Sandhill Cranes
February 28, 2011 - The Sandhill Cranes have been more active in our neighborhood in the last week or so. We’ve also started to see the pair at work regularly. Nesting season is a-coming!
Backyard photography
A nature photographer’s images and stories of birds, butterflies, and other creatures from her backyard near Orlando, FL
Signs of Spring in Our Backyard
February 27, 2011 - The azaleas have started to bloom in our yard! I also saw my first American Robin to actually land and say hello in the neighborhood. I see flocks flying overhead almost every night, but they haven’t been landing this year. We haven’t seen our first Cedar Waxwing yet, either. :(
Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird
February 24, 2011 - There have been quite a few juvenile Red-Winged Blackbirds moving through the yard in the past week. You can tell they are juveniles because they are black, but they still have remnants of their striped juvenal colors. They haven’t yet developed that pretty red patch on the wing. This bird was hogging my seed cake […]
First-of-Season Brown Thrashers
February 23, 2011 - We saw our first-of-season Brown Thrasher pair on our walk around Stoneybrook earlier this week. Spring is in the air! We’ve been seeing flocks of American Robins flying overhead, but I’ve yet to see the first bird land. I’ve also yet to see a Cedar Waxwing.
Goldy’s Finches
February 22, 2011 - Our cat Goldy loves to watch birds through the windows. We both enjoyed these antics from our American Goldfinches. How many birds can fight over one feeder port?
The Piggies are Back!
February 21, 2011 - We haven’t had many big flocks of blackbirds–Red-Wing Blackbirds, Brown-Headed Cowbirds, Common and Boat-Tailed Grackles–this winter. So it was kind of fun to look out and see a bunch of them congregated in the trees, waiting for their turn at the feeder. Feed us! Feed us! Where’s mine?
Painted Bunting Cage
February 19, 2011 - I’ve had some questions about the little cage shown in my Painted Bunting pictures. It’s a wire cage from Wild Birds Unlimited (on loan from my mom, thanks again!) The buntings are so small that they fly right through it. Bigger birds can’t go through it, so they leave the buntings alone (mostly). In my […]
Full Moon
February 18, 2011 - There was a full moon tonight, and I couldn’t resist trying out The Beast on it. I attached my 1.4x teleconverter, which with my 1.6 camera crop factor yielded me 1120mm of focal length. The moon was full-frame!
Painted Buntings and Red-Winged Blackbirds
February 17, 2011 - This afternoon Rich and I were thrilled to see a male Painted Bunting at our front feeder when we got home from work. Though the green birds have acclimated to the new feeder in the back, the male seems to prefer the shelter of our trees in the front. The male doesn’t come as often […]
Waiting for the Roses to Leaf Out
February 16, 2011 - I pruned my roses heavily about two weeks ago, and I’m still waiting for the bushes to leaf out. This morning I saw lots of little red growlets but no leaves yet. So I’ll post a picture of the ‘Minnie Pearl’ rose that I took before I pruned the bush. It’s hard to wait for […]
The Days are Getting Longer!
February 15, 2011 - It was 6:30 tonight when we went for our walk, and there was still light outside! It’s just a few more weeks until Daylight Savings Time starts again! This White Ibis was hanging out on the golf course. There was a single juvenile bird in the flock, and I tried to photograph him. But something […]
Pansy Dew
February 11, 2011 - There was quite a bit of dew on some of my pansies this morning. Squirt’s not sure if he approves of that.
Another Hoodie in our ‘Hood
February 10, 2011 - I was happy to see a single male Hooded Merganser at the retention pond by the back Stoneybrook West entrance a few days ago. I know Hoodies are common birds, but they are such fun to watch diving, and they are quite pretty.
Beaky’s Obsession is Spreading
February 9, 2011 - For the past two years, Carla and Peter have been annoyed by our neighborhood cardinal “Beaky” as he comes and taps on their windows. They have tried fake snakes, window screens, suncatchers, wind chimes, everything…and the silly bird won’t quit! We had hoped that Beaky would stop this activity last spring after he met Mrs. […]
Goldfinch Antics
February 8, 2011 - The goldfinches have been quite active in our yard this winter. This weekend it rained a lot, and I didn’t want to refill the feeders and let the seed get soggy in the rain. So the poor goldfinches were left to argue amongst themselves over who got to eat at the two available ports. I […]
The Great Spring 2011 Rose Pruning!
February 5, 2011 - Every spring in mid-February I prune the roses back hard. In Florida, roses don’t really get a dormant period, thanks to our nice warm weather. They don’t lose their leaves like they do up north, and mine usually bloom all year round. So I force them into a short period of dormancy when I prune […]
Nice Afternoon with the Painted Buntings
February 4, 2011 - Unable to go to Circle B this morning because of the thick fog, I decided to start the spring rose prune at home. It’s been a while since I’ve spent the morning working in the yard. It was nice to see “my” birds for a change! The Painted Buntings were around all day. I saw […]
Flyin’ Ibis
February 3, 2011 - Rich and I took a walk this weekend and saw this White Ibis flying overhead. I’ve been trying for good flight shots of these guys. I really like their bright white plumage and black wing tips.
Painted Bunting Update
February 2, 2011 - The Painted Buntings continue to visit our front feeder on a daily basis. This weekend we had a record number of three green buntings visiting at the same time. Look carefully at the picture below and you’ll see two birds on the feeder and one on the branch in the background. The male birds do […]
Eastern Bluebirds
January 31, 2011 - On Saturday I was driving back from Circle B when I saw these Eastern Bluebirds on CR 545 outside Winter Garden. I did a double-take, then quickly turned around and pulled over. I’ve never seen bluebirds around our house before! Ironically, I saw these near “Red Bird Road” (haha). I think it is a male/female […]
More Double-Crested Cormorants Around
January 28, 2011 - I’ve been noticing small groups of Double-Crested Cormorants starting to hang around the golf course when we come home in the evenings. They hadn’t been around so much during the wintertime. This one was content — he had a fish!
Mmmm…Strawberries!
January 27, 2011 - Thanks to my papitos for the bare-root strawberry plants, which have weathered the cold nicely and are now starting to bear fruit!
Calling all Hummers…
January 26, 2011 - I recently attended a great talk on wintering hummingbirds, presented by Fred Bassett at the Lake Region Audubon society. Fred spoke about the numerous hummingbirds that stick around Central Florida during the winter. He catches hummers to band them and study their migratory habits. He has seen the same Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in Lakeland for seven […]
Hungry Gull
January 25, 2011 - The rains kept me inside tonight, hoping that our backyard birds had found dry and safe places to weather the storm. So I’ll post a picture I took this weekend. A bunch of gulls flew over the backyard, and to practice flight shots with the Beast, I aimed and shot. I laughed when I realized […]
Prairie Warbler in the Backyard
January 24, 2011 - We had a new visitor to our backyard this evening — a Prairie Warbler! I went out to set up the new Painted Bunting feeder, and this little guy greeted me from the top of our viburnum hedge. He obligingly hung around while I ran inside to get the Beast, then re-appeared at the top […]
Windy Birds
January 21, 2011 - It’s hard to be a bird when the winter fronts come through. First it rains and rains, and it’s hard for the birds to find a nice warm dry place to stay. Then the winds come, and the birds get blown around. It’s hard to eat at bird feeders when the feeders are swinging in […]
Bow Tie’s Antics
January 19, 2011 - Our little Yellow-Throated Warbler, known better as “Bow Tie”, has been quite active lately. He appears at our front feeders several times a day, and he’s known to come “beaking” with Beaky on our front window. This weekend I noticed that he has taken to our suet feeder, too.
Rainy Day Goldfinches
January 17, 2011 - It rained almost all day today. The birds didn’t like it and neither did I! Although we certainly can use the rain in this drought. But why can’t it rain during the week when I’m stuck in a cubicle without windows? :-p We didn’t have many birds today (but we did have at least one […]
Our Painted Buntings are Still Here!
January 16, 2011 - We have a small group of Painted Buntings who have been visiting our feeders for about a month now. I’ve been reporting them to the Painted Bunting Observation Team (PBOT) at paintedbuntings.org, a team that has been studying the expanding range of these beautiful birds. We feel so lucky to have them in our yard. […]
Cold Mourning Doves!
January 14, 2011 - Our temperatures dipped into the low 30s again this morning, and the birds liked it even less than I did. All I can do is fill the feeders and offer them the shelter of our bushes. These doves accepted! This dove was in Carla and Peter’s oak tree. He blended in so well that I […]
Ring-Billed Gulls
January 13, 2011 - We had some Ring-Billed Gulls over the Pebble Ridge pond this evening. I liked this juxtaposition, with the smaller duck in the background.
HDR Sunset
January 12, 2011 - A few nights ago, the sunset in our neighborhood was just gorgeous. I stopped and took a few bracketed shots for HDR practice. The sky was so clear, and the clouds very fluffy. I liked the patterns that they made, and how they varied from gray to pink in the setting sun. Of course I […]
Neighborhood Mockingbirds
January 11, 2011 - There seem to be more Northern Mockingbirds than usual in our neighborhood. They like to pose on tops of bushes, where they blend in pretty well. It’s just the annoying woman who carries what Rich calls the “bird deterrent device” (a.k.a. my camera!) who seems to spook the birds into flight. :)
Robins Flying Overhead
January 10, 2011 - I keep hearing and seeing flocks of American Robins at Circle B, and today I heard them flying over our house, too. It seems like the birds fly very high in the fall, so you don’t really see them and you’re lucky to hear them. In the springtime they seem to come down a little […]
Palm Warbler
January 5, 2011 - The little Palm Warblers are abundant hoppers on the sidewalks these days. They aren’t too afraid of people, either. I knelt down to get a nice background, and then got this full-frame shot.
Goldfinches
January 4, 2011 - The goldfinches are eating us out of house and home this winter! I’m having to refill the niger feeder every couple of days. The birds line up in the crape myrtle in order to wait for a free port at the feeder. I went out with The Beast and tried to capture some videos of […]
First Roses of the Year
January 3, 2011 - My miniature rose ‘Minnie Pearl’ loves this cold weather. While most of the bushes are sporting frost-bitten blooms, ‘Minnie Pearl’ is bursting with fresh green foliage and two tiny perfect little blooms. I took out the wide-angle lens, the extension tubes, and the diffuser filter, and had fun with my camera. :)
Painted Bunting Party!!
January 2, 2011 - It was a nasty overcast morning and I was a little disappointed not to be out birding…until the birdie party came to me! Rich and I have been observing Painted Buntings at our feeders all throughout our Christmas break, but only one bird at a time. This morning I looked out and saw two little […]
Hoodies for the New Year
January 1, 2011 - We were driving around the block at Stoneybrook West this afternoon when suddenly I let out a yelp, “Rich! Those are Hoodies on that pond!” My very patient husband agreed to go back to the house, grab The Beast, and do several more pond drive-bys. The neighbors must have thought that the lady with the […]
Male Painted Bunting in OUR Yard!
December 30, 2010 - Today a male Painted Bunting came to the feeder!!! We didn’t see the female, but the male stayed for a while and ate. He seemed pretty skittish. Now I’m spoiled…and I want to see a male and female together…and for them to bring their friends!
First Images with the 500mm Lens!!
December 26, 2010 - Rich gave me the most awesome lens ever for Christmas! The weather has been gross (cold front = cold + wind) and so I haven’t been out to Circle B with the lens yet. But here are a few pictures from around the house… Every time I get a new lens or piece of camera […]
Photographing the Lunar Eclipse
December 26, 2010 - Last Monday’s lunar eclipse was special because it occurred on the Winter Solstice. To Rich and me, it was special because we didn’t have to work the next day, and we could stay up and watch it. Despite the freezing cold weather, I got the bright idea of taking pictures of the moon at 10 […]
An Early Christmas Present: a Painted Bunting!
December 24, 2010 - On the first day of Christmas, Nature gave to me…a Painted Bunting in our front tree! This the fourth day we’ve observed her at our feeder. I wonder if she was coming before that, and we just weren’t home to see. She’s pretty regular in her schedule, usually coming to eat around 4-5 in the […]
The Painted Bunting was Back!!
December 21, 2010 - We spotted a female Painted Bunting at a tube feeder in our front yard this afternoon around 5pm. It may be the same bird as we saw two days ago. Painted Buntings are fairly rare winter visitors in Florida and it’s really exciting to see one in our own yard! Maybe she will bring her […]
Lunar Eclipse
December 21, 2010 - More pictures coming in a few days when I can use Photoshop to align layers…
Painted Bunting in our Yard!!!
December 19, 2010 - This afternoon we had a Painted Bunting in our yard! I was up taking pictures of Bow Tie, our Yellow-throated Warbler. I blinked, and suddenly Bow Tie jumped off the feeder and a female Painted Bunting jumped on! She sat there for a few seconds and let me snap a few pictures before flying off. […]
Rainy Day Walk around Stoneybrook West
December 18, 2010 - Another cold front passed through today, making our first day of Christmas break a very rainy one. We were cooped up inside all morning, then finally I couldn’t take it anymore and we went for a walk between showers. It was an unusually active walk (or maybe I’m already used to our Standard Time nighttime […]
It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!
December 15, 2010 - Santa visited tonight! Winter Garden always sends Santa around with a fire truck escort. Santa and his sleigh go up and down each street, and his helpers toss candy to onlookers. It’s a great tradition! Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas! Inside, we assembled cookie plates for family and friends. This year Rich outdid himself, with […]
Fall Colors…in Florida!!
December 13, 2010 - The cold temperatures of the past few weeks have caused some of our trees to put on a more impressive color display than usual. Rich drove along the 429 highway this afternoon and I took some pictures out the window. They were surprisingly clear given that we were going 65+mph!