In mid-April I was at Chinsegut Wildlife area just north of Brooksville. They open at 8am and they sun was already up. Besides the great trails here they also have bird feeders behind the nature center so if I don’t see many birds on the trails I can take a break behind the center and see some usual birds.
I could still see the moon up high between the burnt branches. There was a recent prescribed burn in some of the areas.
One of the fun things about this wildlife area is that you can usually see lots of red-headed woodpeckers. They are rare in the Tampa Bay area (just an hour south) but here they are easy to find. I usually see them high up in the trees along the trails but this time several were close to the nature center and came to the feeders.
Eastern towhees are common here during migration and both a female (top shot) and a male (bottom shot) were hanging out near the feeders. It looks like they were eating fallen sunflower seeds.
Bluebirds were working on their nest in the nearby nest box.
The green lizard and common buckeye butterfly were fun finds.
Passionflowers were blooming along the trail.
A great crested flycatcher couple were hanging out together high up in the trees.
I was sitting on the bench behind the nature center and a bobwhite popped out from the bushes. He was pecking around in the grass below the feeders. He didn’t stay long and headed back into the bushes and disappeared. I don’t see these guys in the Tampa Bay area. Even though I didn’t see any new birds I did see a few that I don’t see near my home.
