grinning at me.

It was sporting a necklace from the marsh. I was pretty far back and these were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up. If I got any closer he would have taken a dive into the water. They are pretty shy here and usually jump in the water when someone is coming but I wouldn’t take any risks anyway.

A shot of him from across the pond. He had moved down closer to the water.

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.

Front and back in late October

On February 8, 2024January 27, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I have a ton of palm warblers in the backyard but they rarely come to the suet feeder. This one must have decided to be brave and get a bite in between the woodpeckers feeding on it.

Anytime I look out the window I can usually see a red bellied or downy woodpecker feeding on the suet.

Ugh! A squirrel has figured out the tasty snack. All last winter I didn’t see a single squirrel on the suet. This winter I saw one several times. I got a pole baffle and cover for the stand and haven’t seen one on it since.

A house finch stopped by for a drink.

One morning I saw a young indigo bunting through the bushes.

A few days later I saw two more on the ground feeding in front of our patio. They looked like non-breeding males.

Catbirds, eastern phoebes and pine warblers are all regulars in the winter. The phoebe doesn’t come to the feeders since he only eats bugs or flies. He sits on the white stick (which is the marker that separates the golf course grass from our grass) and hops on and off of it chasing flies.

Standing in the backyard one morning I saw this guy sticking out of our gutters and had to take a picture.

Scratching his face on the tree.

I was bringing in the garbage can and saw this family hanging around the entrance wall to our townhomes so I ran in and got my camera and walked over to them. They gave me a quick glance and then ignored me.

The Hunter’s moon from our driveway.

“Red skies at night…” From the front yard and the backyard.

A busy morning at the nest

On May 29, 2023May 19, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

It was the end of March and the late baby eagles in my neighborhood were still not flying yet.

I heard Mom screaming and realized that another juvenile (from the nest at the other end of the neighborhood) was cruising over the nest and trying to land. Mom chased off the intruder and landed back on the nest tower. The nest far over on the other end of the neighborhood was several weeks ahead of this nest. Those babies were already flying and this one came looking for an extra meal.

After the intruder left Mom sat there and screamed for a while. I guess she was calling for her mate. The mate flew in and they both sat there for a few minutes. They were on the other end of the tower and it’s was tough to see both of them together.

All of a sudden they started mating. I’ve read that they stress mate even while they still have babies.

After the eagles calmed down I started looking around and saw this woodpecker with a snack on the fence.

A great crested flycatcher and a palm warbler landed in the trees I was sitting under.

I heard some screaming and realized some monk parakeets had flown into the bottle brush trees next to the fence. They were eating the seed off the brushes.

Across the field a squirrel was eating what looked like a big mushroom.

Early February in the backyard

On March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The blooms in my hanging Christmas cactus started to disappear and I finally realized why. They are also eating my marigolds. Ugh. I know I created this problem myself with the haven for squirrels in the backyard. We have tons of them. We don’t have dogs and they love the bird bath and hang around for fallen bird seed so they also eat the flowers.

Usual visitors to the backyard in early February include palm warblers, pine warblers, chickadees, titmouse, woodpeckers and a yellow throated warbler.

This lone robin has been in the backyard for weeks now. Then one day we got some rain and he had friends show up. They were picking out bugs in the water soaked grass. The next day his friends were gone and he was still there.

I was sitting in the backyard with my camera when this short tailed hawk made a quick fly over. I only got this blurry shot before he flew over the trees but it was cool to see him while I was in the backyard.

Too early for fall migration

On November 12, 2022October 25, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It was mid-September and I headed out for a quick walk around Roosevelt Wetlands. I didn’t expect to find too much since fall migration was still just a trickle but anything is possible this time of year. The wetlands was packed with dragonflies.

A female red-winged blackbird isn’t very exciting but she posed so nicely for me that I had to take a shot.

The same with this female anhinga, sitting high up in a tree.

I was starting to see palm warblers. That’s a sure sign winter is coming.

I was surprised to see black bellied whistling ducks here. There was an adult with three juveniles. I wonder if they grew up here or just stopped over on their way somewhere else.

“Make room for me” said the great egret to the moorhens. They scooted out of his way.

It was a quiet morning and the only sign of fall was the single palm warlber. It was still a little early for migration though.

Backyard birds

On December 4, 2021November 29, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

A bluebird blending in at my neighbor’s bird bath.

This hawk keeps hanging around our yard. I know he can see my cockatiels through the window. I ran outside and chased him off the tree in front of the window but he’s not easily scared. He just flew one tree over to a pine tree. He stayed there for a while watching me take his picture.

As I was taking pictures of the hawk, this red bellied woodpecker landed right above him.

A palm warbler looking for bugs in my hanging plant.

A chickadee close to the window.

Pine warblers are regulars at the feeder.

I’m not sure what this is. Still trying to figure this out. I found it high up in my neighbor’s tree. I first thought a black throated green warbler with that black on his throat but a it wouldn’t have so much yellow on it’s chest. Any ideas?

Watching a squirrel taking a nap through the window.

All in early November.

All of the different colors of birds

On November 6, 2021October 19, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In early October I went to see my favorite red heads. You can always find several redheaded woodpeckers flying around the short trail by the nature center at Chinsegut Wildlife center.

I missed the summer nesting season but I did see several young ones that didn’t have their red heads in yet.

You can usually find a red bellied woodpecker around the suet at the nature center.

This year I’m seeing pine warblers all over the place.

A prairie wabler that would not look at me.

I’m thinking this is a palm warbler?

I found some very young bluebirds.

And, there’s always a lot of chickadees here.

Critters in my new backyard

On November 2, 2021November 1, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Behind our new townhome is a tree lined golf course. There’s also a small pond a few homes down. The first week we moved in I went for a quick walk early in the morning before work along the tree line. I’ve seen several limpkins in the pond so I’m hoping for limpkin babies next summer.

Right outside our home, I found an ovenbird deep in the bushes.

There’s always noisy mockingbirds anywhere in Florida.

Is it Thanksgiving yet? My second turkey sighting in the neighborhood. When we were doing some work on the home before we moved in, we could see several turkeys across the golf course. The week we moved in they were right down the street so I ran and got my camera.