The yard and neighborhood in late January

On April 21, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

There hadn’t been a lot of different birds coming to the feeder in the backyard in late January. The usual tufted titmouse were always there.

It had been drizzling all day when I looked out the window late in the afternoon. I saw tons of robins on the golf course. They were too far away to try and take pictures through the window so I grabbed my big umbrella and camera and went out the back door. Yes, I was that neighbor standing on the edge of the golf course taking pictures of birds in the rain.

The robins had the entire fairway to themselves and they were taking baths (even while it was raining) in the puddles that had formed.

Looking around I realized they were all over the fairway. They stayed all afternoon and were gone by dark.

I noticed the little soaked pine warbler in the backyard as I headed back in.

Squirrels being cute. I think these are both young ones born this past late fall. They were half the size of the adult Mom that was also hanging around.

We had a bunny in the backyard for 13 days. It came late in the afternoon or right before dark. We had some dirt spots in the back near the patio so Brett threw some rye seed out so it would be green through the winter and not get muddy if it rained. Once the seed sprouted this bunny showed up and ate through most of the rye grass. He was having a feast so Brett through some more seed out to replace what he ate. These were taken through the window. He was very skittish.

Taken through the window, this great egret was hunting around the bushes and came up with a lizard.

My Christmas cactus didn’t start blooming until late in January.

Sunset down the street at the utility field.

The turkeys were heading out on the field right before sunset.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

In the yard in early January

On April 12, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Even though it’s winter we still have butterflies coming to the hanging baskets in the backyard. We didn’t get any really cold days until later in the month.

I had seen a few wintering robins at the end of December and they came back a week later. One morning I saw one in my neighbor’s maple tree.

Later that afternoon I had 2 on the bird bath in the backyard.

The next day more showed up.

They were not shy and didn’t leave the trees when I went outside to shoot the 2 above.

Later a few more friends showed up.

A blue jay had a berry on the bath. Later I saw him with a clump on the ground. I’m not sure what was in that clump of dirt. Maybe a bug?

Getting a drink.

A common grackle looking at the bird bath.

I snuck outside to get the above when I saw the pileated woodpecker fly into the oak tree out back. She was too high up to get a good shot from the window and they usually don’t fly off right away when I’m in the back.

Things blooming in the front yard.

Red skies in the backyard.

Looking for ducks before my walk

On March 26, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

At the beginning of January I went out for a walk and stopped to look for ducks first. Not just any ducks but wintering ducks. Every winter the water reclamation facility pond in Tarpon Springs fills up with winter ducks. When I got out of the car I saw a robin under the tree and quickly snapped the above before walking over to the pond.

The top picture was about half the ducks. They were all redheads. Usually there’s a mix of redheads, lesser scaup and ring-necked ducks. In the past if you zoom in and look closely you can find a random rare duck but all I saw this morning were redheads. The males have the red heads and the females are all brown. They will leave by the end of February.

As I was watching the ducks a few more robins landed in front of me.

Zooming in on the redheads, many were taking early morning baths.

Since I was up at Tarpon Springs I did a quick walk on the causeway at Fred Howard Park. The tide was super low again and the sky was clear. It was 58 degrees. I wish it would stay this way through at least May but that won’t happen. Winters here are so short.

On my way home I stopped at Craig Park on the bayou. The boats for the Greek Epiphany celebration were already in the water, a few days before the event. I attended the Epiphany a few years earlier and you can read about the event and it’s meaning here.

Around the yard and neighborhood in December

On March 24, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

It was early December and I was seeing the eagle couple in my neighborhood pretty regularly.

My first robins showed up in mid-December. I was putting the garbage can out one morning and heard them in the trees in the yard so I ran inside and grabbed my camera. There were only 3 of them and they stayed high up in the trees. They didn’t stay long. This was the first of several visits from them this winter.

We had 2 turkeys cruising through the yard one morning.

This red bellied woodpecker was taking sunflower seeds from the feeder and sticking them in the palm tree outside the window. Was he storing them up for the winter? I wanted to tell him the squirrels would find them and eat them.

All of the usual winter birds were visiting including black and white warblers, yellow throated warblers and house finches. The downy woodpeckers are here all year round.

The hermit thrush is a special visitor. He only stopped by once this winter. There was one that came by for a month last winter. I wonder if it’s the same one. He eats bugs so he doesn’t go to the feeder but maybe he likes the bath.

By mid-December the eagles were spending a lot of time together on the utility tower that the nest is in.

A few days later I was running to the store and saw them flying near the nest so I stopped since I had my camera in the car. One of them came flying to the nest with a big stick. I’m sure the nest needed some work after the hurricanes from the fall.

I was about to leave when this juvenile little blue heron flew right in front of me. He must have been a late summer baby because he was still all white. They turn blue as they molt their feathers in the first year. I’m glad he caused me to pause because then the eagle came back with more nesting material.

It looked like he had a part of a bald cypress branch. He dropped it in the best spot athough I’m sure she’ll re-arrange it later.

My camelia bush was just starting to bloom.

Sunset across the street in mid-December.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Snacking in the swamp

On March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

We were expecting rain late in the afternoon so I went out for a quick bike ride in the neighborhood hoping to beat the rain. I got down to the end of the street where the woods start and noticed a few robins in the Brazilian pepper bushes. I quickly biked back home and got my camera hoping they would still be there when I got back.

They were still there and pigging out on the peppers. There were a lot of robins popping back and forth into the bushes. They didn’t seem to mind me standing there in front of the bush snapping pictures of them.

Then I realized there were cedar waxwings mixed in with the robins. The waxwings were a bit shy and stayed near the top of the bushes.

They all spent quite a bit of time gorging on the berries. Eventually it started to drizzle and it was time for me to head home. A few days later I rode past the bushes and all of the berries were gone.

The swamp near the berry bushes was full of water. The robins and waxwings would fly into the swamp when they were finished feeding and others would fly from the swamp to the bushes. Back and forth they went.

Winter visitors at Possum Branch Preserve

On April 24, 2021April 9, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

A few of the wintering ducks at Possum Branch Preserve, a lesser scaup and a horned grebe. They were both far out in the channel that runs along the preserve.

A moorhen posing on a tree branch in the pond. Seems a little dangerous standing up there with all of the hawks and eagles that could come by.

The robins were still hanging around in early February. They were picking off the few remaining mulberries left on the tree.

At least two sora rails were spending the winter in the pond.

This is the 2nd winter I’ve seen a Virginia rail here. He’s pretty skittish and rarely comes out from the reeds. After standing there for a while, he finally came out for a few minutes before running back into hiding. He’s much prettier than the sora rail.

An interesting morning at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

On March 16, 2021March 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

It’s always fun to see lots of robins in the trees. We only see them here briefly in the winter. The trees were full of them at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park in late December.

A few of the resident birds. The caracara in the bottom picture is a not a bird you see in this area. They are mostly in south central Florida so it’s interesting to see them here. This one had some type of injury. Possibly missing wing or vision.

The otters were being so cute this morning, although seeing those teeth makes you realize they can be pretty tough. They were feeding in the pond right up against the boardwalk. I love watching them eating while swimming on their backs. That’s a real talent.

I’m sure this happens more than we see out in the wild. The alligator was not fed this bird by the staff. I missed the early action but people saw him grabbing this bird. Based on the pink legs and white wings with a little black, thinking it’s a white ibis that got too close. The alligator was all the way across the pond in the first shot but was swimming fast away from the other alligators who were chasing him trying to steal his snack. He then heading into the far corner right in front of me. Sad but circle of life.

In the backyard this spring.

On July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Some of the sightings in our backyard this past spring. A crow gathering nesting material. The last time I saw our neighborhood kingfisher before he headed back north was in early April, Hooded mergansers were a common sight but they leave in early spring as well. A starling looking for bugs.

One morning as I was leaving for work I saw these robins in my neighbor’s driveway. Luckily I had my camera with the long lens in my car and snapped these out of the car window before leaving.

A creepy caterpiller on my car in the garage. I think this is a Sycamore Tussock moth. While it’s doesn’t sting, the fur could cause hives. I’ve read it’s best not to touch prickly caterpillers.

Things in the sky including this fireball that appeared when the sun started peaking out of the clouds after a storm right before sunset in the backyard.

Critters in the backyard

On May 1, 2017May 2, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

This lady kingfisher has been a regular visitor this past winter. She’s either on the dock or on the boat lift poles.

Mr Grumpy (great blue heron) sometimes naps on our dock.

An anhinga paid a visit recently.

My resident osprey has been spending some time on our neighbor’s sailboat mast. I took this right before the sun went down. He usually comes in right before dark and sleeps there.

One day we had a hawk on the same mast.

We have a spotted sandpiper that hangs out in the channel in the winter. I went out on the dock to take this picture. He let me get pretty close. It was during an extreme low tide so he was walking around in the muck.

A couple of weeks ago we had a pelican on our dock. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one here. I rarely see them come into the channels. They usually stay out closer to the bay.

One night right before the sun went down I went outside to get something and saw a flock of robins hanging out in our tree on the side of the house. They stayed long enough for me to run back in the house to get my camera and come back out and snap a few shots.

We get a lot of squirrels in our yard.

Pretty flower on the fence.

A few of the critters passing through our yard in the last few months.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Road trip to Central Florida

On April 17, 2017April 18, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

A lone female painted bunting was eating at the feeder near the pond.

A catbird on St. Frances’s head.

Your basic mockingbird shot.

There must have been a robin convention going on. They were everywhere at the park.

Really cool roots on the trail.

Pictures of the carillon tower at Bok Tower Gardens I took with my phone.

After I left Bok Tower Gardens I stopped by Lake Parker in Lakeland to get out and walk around for a few minutes before heading back to Tampa. It was a quiet afternoon with only a few critters near the boat ramp.

Next to Lake Parker is a huge soccer field. There was no one playing on the field that day but I’m sure on a weekend there are tons of kids running around. There were light posts along the fields and in between them with nests on them. All of them had osprey nesting on top except for one. One light post right at the entrance to the field had an owl nest. The sun was not in my favor that afternoon but I was able to get the above. There were two almost grown owlets on the nest with Mom but one was hiding on the other side of Mom. On nights and weekends these fields are packed with screaming kids playing ball. I guess the owls don’t mind.

A few things I saw on my central Florida trip to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales and Lake Parker in Lakeland in early March.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing