So many young ones in the spring.

On July 27, 2024September 1, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I found juvenile northern parulas on the boardwalk at Chesnut Park at the end of April. These two were awkwardly bouncing around in the bushes and Mom was nearby trying to get them to follow her. It looked like she was trying to teach them to feed themselves.

I also found several female common yellowthroats.

More females. These were blackpoll warblers.

A yellow throated warbler was feeding in the moss.

More juveniles. These are either yellow rumped warblers or yellow throated warblers. I never realized how many warblers nested here. There were lots of young ones learning to fly and eat.

This guy was just too cute to pass up.

A tufted titmouse has a yummy caterpillar.

Another female, the redstart was also along the boardwalk.

Black and white warblers are common here.

A pileated woodpecker landed close by and pecked a few times before leaving.

I only saw one deer this morning.

The cypress trees look like they are dying because they are covered in moss.

The yard in March

On June 17, 2024July 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

My neighbor’s hibiscus bushes were in full bloom in late May. The first bush is my favorite. The flower starts out pink and turns yellow by the end of the day.

Regular visitors to the bird bath during March were Northern parulas, a hermit thrush and many black and white wablers. The hermit thrush usually came at the end of the day and took a quick bath and left.

This tufted titmouse had a white moth and I thought he was going into the bird house but he flew off with it.

A Carolina wren couple spent an afternoon building a nest in the palm tree outside our window but ended up leaving it. I have read they may build several nests before using one. They must have used one nearby because they have since come by with their little juveniles.

One sits on our patio chair. I’d like to think he was looking at us in the window but I think he’s eyeing the patio for bugs.

The red shoulder hawk was sitting on the bird feeder stand one morning.

So many fun caterpillars were on our patio wall. The first is a moth, either a gypsy or tiger? The second, a tussock moth, is not so fun. We had a lot of these in our backyard. They can sting or give you a little rash if you aren’t careful. The last is a wooly gray moth which is a drab brown moth from such a cool caterpillar.

The almost full moon from the living room window.

Glowing in the backyard.

Birds on a mountain

On June 11, 2018June 12, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Chickadees were the most common bird in my sister’s backyard. There were several on the feeders the weekend I was visiting along with a few cardinals.

I saw one brown thrasher. I was sitting on the back porch and saw him land in the tree right in front of me.

Many other birds passed through while I was there. Brown headed cowbird (I don’t see these near my home in Tampa), carolina wrens, towhees and titmouse. I think the titmouse was working on a nest.

I don’t know what this. Might be a juvenile house sparrow.

I think these are all chipping sparrows. They were all over the yard.

My sister Debbie lives north of Birmingham on a small mountain in Odenville. It’s quiet there and they have woods that back up to their yard. Her and her husband have put in a lot of work making the backyard into a mini botanical gardens with beautiful bushes, flowers and trees. They have 2 fish ponds and several bird feeders which attracts a lot of birds. We spent the afternoon sitting outside chatting while I took pictures of the birds passing through. I was glad I brought my 300mm lens along so I could just sit there and take the pictures.

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

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.