Little birds at the boardwalk.

Posted on March 5, 2019 by dinajohnston

I’m thinking this is a pine warbler. Fairly common but confusing. Looks like a lot of other female yellow birds.

A very common but pretty white-eyed vireo.

I think this is an immature pine warbler in the 2 above.

Blue headed vireos are becoming common this time of year.

This little chickadee was being too cute. He came down close to the boardwalk looking to see if I had a handout. All of the above were taken at Chesnut Park on a Saturday morning in early January. Someone had left seed on the boardwalk before I had gotten there and the birds were very active.

On the way home I stopped by another park to see if the owls were nesting again this year. She was up in the nest still on eggs, taking a nap. This couple gets a little later start than most owls in the area.

Linking to My Corner of the World.

An early June trip to Chesnut Park

Posted on August 21, 2018 by dinajohnston

Visiting my “deer” friends at Chesnut Park.

The usual summer birds were there. A catbird, palm warbler, white eyed vireo and a red-winged blackbird.

A tiny gator getting some rays.

A lone muscovy hangs around the pond.

Wood ducks stay far away.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

Lots of the same at Chesnut Park

Posted on February 12, 2018 by dinajohnston

Lots of deer in early January.

Lots of squirrels but that bottom looks a little rough.

Lots of little birds but nothing new.

Red shoulder hawks hiding along the trails.

Eagles flying far away across the lake. Both an adult and a juvenile.

Found these two ducks at a quiet end of a pond. I’m thinking they are pets that got dumped here. Someone left food in a small plastic container. I just hope they know enough to stay away from the gators.

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

The usual suspects at Lettuce Lake Park

Posted on December 13, 2017 by dinajohnston

The parks are full of white eyed vireos and phoebes right now.

“Common” yellowthroats are pretty common as well.

Doves get no respect even though they have pretty pink feet.

Limpkin eating a snail.

These are actually pretty cool bees, although I wouldn’t want to disturb that nest.

Gators and lizards.

Muhly grass in bloom.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World

My favorite little birds.

Posted on February 27, 2017 by dinajohnston

My favorite little titmouse coming to check me out.

My next favorite blue-gray gnatcatchers. They would be my favorite but they are so annoying the way they don’t sit still for a second.

Other usual birds at the park: white eyed vireo, cardinal, eastern phoebe, female red winged blackbird and the always present red bellied woodpecker.

It’s hard to ignore the cute squirrels.

Stuff at Chesnut Park in early January.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Going home with “warbler neck”

Posted on November 2, 2016 by dinajohnston

Summer tanagers were posing for the crowd.

Black and white warbler with a bug.

Redstart hiding in the shadows.

Blue gray gnatcatchers eating bugs.

A rare yellow billed cuckoo was the star of the day. I had seen one once before at Circle B Bar Reserve but there were many birders there that had their first sighting of one. He was high up in the tree but everyone was able to get a good shot.

The one of many palm warblers that hang out here in the winter.

White eyed vireos will be common to spot this winter.

I was told the two above were Nashville warblers. Can anyone confirm?

A brief glimpse of a Tennessee warbler.

My first Philadelphia Vireo. He was hanging around the cuckoo.

“We got fall out!” was the term used on the bird forums. Fort Desoto Park was covered in birds that had stopped for a rest on their way south for the winter in early October. I got to the park around 8am and many people already looking up in the oak trees at the picnic area. I spent several hours taking tons of pictures and had “warbler neck” from staring straight up into the trees for so long. A nap after lunch got rid of that. It’s not often you get a day where you can stand under a tree and see so many different birds.

Up close and personal

Posted on November 23, 2015 by dinajohnston

A white eyed vireo.

A juvenile night heron, born in early spring. He looks grumpy.

Probably cause he’s trying to sleep and it’s sunny outside and the parrots are noisy.

His parent looks even grumpier.

A female anhinga looking over her shoulder.

A juvenile little blue heron. He’ll be all blue after his first year.

An osprey in a tree right on the trail.

A great egret giving me a typical Florida pose.

I found another juvenile night heron along the river bank. This one looks a little bit older than the one picture above. His feathers are starting to turn gray.

Largo Nature Preserve is a small park. It’s square-shaped park. One side has a golf course, one side has a neighborhood, one has a model airplane field and the other is the parking lot coming off a busy road. It’s rare to see something unusual there but the bigger birds that hang out there let you get pretty close. Especially along the boardwalk. Most of them won’t move if you walk by them while they are standing on the railing. Night herons nest here so the babies grow up sleeping in the trees that are only a few feet away from the boardwalk.