An easy new bird find.

On April 26, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I drove an hour north in late January to look for a rare bird. The sun had not gotten up over the trees as I was heading into the entrance to Chinsegut Wildlife Area.

Behind the nature center I found lots of bird feeders. The first birds on the feeders were goldfinches. The males don’t have their bright yellow breeding feathers yet so they are a little drab but still pretty.

Sitting behind the center I could see sandhill cranes flying far away.

A male (red feathers) and a female house finch joined the goldfinches.

Yellow rumped warblers were on the suet feeder. You can see by the one leaving on the right how they got their name.

Pine warblers sharing the suet.

Red winged blackbirds were enjoying the seed on the platform.

A pine warbler enjoying the jelly feeder.

The real reason I drove an hour north this early morning was to see the rare Scott’s oriole that comes in to feed on the jelly feeder. This is the first time I’ve heard of this bird being in Florida so it was a lifer for me. People had driven from all over the state to see it. These orioles live in the western half of the country, rarely coming east of Texas. He stayed hidden and only came to the feeder a few times this morning. So yes, it wasn’t like I was hiking around and looking hard to find it like usual. Other birders had been reporting it a few days before so it was an easy find to add to my list.

There’s a fairly large population of red headed woodpeckers here and one flew into a snag near the nature center and posed for a few minutes.

Winter ducks and a new bird

On March 22, 2025April 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

It was the week of Christmas and I was out for a walk at Roosevelt Wetlands. I wasn’t expecting to see too much. Fall migration was mostly over and the winter ducks may not have arrived yet but you never know. I first saw a coot. They look like common moorhens but they have a white beak instead of a red one. They are only visiting for the winter.

I found a lone female northern shoveler hanging out with some blue-winged teals.

The ring-neck ducks are common here in the winter and are a tight group.

Monarchs can be found here all year round.

A surprise painted bunting was hanging out by the back fence. This was the first time I have seen one at this park. He was shy and stayed hidden in the bushes most of the time I was there.

A yellow-rumped warbler was getting a snack.

Walking to the other end of the wetlands, just me and my shadow.

As I walked back towards my car the infamous male northern harrier flies right over me head. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see him on this visit.

All of a sudden another bird flies toward him. At first I thought it was a kestrel that had been flying by earlier.

When they passed each other I realized the other bird was a sharp-shinned hawk. They are not very common here and this was my first time seeing one. I wished I had paid more attention and gotten some better shots of him.

It was beautiful morning out.

A 3 park morning.

On January 14, 2023January 11, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

It was early December and I was ready for another morning out with my camera. My first stop was the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. I ended up only taking a few pictures while I was there. I was busy looking for birds of which I found none.

I left the gardens and stopped at nearby McGough Park to see if there were any birds there. No birds but a lot of other critters. The bees have taken over this owl nest box.

A few of the turtles in the turtle pond.

Some of the permanently injured animals that live here (the nature center here houses animals that cannot be released back into the wild). Both owls had injured eyes.

On the way home I stopped at the Largo Nature Preserve and did find a few birds here. You can usually find limpkins along the boardwalk here and they are use to people walking by. This one was sitting on the railing and made no attempt to move as I walked by. This is not cropped.

Not surprised to find the usual birds here. A blue gray gnatcatcher, a black and white warbler and a yellow rumped warbler.

Another usual bird, a pine warbler, was pigging out on caterpillars. He ate several while I was snapping and I was lucky enough for him to show them to me.

The usual stuff

On February 20, 2021February 20, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

When you are driving down the road and see an eagle sitting on a pole (and your camera is in the car) you turn around and go back and get a shot. Especially since it was such a beautiful sky. This one was sitting in a short tower behind a gas station on my way to Chesnut Park one morning.

Do we wish we could hang upside down so easily?

A yellow rumped warbler hiding in the bushes.

I’ve been seeing a purple gallinule hanging around the dock lately. This one has a snack in his beak.

This little gnatcatcher was being too cute not to take some shots.

I think this may be a juvenile northern parula. He’s got just a hint of gray on his back.

I don’t see swamp sparrows often.

This gnatcatcher was trying hard to get that bug.

This should not really be happening at the park but this young girl was beside herself when the titmouse flew onto her hand. People come early in the morning and leave seed along the boardwalk rail. It’s usually titmouse, cardinals and squirrels that are eating the seeds.

Trail full of birds

On March 27, 2017March 28, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography11 Comments

There were a few tiny birds at Honeymoon Island Park at the end of January. Tons of yellow rumped warblers and the last one is an eastern towhee.

The parking lot was full of yellow rumped warblers. They thought the cars were something to play on.

A very young bald eagle flew by as I headed out on the trail.

I always see kestrels in the winter here.

The trail was full of osprey. They were eating, preening and doing a few other things. That last one I took directly in the sun but it was too funny not to post.