Around the yard in late April

On September 16, 2026October 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

My neighbor’s pots blooming along the sidewalk in late April. I kept admiring them as I passed them during my walks.

Videos of ibis taken through the window. They often come by and poke around in the dirt for bugs. If they see me in the window they come up to the window or door hoping for a handout. Someone close by is feeding them.

A lizard looks at me through the window. This isn’t Fred, the lizard that spent last summer sleeping in front of the window. He had a weird humped ridge on his back.

A bunny was eating right under the bird feeder. The grass must taste good in that spot.

The young Carolina wrens still had their fuzz on the top of their heads.

The parents were always close by. One afternoon I was outside with my camera and caught the parent on the roof with a snack.

A swallow tailed kite cruises by overhead. I saw them regularly during the spring. They leave in late July to head back to south America for the winter.

A chickadee hanging around.

Rainbows from the backyard.

Sunsets from across the street are best after a storm.

The flower moon on May 1st.

Flying away from a loud bang

On September 9, 2026October 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In mid-April I was still hoping for a decent spring migration. The palm warblers were still hanging around in big numbers. They spend the winter here. This guy was already getting into his pretty breeding feathers.

Rabbits were along the trail at Possum Branch Preserve.

Turtles were also along the trail.

I had come to the preserve looking for the cedar waxwings who had been hanging around for a few weeks. They weren’t on the mulberry tree this morning but I found them on the other side of the preserve, close to a busy street.

There were tons of them in the trees on the back side of the preserve and there were several other photographers there. We were quietly waiting to see if they would start feeding on the seeds of the trees they were in.

All of a sudden we heard a loud bang from the construction on the road behind the preserve and the birds took off. The construction has been going on for years and recently they have been very loud. I’m surprised any birds were in the preserve. The waxwings took off across the preserve and far over the trees. After about 30 minutes they still hadn’t come back so I headed home.

Fun things at Sand Key Park

On September 2, 2026October 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I was out at Sand Key Park in April right as the sun was coming up over the trees. I was hoping spring migration was getting better and I’d see a few more birds than I saw on my last trip here a few weeks earlier.

A nice surprise was seeing a black throated green warbler in the mangroves. I hadn’t seen one since 2017.

A few usual migraters were there including the blackpoll warbler and the American redstart. But, it was still a slow morning with only the few birds above. This year was a really slow migration so far.

Of course there are always tons of palm warblers and they always pose nicely.

A flock of brown pelicans fly high up in the beautiful sky.

A typical Florida shot, a great blue heron posing on a pine tree.

A Cooper’s hawk had a nest nearby with babies but it was well hidden so all I got was the Dad hanging out.

Blooming along the sandy trail included beach sunflowers, bitter gourd (or bitter melon) and morning glory.

I saw lots of rabbits this morning.

“Run bunny run!” I yelled as one took off into the bushes.

Birds at the beach

On August 10, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I was out at Sand Key Park in mid-April hoping to see some migrating birds. It was still a little early for peak spring migration and so far it was mostly a bust. Only a few birds dropping by, not a big fall out so far.

The beach sunflowers were blooming along the trails.

Many of the usual winter-into-spring birds were there including a white eyed vireo, a northern parula and a blue-gray gnatcatcher.

The only migrating bird I saw was a quick look at a prairie warbler.

Rabbits were everywhere.

An osprey eating in the middle of the pine trees.

Zooming in on his yummy fish.

A juvenile osprey was watching from a nearby tree. Probably the offspring of the one above, hoping for a snack but he’s old enough to be getting his own food. The young ones have white spots on the end of the their feathers and orange eyes.

An eastern kingbird was sitting high on a snag.

Looking at Clearwater Beach across the water. That view has changed over the years with so many high rise hotels.

While it’s quiet early in the morning, it will be packed by lunchtime.

It was still early for spring migration so there was still hope for a big fall out.

A hot quiet walk at Roosevelt Wetlands

On September 3, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

In early May I made my last trip out to the Roosevelt Wetlands for the summer. There is no shade here and not many critters during the dead of summer. I was standing near the parking area and could see across the lake to the waste plant mountain. All of a sudden tons of birds took off across the open mound. I’m not sure what scared them, mostly gulls and terns. There’s a lot of hawks in the area and I think most of the eagles are gone for the summer.

Cattails along the trail.

After staring into the reeds for a while I saw a bittern’s head pop up. He stayed hidden after he saw me.

Little critters along the trail.

A bunny hops across the trail, trying to hide fast before I pass him.

Color along the trail in the form of tickseed.

I saw a purple gallinule heading into the reeds and noticed a baby was right behind her. I was able to get a quick shot before the baby disappeared.

A female grackle posing. When I cropped this up I noticed the ladybug on the bottom right.

Standing near the waste plant, looking across the lake to the parking area. It’s a long walk back when it gets hot and the wind blows from the waste plant area.

A little blue heron flies by.

The northern harriers and winter ducks have all gone north for the summer. There was no sign of baby black necked stilts which is the highlight of late spring. Critter traffic comes to a halt through August so I took a long break from visiting.

Art along my morning walk

On August 25, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

In mid-May I was out on the Safety Harbor waterfront for my weekly walk here. When it’s too hot to be walking around in the woods with my camera, I walk close to the water. I was hoping to get a breeze but there wasn’t a ripple on the water this morning.

Looking across the bay at Tampa I could see someone paddleboarding. This was a great morning for paddleboarding since the water was so smooth.

A bunny was feeding before the mangrove boardwalk.

Since there was no breeze along the waterfront I decided to walk through the town area and noticed some of the artwork at the library.

Plumeria (also known as frangipani) was blooming all over Safety Harbor.

Murals along my walk.

The most colorful corner goes to the Safety Harbor Art & Music center.

Little fuzzy quackers in the pond

On August 18, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

This spring has been a banner Cape May warbler year. I was at Possum Branch Preserve at the end of April which doesn’t get a lot of migrating birds but this morning there were several.

A black throated blue was also there, feeding in the mulberry tree.

Smaller flying critters along the path around the pond.

A purple gallinule was in the middle of the pond, standing on the spatterdock.

I think this bunny noticed me. He didn’t run though.

An osprey flies by with breakfast.

It was fun to see a big mallard family on the edge of the pond.

I plopped down on the grass for a while and watched them feed. Mom seemed proud of her babies.

Momma duck had better keep an eye out for this guy at the other end of the pond.

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.

A new owl family

On July 7, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was thinking I had missed the baby owl season when I went for a walk at Chesnut Park in early April. There was a 2nd barred owl family and my timing was pretty good. Both babies were right on the boardwalk.

The oldest baby was so cute, looking around at everything with such curiosity.

Mom was nearby watching both babies.

The younger baby was just a little bit fuzzier than it’s older sibling and was sitting lower in another tree. I waited a short while to see if Mom would get some food and feed them but they all stayed in their spots so I headed down the boardwalk to see what else I could find.

A rabbit was chomping on the grass out in the field.

The lake looked good enough to jump in but I knew it was filled with alligators. Yes, people ski on this lake but they say the alligators stay close to the edges in the quiet spots. I wouldn’t risk it.

A few fly overs included a swallow tail kite and a great egret.

This limpkin had a yummy snack. He had pulled the meat out of an apple snail and was gulping it down in pieces.

Before leaving I stopped by the owl area again and the babies had moved farther back into the woods. I saw Mom sitting on a branch right up against the trail. Then I noticed a squirrel was on the same branch farther down and was climbing up near the owl. They were so close I took the above with my phone.

A short video of the squirrel getting closer to the owl. I couldn’t decide if the squirrel was stupid, brave or crazy. He would run up to the owl and then run down again and did this several times. Finally the squirrel jumped off the branch and ran under the boardwalk. Mom owl just sat there. She must have already eaten.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Early August in the backyard

On December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

At the end of July we were getting rain almost every day. We had several little puddles appear in the backyard and one morning I was able to catch the white ibis getting some bugs in the water. It was fun to watch them sloshing around in the ground. We must have some good bugs in the backyard because they were having a feast.

The rabbit made another appearance and I caught him eating the ivy again. He saw me through the window but kept eating for a while.

Cardinals will molt and lose a lot of their feathers and they look scraggly when it happens. This guy had lost all of the feathers around his neck and the back of his head. He was easy to spot for several days.

We had a lot of Carolina wrens this summer. There were several juveniles that stopped by for a bath. They liked resting on some storm debris we hadn’t picked up yet.

We still had ruby throated hummingbirds at the feeder in early August. It was mostly females but I did have a male show up a few times (with the bright red throat).

Another lacewing on the back door.

A young squirrel getting a snack in front of the back door.

A coyote down the street? What? I knew they were here and I have neighbors that have seen them at night but I had not seen one in the 3 years we have lived here (I did have one on the back patio last year in the middle of the night that I saw on the backdoor camera). I was on my way to the grocery store one morning and saw this guy laying along the sidewalk near the utility field. I luckily had my camera in the car and pulled over and took the above. He just sat there and looked at me. I did talk to a lady walking her small dog that way and told her to watch for it. When I came back from the store I saw him heading into the woods.