Critters out the back door

On October 30, 2021October 19, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals5 Comments

This red shoulder hawk was stalking my cockatiels through the window. I heard Harley starting to scream and ran over and looked out the window and saw this. He was sitting in a low branch right up against the house. I ran outside and walked right up to him. After picking up a big branch and shaking it at him, he finally flew off. He was not intimidated by me at all. I don’t think he realized he couldn’t get my birds that were inside the house. He came back again the next day and I went back out and shook the big branch at him again and I haven’t seen him since.

I think this squirrel mistook the hanging plant for a bird feeder. He’s looking at me like “Lady, where’s the food?”

I saw the deer from the kitchen and grabbed my camera and ran out to the back porch. The deer were across the fairway and glanced at me for a second before continueing to eat. This was late in the afternoon. They stayed out there until right before dark and then headed off into the woods down the street. It’s a little strange for me to see deer grazing right out my back door.

When I was out taking pictures of the deer, I shot the above of the ibis on the tee. There’s always a ton of ibis on the golf course.

Until next winter

On July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

High up in a tree, a young red shoulder hawk has the best view.

An osprey in a tree right over the trail was trying to eat his fish in peace but there was a steady stream of people walking by and he stopped to yell at each one.

Wood storks cruise by as I headed down the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in early May.

A typical Florida shot of a great blue heron.

Herons were everywhere and constantly cruising by. The one in the second shot flew way to close. I almost cut him off.

Dragonflies were everywhere as it was getting warmer.

Another typical Florida shot.

This plant was growing all across the marsh. I think this is water hemlock.

Moss covered oak trees lead the way back to the car. This was my last trip to Circle B until the weather cools off. It’s way to hot to be out here without a breeze. Both of the main trails are closed for the summer due to the alligators nesting on the trails so I’ll wait until the fall when the winter birds start to arrive again.

Walking through the fog.

On May 20, 2021May 6, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals6 Comments

Some of the critters along the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in late March including that cute little mouse in the bottom pictures. The alligators were out everywhere and making their loud mating bellow. Even if you couldn’t see them you could hear them bellowing all over the marsh.

It was a quiet morning for flying critters.

The trails were covered in fog when I got to the preserve early in the morning. There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the trails and it was a nice quiet morning. I like being here in the fog for a change of season since it makes it seem like winter even if it was mild and muggy.

The bottom two pictures are panos with my phone.

A new preserve close by

On March 30, 2021March 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I had only recently heard about Lake Dan Preserve through a hiking group. It’s only 30 minutes north so I decided to check it out in early February. It was a colder morning but the sun was warming up. The parking lot was small and hawk was sitting in a tree right over my car. There wasn’t a lot of birds when I first got there. Only a few yellow-rumped warblers. Probably because that hawk was sitting there out in the open. I hit the trail and walked across the bridge over the lake.

Out on the edge of the lake I could see deer getting a drink.

As I got farther down the trail, I came across a deer that was standing right in front of me. She stared at me for a few seconds before taking off across the field. She did stop and look back for a few seconds before heading into the woods. There were a lot of deer up here roaming around. All females that I saw this morning.

The only thing I didn’t like about the trail here was that most of it was soft sand which didn’t help my hip. Even walking on the edge didn’t help. I could feel my hip starting to hurt. I really need hard dirt or paved trails for now to keep my hip from going back out again so I didn’t walk as much as I would have liked to.

I found this interesting swamp pond about half way on my walk on a side trail. It was very quiet and I could barely make out deer getting water on the far end. I’m sure lots of critters use this instead of the big lake close by. It was kind of cool to be out here in the quiet and the bald cypress trees in the middle made it feel like winter. It’s amazing what you can find a half hour out of Tampa. First shot is out of the camera, the second I added a filter to make it look more like winter. I wasn’t sure which one I liked better.

Seeing the big boys

On September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I stopped by Chesnut Park on the way home from work in late July just after it had stopped raining. I was hoping to see baby deer. It’s rare to see them on a Saturday morning when the park is busy but they usually come out from hiding and play in the rain during the week. I didn’t see any babies on this trip.

A very young buck with some pine straw hanging out of his mouth.

I did get to see 2 bucks with bigger antlers which is a rare thing to see at the park. A park ranger once told me the park is mostly full of does and the bucks come down from Brooker Creek Preserve in the spring and summer to mate but don’t hang around Chesnut Park long. These 2 were hanging out on the baseball field by themselves. When I walked up to the edge of the field they stopped and glanced at me for a few seconds then ignored me. This guy was trying to be cool but little did he know that he had some grass stuck between his ear and antler.

I saw this red shoulder hawk on the ground with a lizard. He was still soaked from the rain. He took off after he saw me.

My favorite park in early November.

On January 7, 2019January 8, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Red shoulder hawks were all over the park.

A kingfisher being still, a rare thing to get an up close shot of one not moving.

Little critters and plants along the trail.

A beautiful morning at Circle B Bar Reserve.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

All the usual wildlife at Chesnut Park

On January 5, 2019December 20, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I saw a hawk sitting on the pole holding up the volleyball net. A few minutes later it started to rain. I ducked under cover but he just sat there through the quick shower.

All of the usual birds were at Chesnut Park in early November, including the female common yellowthroat warbler.

Two different female American redstarts came out of hiding for a few seconds.

I think this is a female painted bunting, which is fairly rare to see at this park.

Other critters at the park including that alligator in the top picture with a huge fish hanging out of his mouth.

Critters in the rain

On September 22, 2018September 4, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

I left work while it was still raining in early August hoping Chesnut Park would be empty of people due to the weather. That’s when the baby deer come out from hiding in the woods. Early on Saturday mornings when I’m usually there, the park is filled with joggers, walkers and dogs so the deer stay deep in the woods. It was still drizzling when I first got there. I quickly saw 2 hawks that were soaked.

I spotted a fawn staying close to the family.

Not sure if this was Dad or a big brother. It’s rare to see older males at the park. They usually stay farther north and come down to the park during mating season.

This little one had a sibling. Even though the rain had stopped, I stayed in the car to take these. I didn’t want to spook them. They continued to graze and I eventually headed home.

A baby hawk

On July 14, 2018June 21, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

I found this immature red-shouldered hawk on top of a picnic shelter at Chesnut Park. The park is heavily populated with hawks, both red-shouldered and Cooper’s. He was really focused on something.

Close by, I heard something peeping high up in tree and saw this fuzzball sticking his head up. A baby hawk. A tiny one.

The parent was one tree over, keeping an eye on the baby. I sat on ground for a while hoping the other parent would show up with something yummy to feed the baby but after a half hour I was hungry so I left to go home for lunch. I’m sure by now the park is full of young hawks flying around.

Lots of little birds in late March

On May 5, 2018April 9, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

This little titmouse seemed to be showing me his snack.

So many little birds at Lettuce Lake Park in late March including that little spotted Hermit thrush in the last 2 pictures (or so I was told by the bird experts at the park that morning). This was a first sighting of a hermit for me.