Backyard critters in August

Posted on November 20, 2023 by dinajohnston

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.

The usual visitors in July

Posted on October 21, 2023 by dinajohnston

I looked out the window and saw a Carolina wren sitting on the outdoor chair in the backyard. Later I saw one singing on the hanging plant holder. I wondered if it was the same one.

The cardinal was not happy when the dove flew in and got a drink of water while he was taking a bath. He stopped and moved over the the rim to let the dove drink.

I got another look at the molting cardinal. What a scruffy looking bird.

The ruby throated hummingbird was feeding on the flowers in the backyard. I still had the hummer feeder out but it was good to see her feeding on the plants.

We occasionally have white ibis coming through the backyard. They are usually in groups and pick through the bugs but one day I saw one picking around near our pavers alone. I realized it was missing a foot. I cracked open the back door to take the first shot above and it came up to the door. I broke my hard fast rule of never feeding the wildlife other than the smaller birds and ran in and got a few raw green beans and some of the Nutriberry balls I feed my cockatiels. I threw them on the pavers and closed the door and the ibis ate all of it. I always keep an eye out for it when the many ibis come through the area. I have yet to see it again.

A great egret eating a lizard in front of the window.

I heard Harley (my youngest cockatiel) screaming his “There’s something scary in the backyard” scream and I ran over and saw the above red shoulder hawk taking a bath in the bird bath. I grabbed my camera and started snapping. He saw me and took off quickly. I’m surprised he didn’t knock over the bath.

Other critters in the backyard, taken through the window. We haven’t had a lot of deer come through lately but I did see the lone doe stop by.

Late June in the backyard

Posted on October 12, 2023 by dinajohnston

The female hummingbird was still coming to visit in late June.

It’s not often a smaller bird will come to the feeder when a woodpecker is on it. This chickadee was brave.

Blue jays are regular visitors.

This was the first time I have seen a cardinal molting. This female had lost all of the feathers on her head. She was looking scruffy.

I went outside to get shots of the above downy woodpeckers. At first I thought they were a couple but after watching them for a while I realized they were parent and young. The parent was teaching the juvenile how to dig for bugs in the trees.

I took this through the window. A juvenile red bellied woodpecker was just getting his red feathers in.

We also had a pileated woodpecker stop by.

I looked out the window and saw the above swallow tail kite circling behind our house. I grabbed my camera and ran out the back door thinking he would be gone but I managed to get a few far away shots before he got lost over the woods.

Some of the usual non-flying critters in the backyard.

Mid-April in the backyard.

Posted on June 22, 2023 by dinajohnston

I was looking out the back door and saw the above great egret in the yard. He saw me standing there and walked up close to the door. Someone nearby has been feeding him because he was looking for a handout. I took the first shot with my phone through the door and then went and got my camera. I slowly cracked open the door and he perked up, probably thinking I was coming out with a snack. I shot the above with my camera and then closed the door. He eventually left.

In mid-April I saw a Carolina wren in the backyard with 2 young ones. The 2 juveniles were bouncing around the yard, following Mom and still being fed by her. They must have just left the nest because they were bouncing and hopping around more than flying. I ran out with my camera as they passed my yard and headed into my neighbor’s yard.

Butterflies are regular visitors on the lantana plant.

It was getting dark and I was watering the plants and I heard the above great crested flycatcher right above me. I ran in and got my camera but it was so dark.

I hadn’t seen any bluebirds for a while and was thinking they were nesting in my neighbor’s nest box but then I saw a few in the backyard and one was getting nesting material in front of my window so some of them may still be working on a nest.

I’m glad someone is using my nest box.

We were still in an extreme drought and the pond down the street was almost dry. There was just a tiny bit of water in the middle. Some type of piping was exposed (it might have been thrown in there by a neighbor years ago). I was heading out for a bike ride and saw the spoonbill in the pond so I had to stop and take some pictures.

A juvenile little blue heron and a great blue heron were looking for snacks as well.

We are starting to get those summer sky colors right before dark but still no rain.

A 4 stop road trip morning

Posted on June 15, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was an early morning in April and I was looking for a new bird. A great-tailed grackle had been spotting in St. Pete somewhere in the North Shore Park area.

I found this guy but it was a boat-tailed grackle. The only real difference between the two are the color of the eyes. The boat-tailed has black eyes and the great-tailed has yellow eyes. Their call is also different.

There he was, right in the parking lot near the pool. Those bright yellow eyes gave him away. He was right in the area where people had been spotting him. I haven’t heard of one being in the Tampa Bay area before. They are found on the western part of the country so he was far off course.

Meanwhile, this Cooper’s hawk was there as well, looking at me like I was crazy.

I noticed the trees were blooming.

I’m not sure if squirrels can eat these big balls hanging from the palm tree but this one seem to be hiding in them.

I made a quick stop at nearby Crescent Lake Park to see if the white pelicans were still hanging around the lake. I only saw 2 of them on this visit. I don’t know if the other ones were somewhere else in the park or if they had already headed north for the summer.

Another quick stop on the way home and I found some black-necked stilts and yellowlegs. They were all hanging out along the ditches near the waste plant. It was still a little early for stilt babies.

My final stop of the morning (but really only a quick drive through) was of the peacock neighborhood. There’s a neighborhood in Clearwater that has tons of wild peacocks roaming the yards. I had recently heard there was an all white one there so I drove through looking for it. I found it but more on that later.

Just the usual birds

Posted on June 5, 2023 by dinajohnston

I headed up north to Chinsegut Wildlife Area, north of Tampa, in late March. They have a great deck on the back of the nature center with lots of bird feeders off the deck. I was able to catch a few red headed woodpeckers on the way to the deck. The woods here are full of them and I usually see them when I visit.

The first birds I saw high up in the trees were these pale yellow ones. As I zoomed in on them I realized they were goldfinches.

I sat really still for a while and they came down to the feeders. I get one or two at my feeder at home in the winter but this was the most I had seen at one time.

I was hoping to see some different birds than the ones I already get in my backyard. Spring migration was just starting but the ones here were all of the usual wintering birds. There were lots of pine warblers, chipping sparrows, bluebirds, chickadees, titmouse and house sparrows.

A fuzzy caterpillar on the wall next to my seat.

And, they have tons of squirrels being cute, just like back home.

It was a beautiful morning and nice to sit out on that back deck and watch all of the usual birds flying in and out. Another trip in late April is in the plan.

A busy morning at the nest

Posted on May 29, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was the end of March and the late baby eagles in my neighborhood were still not flying yet.

I heard Mom screaming and realized that another juvenile (from the nest at the other end of the neighborhood) was cruising over the nest and trying to land. Mom chased off the intruder and landed back on the nest tower. The nest far over on the other end of the neighborhood was several weeks ahead of this nest. Those babies were already flying and this one came looking for an extra meal.

After the intruder left Mom sat there and screamed for a while. I guess she was calling for her mate. The mate flew in and they both sat there for a few minutes. They were on the other end of the tower and it’s was tough to see both of them together.

All of a sudden they started mating. I’ve read that they stress mate even while they still have babies.

After the eagles calmed down I started looking around and saw this woodpecker with a snack on the fence.

A great crested flycatcher and a palm warbler landed in the trees I was sitting under.

I heard some screaming and realized some monk parakeets had flown into the bottle brush trees next to the fence. They were eating the seed off the brushes.

Across the field a squirrel was eating what looked like a big mushroom.

Not able to sit still.

Posted on May 20, 2023 by dinajohnston

There are some great benches here at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. Right in front of this huge milkweed bush. The bush was covered in monarch caterpillars in mid-March. I sat for a while waiting for butterflies to come by but there wasn’t many flying around this morning.

This squirrel came over and sat near me and started eating something. He was the only interesting thing there so I left and headed over to McGough Park.

I couldn’t find any birds in the area around the turtle ponds and the turtles were already snoozing so I didn’t stay too long here either. I figured at this point I was close to the beach so I decided on a quick stop at the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary.

The injured pelicans were doing their morning flaps or taking a bath.

I could barely make out the baby great egrets high up in the trees over the exhibits. They had long outgrown the tiny nests they were growing up in but you could still see their pin feathers when they flapped their wings so they were not quite ready to start flying yet.

NIght herons were still sitting on nests although there was a lot of baby ones (the last one in brown and white with orange eyes) all over the sanctuary.

This night heron was showing the way to the shade garden although it’s really just a lot of overgrown mangroves.

Busy morning at the eagle’s nest

Posted on April 24, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was almost the end of February and I was still struggling to see the babies. The parent was just dropping off food now and the babies were eating on their own. At this point they still had some gray fuzz on their heads.

Things were still quiet at the nest. The oldest was screaming for food in the mornings before Dad dropped it off. Mom snoozed on the top of the tower when she wasn’t screaming at the opsrey for flying too close.

There are a lot of loud annoying birds nearby as I sit and wait for the baby eagles to wake up. There are a ton of mockingbirds and blue jays. The blue jays were gathering sticks for a nest.

The oleander bushes had started to bloom.

When I first got to the eagle’s nest I saw this squirrel popping in and out of this hole in the utility pole. I’m sure this hole has been used by many critters to nest I. I have also seen red bellied woodpeckers in here.

I hear this screaming behind me and turn around and see this nanday parakeet looking in the hole. I think the squirrel was still down in there but I couldn’t tell for sure. The parakeet was trying to get in there but kept backing out.

Now the parakeet was on the wire and joined by his mate. I got up off my chair and turned around thinking I might spook them away but they didn’t move. They were looking at me like “Yes, we see you but we’re not leaving”.

They stayed for a while, preening and mating several times. I guess that’s why they really want to use that hole in the pole for a nest. I’ll have to check back later to see what ended up using it.

Rainbow birds in the bushes

Posted on April 22, 2023 by dinajohnston

Spring had long sprung at the beginning of March. I wanted to get out of the house before it got too hot so I took a road trip over to central Florida to visit Bok Tower Gardens. They have scooters that you can rent for a pretty low price to scoot around the trails and since my foot was still hurting I decided this was a good way to get outside.

At first I didn’t see many birds, only a black and white warbler and a northern parula.

Later in the morning I scooted over to the corner where the bird feeder was and sat very quiet waiting for the above. The painted buntings were here last year at this time so I was hoping to see them again. This time there were 2 males. They were skittish and anytime someone would walk by on the trail they would scatter to the bushes.

If I sat quietly for a while they would slowly come back to the feeder. It was early enough that there wasn’t too much foot traffic yet. The two couples stayed for a while.

This squirrel was posing too cute for me not to take a picture.

Dina's Wildlife Adventures

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