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.

Life on the dock.

On October 17, 2026November 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I was back out on the dock at Chesnut Park in mid-May looking for the baby purple gallinules. At first I just saw the adults above. Both parents were running around the big spadderdock leaves looking for food.

I finally got a quick glance of the little black fuzzballs but they were far away and kept hiding under the big leaves.

A juvenile little blue heron was also creeping around in the muck looking for food.

A male wood duck flies in.

There are lots of turtle hanging around under the dock.

Becoming friends.

Blooming along the boardwalk.

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.

Flying away from a loud bang

On September 9, 2026October 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In mid-April I was still hoping for a decent spring migration. The palm warblers were still hanging around in big numbers. They spend the winter here. This guy was already getting into his pretty breeding feathers.

Rabbits were along the trail at Possum Branch Preserve.

Turtles were also along the trail.

I had come to the preserve looking for the cedar waxwings who had been hanging around for a few weeks. They weren’t on the mulberry tree this morning but I found them on the other side of the preserve, close to a busy street.

There were tons of them in the trees on the back side of the preserve and there were several other photographers there. We were quietly waiting to see if they would start feeding on the seeds of the trees they were in.

All of a sudden we heard a loud bang from the construction on the road behind the preserve and the birds took off. The construction has been going on for years and recently they have been very loud. I’m surprised any birds were in the preserve. The waxwings took off across the preserve and far over the trees. After about 30 minutes they still hadn’t come back so I headed home.

A small park with a big heart.

On August 31, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Beautiful canopy at Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater. I stopped in for a quick walk in April. This is a great park packed in a small space near very busy streets in Clearwater. If I’m going for a long walk I usually don’t come here but I had heard they had feeders up and painted buntings were sighted so I had to stop in.

This park also sits next to the neighborhoods where the wild peacocks roam so there are usually some hanging around the park.

A tiny bit of purple on brown on the trail.

Permanently injured birds live here and the volunteers here work with rescue birds as well. Both bald eagles were outside this morning. I think one is missing an eye and one is missing a wing.

The hawk was looking right at me and I could see his eye missing.

A screech owl popped his head out.

They have a cute little turtle pond.

A few bird feeders were behind the nature center. I sat on a bench for a while and only saw the one female painted bunting. No multi-colored males this morning.

A peacock was feeding along the road as I was leaving the park.

Close up with manatees

On July 25, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals3 Comments

The bushes were in full bloom during my visit to Zoo Tampa at the end of March.

Unfortunately these guys were all over the railings. These are tussock moth caterpillars and they can give you a nasty sting or rash if you brush up against them. I’m assuming the zoo doesn’t want to spray chemicals all over with animals nearby but maybe they could hose down the railings in the morning? You had to watch were you leaned. They are only around for a week or two.

Fun birds in the aviary.

The flamingos were very active. I couldn’t tell if they were flirting or fighting.

They were honking pretty loud.

The baby colobus monkey was playing.

The manatees were eating right under me. There was a young one on the left.

The duck was being lazy while eating, sitting on the back of the manatee.

Here was the main reason I came this morning. The underwater viewing building had just been remodeled and reopened up after being closed for several months. I got to the zoo when it opened and headed straight for the building because I knew later in the day it would be packed. I was able to see them eating right in front of the windows.

Watching a manatee eating that yummy lettuce.

A turtle came right up to the window. I think we had a moment together.

The water and the windows were so clear. All of these manatees are rescues and are rehabilitated here and then released. Most are injuries from boat strikes or cold stunned (that make them sick) during exceptionally cold winters like the one we just had.

They now have a live webcam of the underwater viewing area and you can watch them swim around here.

Have you ever seen a duck eating lettuce from underneath? It was funny to watch her beak bobbing up and down in the water.

A warm morning walk at Chesnut Park

On July 18, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The welcoming committee as I drove into Chesnut Park in mid-March.

I saw many ladies this morning. This one looked like she had something wrong with her fur. Mange or maybe she was just shedding. This was the first time I had seen one look like this at this park.

Walking along the back boardwalk. The sun was trying to peek through the trees.

I noticed a least bittern right up near the edge of the lake. They are usually tough to spot but this one was sitting in front of the reeds, out in the open.

Birds out on the dock included a grackle and an anhinga.

This turtle was covered in algae. I took this with my phone since he was so close.

It was getting hot fast as the sun came up over the trees.

Get to the park early

On January 24, 2026January 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

The welcoming committee at Chesnut Park. If you get there before 8am you can see lots of deer. As more people come into the park the deer start to head for the woods and disappear. I took the above with my phone out the car window in mid-October. The babies had lost their spots but were still smaller than the Moms.

A young buck was near the back of the park where I park my car.

These ladies (and one buck) were making their way towards the woods in the back of the park.

I didn’t see a lot of birds but managed to find a wintering female indigo bunting and a usual chickadee showing off.

I’m assuming this is a comfortable spot for this guy above.

Looking out over the lake.

More deer before leaving. I saw 18 deer this morning which is a lot. I usually only see a few each trip.

Lots of color in the gardens

On December 29, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants2 Comments

In early September I went for a walk at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. It was still pretty hot and I left my camera in the car and just walked with my phone. My first stop was the butterfly garden and it was pretty quiet there. I was hoping for some hummingbirds but I didn’t see any this morning.

Color along the path.

The spatterdock made pretty patterns in the water.

A few of the critters I saw.

Pretty fungus growing from the summer rains but the above in red is a stinkhorn mushroom and has a foul smell if it breaks apart.

The banana plants were blooming.

I grabbed my camera out of the car to catch this green heron catching a bug. He was feeding in a small pond next to the parking lot.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Not yet “purple” kids

On September 27, 2025September 27, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

In late May I was back at Chesnut Park hoping to see the almost grown raccoon families hanging around the boardwalks. All I saw was the above. Someone was sleeping in with his foot hanging out of the hole.

This turtle was laying eggs just off the trail. Unfortunately those eggs are going to be an easy meal for the raccoons to find, if not the crows.

I had heard there were purple gallinule babies along the lake but at first all I saw was one adult just off the dock.

I came off the dock and walked around the lake near the edge and saw the above almost hidden in the shade near some trees. This baby was almost as big as the parent. He was a little skittish so I hid in the bushes for a while.

Mom showed up with a spadderdock bloom and started feeding it to her young one.

She grabbed another bloom and that’s when I realized she had 2 kids to feed. She stayed busy for a while although the older one might have already been feeding himself. He was off by himself looking for food most of the time. Luckily we were off in a hidden corner of the lake and no one came around to scare them off while I was there.

An almost hidden alligator. I could just barely make out his black back through the ferns. I was on the raised boardwalk so I wasn’t too concerned if he woke up.