Cute critters and a rainbow

On February 16, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

In mid-October we were still getting some late day summer type storms. Right before sunset the storm left and I could see part of the rainbow from the back window so I grabbed my phone and went out the back to catch the above.

I had recently put out a suet block and the downy woodpeckers started showing up non-stop to feed.

A catbird getting a drink from the bird bath.

A house finch was waiting his turn for the feeder or the bath.

We got lots of pine warblers that come in during fall migration and hang around until early spring.

It’s funny to watch the squirrels actually playing in the backyard. They think the philodendron plants are their own playground.

My first time seeing a mole cricket and it was on the driveway.

An almost perfect snake skin that a black racer had molted on our trellis. If I collect these than maybe someday I can make snakeskin boots!?!?

Fred was still hanging around the window and had caught a wasp to eat. I almost thought he was showing it to me before he ate it.

The eagle couple in our neighborhood was adding nest material to the nest.

Dark skies from the backyard before sunset near the end of October.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Critters and storms in the yard in late August

On January 3, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Skies in the back and front yard in late August. We were getting rain almost every afternoon.

The juvenile bluebirds were still hanging around. We had at least 8 from 2 different families coming to the feeder and bath.

A lizard was molting.

Fred, my regular visitor to the back window, was also molting and I ran outside with my phone and was able to get a video of him trying to get his molt off his face. He let me get really close and I was tempted to try and pull it off his face but thought I would spook him so I let him do it himself.

More tiny frogs and a beautiful yellow moth.

When I see pileated woodpeckers fly into our oak trees I run outside with my camera. They are usually too high up for me to get shots through the window. This guy was sticking his tongue into a hole looking for bugs.

This is either a young juvenile blue jay or an adult that is molting.

Doves soaking in the bath.

A tiny rainbow at the end of our street.

More red after a storm.

We had some dead fish floating in the neighborhood ponds from all of the chemicals used on the golf course that run into the ponds after repeated heavy storms. The great blue heron wouldn’t even eat the dead fish.

Summer skies in the yard

On November 3, 2025October 24, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

The best thing about the quick late day summer showers are the rainbows that follow. I saw the sun peeking out after a storm and ran out the back door to catch the above.

The clouds were swirling over our driveway one afternoon in late June.

I was able to catch lightning through the upstairs bathroom window.

Sunset over the pond across the street.

The juvenile bluebirds (with the white spots on their wings) were growing up fast. There were two families that were feeding at the dried mealworm feeder most of the summer.

Bunnies were still coming by to eat the grass late in the day. One day I saw a one near the patio and then later I looked out the window for him and didn’t see him. At first I thought he left and then I saw movement right below the window. He ate through most of that spider plant.

The hummingbird was feeding on the shrimp plant.

I was keeping my eye on her as she left the shrimp plant and flew up near the top of the oak tree. I was able to run upstairs and catch her through the bedroom window. She sat up there several days in a row after feeding.

This young Carolina wren was taking a break on the patio (which has since been cleaned) and was eating bugs from the patio but I think he thought that leaf was something yummy to eat as well.

Someone in the neighborhood is feeding the ibis. This one saw me standing in the door and walked right up to it looking for a snack. I took the above with my phone.

I was out doing yardwork at the end of June and heard what I thought was a swallow tail kite calling. I ran inside and grabbed my camera and was back out right as this one was sailing overhead along the golf course. Luckily there wasn’t anyone on the course and I was standing on the tee getting shots. There were 3 of them cruising over the trees and circling back over the back yard.

I realized that one of them had a frog in his talons.

A juvenile landed in the pine tree in our backyard and was screaming at the parent. He wanted the parent to bring him the frog and the parent wanted him to come after the frog and learn to feed himself. The parent with the frog made several passes over the pine tree, yelling at the young one. The juvenile finally flew off and followed the parents over the trees and they were gone.

Storms moving through the front yard as the sun peeks out right before sunset.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Dark skies and a rainbow

On September 24, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I love stormy mornings in the summer. It makes my walk so much cooler although I still get soaked because the humidity is over 90% on mornings like these. When I got to the Dunedin causeway in mid-June I could see a faint rainbow.

The rainbow stayed through the beginning of my walk.

Heading over the bridge I could see rain far off towards Clearwater Beach. I didn’t hear any thunder and kept my eye on the skies for any sign of lightning. I walked back and forth near my car instead of walking all the way across the causeway.

The sun was trying to peek out as I made my way back over the bridge.

More rain on the other side. I was surrounded by storms but it was not raining over me and the sun was peeking out.

The sun was still out as I got back to my car.

I saw the reddish egret in the low tide but I had left my camera at home so I quickly snapped the above with my phone.

More storms coming in as I headed home.

Crazy skies in August

On November 20, 2024December 30, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights9 Comments

The skies light up during the summer here. Most afternoons we get storms and if they clear and the sun peaks out right before setting the sky will turn orange. We had a few rainbows as well. All taken from the front or back yard.

A multi colored walk

On November 18, 2024December 30, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

In mid-August we were getting mostly late afternoon storms but occasionally a storm would come through early in the morning. I was out for a walk at the Dunedin marina and saw the above rainbow over the marina.

I could see it storming over Clearwater beach.

Usually the rainbows don’t stick around long but the sun was out for a while and the storm was moving south to north instead of into the sun. I decided to head up to the causeway for a quick walk on the bridge before going home.

Less than 10 minutes later I had gotten to the causeway and the rainbow was still there. I pulled over before the first bridge and got out to take a quick picture thinking the sun was going in.

I could see the entire rainbow as I drove over the first bridge.

Getting out for my walk I noticed the sand was covered in these tiny new shells.

It’s not often I see an entire rainbow.

Walking back to my car the clouds were starting to move in.

Early summer around the yard

On October 14, 2024October 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

My neighbor’s plumeria was in full bloom in late May. It had grown really tall and leans over our wall.

A few visitors in the backyard included a house finch, a constant stream of young bluebirds and a young Carolina wren.

The blue jay didn’t mind the red bellied woodpecker getting a sip.

In early June we had an ibis stop by that was missing a foot. I had one visiting last summer as well and I’m thinking it might be the same one. His leg joint looks the same. He was digging around the back for bugs and came on the patio when he saw me through the glass door.

The full moon in late May (taken through the back window).

The pond across the street was steaming late one afternoon.

Summer sunset.

We had a faint rainbow after a storm came through right before dark.

My sunflowers were starting to bloom. The plant that was half eaten by the deer only grew a few feet high but had lots of tiny blooms. It looks like the packet of sunflower seeds I bought had 2 different kinds of sunflowers in it.

The deer only ate half of the leaves on the tall plant and the buds were just starting to bloom. I was afraid the deer were going to come back and eat all of the buds but they didn’t and this plant bloomed for weeks. More to come.

A rainbow and shorebirds on my walk

On October 7, 2024September 28, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was late July and the summer rains were here. It usually rained late in the day or in this case a quick early morning shower came through. I went out for a walk at the Dunedin causeway before 8am and it was sunny at my house but when I got to the causeway I could see rain out in the gulf. I noticed a faint rainbow and pulled over and snapped the above thinking it would be gone when I got to the other end.

Rain clouds were still moving by when I got to the end of the causeway.

That rainbow stayed through my entire walk. The clouds were moving farther north but the rainbow still stayed as I walked over the bridge and back.

There were only a few puffy clouds as I looked towards land. What a beautiful morning out (with the exception of the 95% humidity)!

I had parked on the north side of the causeway where there is no beach, only grass bed and rocks. I noticed a lot of shorebirds along the water so I pulled out my camera and started walking along the edge. The area was full of dowitchers.

A sanderling hanging out with a bunch of dowitchers.

A lone least sandpiper (in the middle) mixed in.

There were also the usual ruddy turnstones. This one was in his summer breeding feathers (brown and black on the right).

Backyard critters in August

On November 20, 2023April 11, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was early August and the hummingbirds were still coming to the backyard. There were at least two that I could see. They would buzz by each other on the way to the feeder. They were also both feeding on the shrimp plant hanging near the feeder. They would come to the plant early in the morning and then the feeder later in the day. The bottom picture is a young male. He was just getting a few red dots on his throat.

One morning I saw him fly up to the top of the oak tree. I ran upstairs and was surprised I could find him again up there. I could just barely see him sitting high up through the window.

A squirrel doing a sploot on the bird box and another one was eating what looked like an old pine cone.

A juvenile male cardinal was scratching around under the bird bath. Dad was close by and was feeding him. He was just starting to get that black mask around his eyes and beak like Dad.

I saw a lone doe across the fairway.

A little while later she was taking a break.

Since this is turkey week, I’m posting tons of turkey pictures. I was seeing them a lot in August. One morning they were on the golf tee out our back door.

I heard Harley, my cockatiel, screaming and looked outside and there was a hawk on the ground right in front of our door. He must have been hunting lizards. He saw me and took off.

We had an armadillo in the backyard one afternoon. The first shot I took with my camera through the window across the yard. A little later I saw him scratching around under the ferns near our door. I went out and took the 2nd one with my phone. He let me get pretty close, although I wouldn’t get tooooo close. I’ve read they don’t have great eyesight so he probably didn’t even see me.

I was taking the garbage out one morning and saw the above gulf fritillary caterpillar on the plant. Of course I went and grabbed my phone to take a picture.

The neighborhood eagles were back in late August. I stopped one morning and got a shot of one of them sitting on the nest tower. There was still some of the old nest left but they had their work cut out for them to get it ready for nesting season.

Late August brought some much needed rain although we are still in an extreme drought. We only had a few nights with summer skies. Both taken from the driveway.

Road trip to look for color

On November 17, 2022November 20, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn Atlanta, Vacation4 Comments

It was time for a road trip. We headed up to Atlanta for a long weekend to visit friends. I was also hoping to see some fall leaves but we may have just missed the peak season.

Along the way we passed miles of cotton fields that were ready to be picked. It almost looked like the ground was covered in snow as we whizzed by.

As we got closer to Atlanta I could see lots of color. There was still a lot of yellow, orange and red in the trees so we didn’t miss the season completely.

Passing by the iconic Olympic torch tower. This replica was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics that was held here. At the time you were able to climb the stairs and see all around Atlanta but it has since been closed. We were living here at the time and my sister and I spent many nights down at the Olympic park during the games.