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.

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Fun at Fort Desoto in April

Posted on April 20, 2015 by dinajohnston

Black and white warblers don’t sit still for a minute. They like to hang upside down on the tree and usually stay close to the trunk.

The one Ruby throated hummingbird I’ve seen so far this spring.

I think this is a female black and white warbler. The black is not as pronounced in the female as the male.

Another white eyed vireo. The most common bird at the park this spring.

Birds of a feather….

I caught Jim chimping. Making sure he got a good shot of that pigeon.

The park was packed in early April with birders coming to see the birds that had flown in for spring migration. It was nice of them all to stop over for a rest so we could all spend a full Saturday morning waiting for them to stand still for a second. It’s always fun running into people you see once a year and catch up with what’s been going on in the bird world.

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Yellow birds at Fort Desoto

Posted on April 13, 2015 by dinajohnston

All above are white eyed vireos. Fairly common during migration.

All of these are of a hooded warbler. The park was filled with these bright yellow birds with black hoods. They were not shy and would not freak out and fly into the bushes. They remained on the trail as long as no one got too close.

I saw one prairie warbler at the park.

A single yellow throated warbler. I don’t see these too often.

It poured the last Friday in March. I never get that lucky. Usually, it pours early in the week and by the time I get out to the parks, the birds are gone. This time I got up early on Saturday and headed down to Fort Desoto. Not a big fall out but still enough birds to keep everyone entertained. I think there was possibly more people than birds though. I’m hoping this is only the first fall out for spring migration this year. It’s still early.

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Little birds being watched by big birds.

Posted on February 2, 2015 by dinajohnston

My first blue headed vireo. From a distance I thought it was a northern parula and wasn’t going to take the picture. I was thinking it was too far away and dark which it was but was glad I took the shot after all.

Keeper of the sign.

Common yellowthroat hiding in the reeds along the lake.

“Sing, sing a song. “

I thought this was an immature yellow rumped warbler but now I’m not sure.

White eyed vireo.

The usual titmouse looking cute.

This red shoulder hawk was on the wooded trail and watching the blue headed vireo. I think he is still a young one since he didn’t have a lot of color in his head.

This one was sitting out over the lake watching all of the little birds flying around. He may have just been soaking up the sun since it was fairly cool that morning.

A few birds on my walk around Chesnut Park in early January. It was a cool morning (45 degrees when I started) but warmed up fast. I didn’t think I was going to see much but the little birds came out as the sun started peeking out of the clouds.

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On the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park.

Posted on June 16, 2014 by dinajohnston

The first thing I saw when I got to the boardwalk was a swallow-tail kite flying by. I heard they were nesting across the lake. I would need a canoe to even get remotely close.

A great blue heron flyby.

Juvenile night heron along the boardwalk.

A white eyed vireo.

I thought this was a brown thrasher but the grey eyes are throwing me off. Brown thrashers have orange eyes. Any ideas?

The swamp was full of these flowers. They were growing in the shade.

Built in Christmas ornaments on this fir tree.

Is that a yawn?

Another bunny.

He was on the side of the road. I pulled over and took these pictures before leaving.

I hadn’t been to Lettuce Lake Park in months. The lake was full and the swamp under the boardwalk was full of water. I saw very few wading birds. I heard a lot of northern parulas all over the park but they were all high up in the trees. No sign of the barred owls this trip. I’ll keep looking.

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Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for

Quiet December walk at Circle B Bar Reserve.

Posted on December 30, 2013 by dinajohnston

Female kingfisher posing in front of the yellow flowers.

A male was at the other end of the park sitting in the rain. This was the first time in 5 years I’ve been caught in the rain there. Luckily I was close to the rain shelter. The rain stopped after 10 minutes.

White eyed vireo.

Blue gray gnatcatchers were all over the trails.

White ibis tree.

Pink dragonfly.

The usual alligator trying to hide behind the yellow flowers.

I was told this was a banded water snake. They are not poisonous but it was nice that it was far off the trail.

The yellow flowers were still out in mid-December. The reserve was beautiful still in full bloom. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary though. It was a warm Saturday morning.

Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday Our World Tuesday Graphic

Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for

Dina's Wildlife Adventures

Tag Archives: white eyed vireo

Going home with “warbler neck”

Up close and personal

Fun at Fort Desoto in April

Yellow birds at Fort Desoto

Little birds being watched by big birds.

On the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park.

Quiet December walk at Circle B Bar Reserve.