Around the yard in early June

On November 2, 2026November 2, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

It was early June and the hummingbirds were coming regularly to the feeder.

A dragonfly on the hanging pot post. I don’t see orange ones often.

Squirrels being cute and annoying me constantly trying to get up on the feeder.

Another turtle trying to lay eggs in the backyard. Or this might be the same one who tried to lay eggs here last month. There’s a pond behind us but it’s 2 buildings down from our townhouse building and there is one across the fairway. Either way she has come a long way. She ended up not laying any eggs.

I took this with my phone through the kitchen window. A bunny was on the front sidewalk.

The house finch family was still coming to the feeder.

A cardinal looking pretty.

One morning I looked out the window and saw this. A red shoulder hawk was getting a drink from the bird bath. All of the little birds had disappeared. He didn’t stay long.

Things blooming in the yard included a tahitian gardenia, the fingernail plants and the sunflower plant (before the squirrel destroyed it).

I inherited the above bird house from a neighbor that recently moved and I hung it outside on the back wall. I haven’t seen any birds go in (not expecting to) but one morning I saw the frog sticking his head out. I guess it’s his house now.

We had several days of rain and one day I was outside cleaning up the front courtyard and noticed this frog on the front door. He was in between the glass door and the wood door (there is a small gap if you don’t shut the glass door hard). I propped open the door and later I came back out and he was gone so I closed the glass door tight.

Around the yard in late May

On October 28, 2026November 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Things blooming around the yard in late May include a shrimp plant, a sunflower trying to bloom in the front yard and my neighbor’s Siam tulip plant.

The leopard plant under the window blooms yellow and then turns into a seed pod that reminds me of those dandelion plants we used to blow.

Titmouse at the worm feeder.

A juvenile red bellied woodpecker was watching Mom get a worm from the feeder. This young one still hadn’t gotten his (or her) red on the back of the neck.

Blue jays can be annoying but they are pretty when they take a bath.

Black bellied whistling ducks were hanging around the newly formed rain puddle. I snuck out the back door to get these since they were across the fairway.

My neighbor got a new hummingbird feeder for Mother’s Day and a male ruby throated hummingbird was a constant visitor. I took this from my driveway.

A bunny stopping by the backyard for a bite to eat.

A moth taken through the window.

A male and female juvenile cardinal looking around the patio for bugs. They still have that scruffy look as their adult feathers grow in.

It was funny to watch them hop around under the patio chairs.

Squirrels being cute in the backyard. Although one keeps trying to climb up the bird feeder pole. Luckily that baffle stops him.

The sun shining on a storm moving out of the neighborhood.

Around the yard in early May

On October 14, 2026November 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The shell ginger plants in the front yard were blooming in early May. I saw the hummingbirds feeding on them several times but was not able to get a picture from the window and if I went outside they would fly away.

House finches have become regular daily visitors to the backyard.

A young cardinal looking for bugs.

We still had a lot of northern parulas visiting the yard but they disappeared for the summer. I took the one in the window with my phone but when I went out to get a shot with my camera he took off.

Stubby, the tufted titmouse that is missing a foot, has become a regular visitor to the backyard. He looks for bugs on the ground, eats from both the seed feeder and the mealworm feeder and gets a drink from the bath. It’s hard to get a shot of him because he doesn’t sit still long. He grabs a worm and he’s gone. I can now spot him by the way he flutters his wings when he’s hanging on with one foot.

A pileated woodpecker high up in our oak tree. I was outside with my camera when I spotted him. He also doesn’t hang around very long.

The female ruby throated hummingbird sitting high up in the oak tree. She flies up to a few different spots after getting a sip at the feeder.

This guy was in the front yard with a snack.

Little critters included an underwing moth (I took with my phone through the window), an orchard orbweaver spider (We have a lot of these in the yard. They are harmless and eat bugs including mosquitos.) and a striped horse fly that I took outside and through the window (only the females bite and they are painful).

One morning a turtle was digging a nest in our backyard, right under our window. I took this through the window because I didn’t want to spook her. She dug a hole but then left without laying any eggs. She eventually made her way back to the pond on the other side of the fairway.

Summer skies from the backyard.

Blooms and birds in the yard

On August 26, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was late March and this was the first time the philodendrons have bloomed in the backyard in the almost 5 years we have lived here.

So many other plants were also blooming.

Little critters in the yard. We only had a few of those tussock moth caterpillars this year. A few years back the backyard was covered in them and I was hosing off our patio every day. Those tiny things pack a big sting or rash.

Great crested flycatchers were showing up. They nest in the area during the summer months.

I found a yellow-rumped warbler in his breeding colors. We usually only see them in their drab cream during the winter months.

A titmouse and a catbird were eating caterpillars.

A young pine warbler.

At the end of March a ruby throated hummingbird showed up. I had just put out the feeders a few days before and didn’t expect to see one so fast.

A brown thrasher was singing for his mate.

The black bellied whistling ducks were still hanging out across the street in large numbers.

The sky late in the day after some storms passed through.

Zooming in on the full moon on April Fool’s Day.

Where wild Moms raise their kids

On May 9, 2026June 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

Moms raising their kids on the ground. A brown thrasher feeding her almost grown baby and starlings babies begging for that worm.

A tiny Mom, the ruby throated hummingbird, raising her baby in a tiny nest the size of a golf ball high up in a tree.

Moms raising babies up in trees include the pileated woodpecker and great horned owls.

These Moms raise their babies in rookeries, often high in trees or bushes over ponds with alligators to keep the babies safe from snakes and raccoons. These are roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, great egrets and little blue herons.

Raising babies near water and often with many kids to keep up with include mute swans, limpkins, wood ducks and geese.

Skimmers and oystercatchers raise their babies on the beach.

This is one tough Mom. Since Pinellas county is so overpopulated most eagles nest in utility towers or cell towers. There are only a few out of 40+ couples that are in trees. This single parent Mom, in my neighborhood, lost her mate this winter when her babies were just starting to grow up. She raised these babies alone, getting food for them non-stop all day. She did get a boyfriend later on to keep her company. I’ll have more on this eagle soap opera later.

Big critters raising their babies in the woods.

Around the yard in early July

On November 8, 2025October 28, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

The little hummy was still visiting the backyard in early July.

The bunny too. It’s always fun to catch him with a mouthful.

I looked out the back and saw 2 black bellied whistling ducks walking around. I’ve seen them many times on the other side of the lake across the street but this was the first time seeing them in the backyard.

They started taking a bath in the small newly formed pond that appears after a heavy storm.

One afternoon I looked out the back and saw a turkey lurking around near the bird feeder and bath. I shot this through the window. Later I didn’t see her and walked outside with my camera.

Looking around I saw her standing in between 2 trees in back of my neighbor’s. I sat down on my patio chair and watched her for a few minutes.

She plopped down and fell asleep while I was sitting there. After a while I quietly got up and went back instead. She was gone a little later after her quick nap.

A brown thrasher showed up while I was watching the turkey sleep.

Sunsets in July from the pond across the street. Note the alligator in the middle of the pond in the first shot. He’s a small one and I don’t see him often.

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.

The backyard in late june

On October 18, 2025September 20, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

The bluebird families were continuing to come to the mealworm feeder in the backyard throughout the summer.

I saw a pileated woodpecker in the oak tree in the back and ran out with my camera. I realized there were two of them and they were pretty high up in the tree. Dad (with the red stripe under his beak) quickly fed the juvenile and then went scooting up the tree with the young one screaming behind him.

Other birds at the mealworm feeder included a Carolina wren family and the thrasher that’s been hanging out here for a month.

We’ve had several bunnies stopping by and it’s fun to see 2 at the same time. One was much bigger than the other so I’m thinking the little one is an offspring of the bigger one.

A ruby throated hummingbird feeding on the shrimp plants.

The young squirrels spent so much time playing.

A juvenile Carolina wren was spreading his wings out in sun on our patio chair.

Watching the moon going down in the early morning from the driveway.

Summer skies in late June at the pond across the street.

Baby critter season was in full swing.

On September 6, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I made it back to the ruby throated hummingbird nest at Chesnut Park just in time to catch Mom feeding the little babies in early May. Zooming in with my 600mm lens I could see 2 tiny beaks peeking out over the top of the nest. Mom was feeding the one on the left in the 2nd shot.

This is an uncropped shot with my camera. The nest is across the river and up in a tree. I’m not sure who the first person was that found this nest. Talk about a needle in a haystack. I guess the hummingbird buzzed by them on the trail and they followed it with their eyes to the other side and saw it land.

I didn’t stay long at the nest. Walking along the boardwalk I spotted the usual birds, a limpkin and a male anhinga drying off his wings.

There’s always a lot of baby moorhens in the spring.

I was able to find the green frogs again since they were spending time near the small dock. An alligator was close by the frogs.

I ran into some friends on the back boardwalk and we were talking about how the 2nd raccoon family had moved from their original tree. I had not seen them yet and thought I would miss them. As we were looking around for the owl we saw this baby raccoon stick his head out of a hole. I took the above with my phone.

The Mom had moved her 3 babies to a tree farther down the boardwalk. We only got a look at the one baby but could hear some noises coming from the tree. I heard a few weeks later the family was seen moving around the area, the babies all grown up.

A doe was watching us take pictures of the raccoon.

Looking up at the trees I could see the sun was up high and it was time to go home.

When I got back to my car the above were feeding right in front of the parking area.

Around the yard in late April

On September 1, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Everything was blooming in the front courtyard in late April.

My neighbor’s plumeria was peeking over the wall.

The lady ruby throated hummingbirds were coming several times a day.

The titmouse were checking out the unused bird house but they didn’t build a nest.

We had several young squirrels hanging around the backyard and they think our philodendron plants in between the two big oak trees are their playground. One morning I was sitting on the patio with my camera hoping to catch the hummingbird and this squirrel had the best time playing in the plants.

Taking a break from playing to eat a snack.

This blue jay is not shy and flew right over and sat on my chair and watched me reading for a while.

By late April the suet feeder was down and I added a small open feeder on that hook. I filled it with mixed seed and dried mealworms, hoping to attract the bluebirds back. In the beginning all I saw were the usual birds including woodpeckers and titmouse.