Category: birds

attention to detail, attitude adjustments, backyard visitors, birds, Florida wildlife, fun, in the neighborhood, nature, Natures little dramas, perseverance, photography

Gender issues…

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Perhaps it’s not the correct political climate to be trying to figure out who the mated pairs of our backyard birds may be. We have our funny immature somebody in the feature photo. But what got me thinking about this again was the appearance of the female red-winged blackbird yesterday.

I think I saw this bird at the Celery Fields, and I was so surprised to find out it was a female red-winged blackbird. So now I wondered if other bird couples had been visiting.
Her Mr. announces his arrival to be sure you notice him.
The other day Bernie was enjoying all the birds out there when this bird showed up and started sounding off. The two doves who were scavenging on the ground popped their heads up, and all the birds scattered immediately, just as a hawk swooped in through the yard, and only a few feet from the lanai. But the hawk must have found his dinner elsewhere.
So I wondered if the female red-bellied woodpecker had ever shown up, and guess what, this is the female. She has a red nape, while the male has a full crown of red on the top of his head also. I looked though my photos and I think I’ve only seen the female, so far at least. And yes, her first stop is to check out the post before she chows down on the woodpecker cylinder.
This guy’s potential confusion may extend to his pretending to be a woodpecker.
I bought the little cup feeder to hold the meal worms which only attracted the crows to the feeder. So I replaced the meal worms with ‘butter buds’ and they are a hit with everybody, including the crows.
My experiments with ‘precapture’ from the other day were less than successful. But all the gnashing of teeth that I did over the technology must have worked because this photo showed up in Lightroom today. So my efforts the other day weren’t a total waste of time.
Any scattered seeds don’t have a chance to sprout with this grounds crew on duty.

The tufted titmouse has been too fast for me to get pictures lately. But I looked up the male/female identification issue and they are identical. You have to watch their behavior as the males are more territorial than the females. I will keep an eye out when they visit next time. As you have seen it’s been a lot of fun watching the goings on at the feeders. And such nice timing since the action is best at ‘happy hour.’

attention to detail, backyard visitors, birds, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, life goes on, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography

Feeding the birds…

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So I went back to Wild Birds Unlimited and spent some more $$$ in an attempt to de-clutter the photos that I take of birds in the backyard. So far it’s the same birds stopping by, but that’s okay with me.

I have to assume that this is an immature cardinal. Not only because it looks a bit silly, even though it does, but that tuft seems to rule out any other conclusion.
This woodpecker feeder is the only new addition, besides the pole to hang it from. Getting the cylinder of woodpecker seed installed was not easy, but we bought the extra cheap version of the holder. I may have to upgrade it eventually. It took the red bellied woodpecker a day or two to find this one.
This little titmouse likes the cranberry cake, and now there isn’t quite so much competition at this cake.
This female cardinal is our most frequent flier, and I suspect she is the ruler of the roost out there.
The littlest birdie out there made a stop at the biggest feeder. Carolina chickadee.
The red bellied woodpecker has been back to this feeder again, so I guess it’s a hit.
The little downey woodpecker discovered this feeder first of all, but I haven’t seen him as often now that the red bellied woodpecker comes around.
See what I mean, a bit silly.
How nice of him to pose for me. As I’m writing this he is on the backside of the feeder and all I can see is his tail.

I took these pictures over the last couple of days and I’ve lost track of whether or not it was early, before the sun comes up enough to be in my eyes, or later on when it’s heading to sunset. It has gotten a lot cooler as it heads to sunset and we’ve been known to sit out on the lanai and just enjoy watching them. While we enjoy a beer or a glass of wine also…

attention to detail, attitude adjustments, backyard visitors, birds, Florida wildlife, fun, home improvements, Just do it, live and learn, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography

From the lanai…

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Just been sitting on the lanai for the last day or so, trying, but not always succeeding, in taking shots of the visiting birds. And other wildlife. Today I told Bernie that our scene out there is too cluttered. We need another post, and more feeders for the woodpeckers. And plants to bring in the butterflies and pollinators. And more stuff that I’ll think of in a minute…

The red-winged blackbirds are here every day, but the female has the posing thing down a bit better.
I said to myself that the woodpecker looked bigger today.
But when I saw the pictures in the computer I had a horrified moment thinking that I’d told you that this red-bellied woodpecker was a downey woodpecker.
But then I saw this picture from yesterday and felt better. A little downey woodpecker. So now I have two kinds of woodpeckers out there.
This squirrel could see me in the doorway so he thought long and hard before he came out to see if there were droppings under the feeder.
I got a kick out of the female cardinal and the tufted titmouse sharing time on the feeders.
With my long lens plus extender I couldn’t focus on both of them however.
The titmouse drops in and picks up a seed and flys off, much too fast for me even though I’m sitting there with the camera thinking I’m ready. Waiting for the cardinal slowed him down.
Now I see what he has been dropping in to snag.
It’s so much nicer to see the birds in the ‘wild’, so to speak.

I had complained that the butterflies that flit through the yard never land anywhere, but as you see in the feature photo one did land in the bougainvillea. So I zoomed and took some shots, and then cropped them like crazy, but I got him. The birds are busy late in the afternoon when the light is better. It makes for a fun way to spend a little time.

a second look, birds, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, Natures little dramas, nesting, perseverance, photography

Mayhem at the rookery…

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Maybe I exaggerate. No un-natural mayhem, just the ‘normal’ mayhem when mom shows up and her two ‘kids’, who are as big as she is, demand to be fed. I’m seeing pictures like this from all the photographers who stalk the photo ops in this area, but we aren’t all there at the same time. We don’t have to be, this particular mayhem occurs over and over again all day long. Poor mom, and so close to Mother’s Day.

Mom can only take so much. And when she exits to a higher branch the ‘babies’ are left wondering where they went wrong.
The tricolor heron babies have been a popular subject lately also.
Finding the tricolor babies is a lot easier when they do their ‘up periscope’ thing. I’m wondering how I never saw them before this year since this rookery is a fairly common stop for us.
You don’t always catch a glossy ibis out in the open when the sun can bring out his beautiful colors.
The natural frame around these wood storks was what got me to take this picture.
Woodstork chicks are some of the first, and noisiest chicks we see in the spring. But now it seems the mayhem in the trees, and the photographers on the shore, aren’t a cause for concern as this guy seems quite above it all.
a second look, adventure, attention to detail, birds, butterflies, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, making memories, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, perseverance, photography, road trip

Fort DeSoto…

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Of course you don’t have to travel to Fort DeSoto to see butterflies, but I haven’t seen many lately anywhere so when I do see them I’ll take their picture.

I don’t have a dedicated macro lens, and if I did I’d never have the patience to change lenses, and this butterfly wouldn’t have waited around for me anyhow. So I love my zoom lens that lets me get a picture on the fly.

What we really went to Fort DeSoto for was the chance to see birds that we don’t see in our usual stops. A heads-up from another visitor who lives nearby got us to a fountain, where we could sit in the shade and wait to see what birds would come for a visit. On the next bench were two ladies with binoculars who were exclaiming over a ‘blue grosbeak’, ‘Look at how blue he is,’ they said. Way off in the distance I could see the bird they were talking about, so I shot 15 or so pictures into the trees and hoped for the best.

I had to edit the one and only photo that actually had a bird in it to a fare-thee-well. And they were right, he really was blue. But I don’t know if I can claim to have seen a blue grosbeak, since I barely saw a flicker in the trees. Gotta love a zoom lens, and Lightroom…
We were so lucky to see a Nanday Parakeet up in a tree also. Again we have to thank the woman who says she lives only 5 miles from the park and visits twice a day. She pointed him out to us, but he was in silhouette and we had to take her word for it as to what it was. This was a first for me.
One of the piers is being worked on, but this one was open. I loved the two sets of egrets facing off on the rooftops. Kind of like the Sharks and the Jets.
We enjoyed the view from the pier.
I took the pop-up to Fort DeSoto a little over three years ago. I had heard that it was impossible to get a spot in the campground, so when three nights were available I took them. Then I discovered that the overnight temperatures were going to be in the 30s, so someone probably cancelled and left the opening for me. But it was great during the day. I rode the ferry to Egmont Key and saw this lighthouse up close during that visit. I wore two sweatshirts with both hoods up, and piled 4 throws over me to sleep. I love being toasty warm but breathing cold air, so it was great. Butin the morning getting into the open air showers at 30-something degrees was something else!
Is that a fin at the corner of this snowy’s mouth? I love to see the golden slippers.
This black and white plover was on East Beach, from which you can take a sunrise photo that includes the Sunshine Skyway bridge, provided you get there early enough.
Imagine the sun rising behind this bridge. The iconic picture is when you catch the sun rising centered in the tallest uprights. I haven’t managed to get that shot yet, but it doesn’t line up like that often. Maybe next time.
a second look, attention to detail, attitude adjustments, birds, exploring new places, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, live and learn, making memories, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, on closer examination, Osprey, perseverance, photography

Osprey assumptions…

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There are osprey nests on posts along many of the roads we drive on our usual travels. But we had never seen this nest before because we hadn’t been to Fort DeSoto Park before, at least not together. We had minimum information on where exactly to see the many, many migrating birds that we have seen pictures of lately, but we were optimistic. My favorite pictures wound up being this osprey sequence, even if I may have missed the boat on it entirely. What I saw in the distance, and you see in the feature photo, was a nest being guarded by Dad on the nearby branch, and Mom standing in the nest. Dad, if that is in fact Dad, never moved from that position. And for that matter neither did ‘Mom.’

This is the picture that tickled me! I’d never seen a baby osprey before, so I was thrilled when Junior put in an appearance. But when he rose up some more and started flapping those wings I was amazed.
I thought Mom was too busy keeping an eye on things to pay too much attention.
Then I thought Junior turned his attention to Dad, as in, “Hey Dad, look at me, I’m a big kid,” and smacking Mom in the face in the process.

So I showed my pictures to Bernie and told him why I thought the whole thing was so funny, and he pointed out that the two birds on the nest are the same size, so perhaps they are both babies. Siblings. And Mom may be the one of the branch keeping watch over the shenanigans. And, darn it all, he has a point. I guess the joke was on me. But it was fun to see them anyhow.