Showing posts with label House Finch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House Finch. Show all posts

Monday, December 26, 2016

Largo Birding

Where to go the day after Christmas? I couldn't decide so I visited several spots all around Largo. First stop: War Veteran's Memorial Park where I have spent time during Christmas Bird Counts. It was not too birdy, but the Brown Pelicans feeding out in the channel.

Brown Pelican

I was taken aback by the lack of other birds in the park. The only other fun bird of note was a male Black and White Warbler moving at high speed near the point. Very little other activity in all of my hiking this morning.

Black and White Warbler

Since it was pretty quiet at that park I headed over to Largo Central Park Nature Preserve. Things were a bit more interesting here. I walked around the back side of the park and found a number of Black-hooded Parakeets up in the power station.

Black-hooded Parakeet

I started through a recently cut portion leading back to the park and noticed some small birds darting into some brush. It took me a bit to nail it down but was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a House Finch.

House Finch

Down in the freshly cut grass and brush were several Western Palm Warblers hopping around and feeding.

Western Palm Warbler

Halfway along the boardwalk in the woods a Downy Woodpecker dropped next to me and began pounding away on a tree. I took many, many photos just wanting the bird to look my direction at least once but he would not cooperate so I ended up with most of the shots becoming blurry.

Downy Woodpecker

One of my presents was a wide angle lens. It should be fun to play around with from time to time. Have to practice some exposure times, for sure.

Wide angle

Heading back to the parking lot I spotted a Pied-billed Grebe swimming down the creek toward me.

Pied-billed Grebe

Just beyond that was a juvenile Little Blue Heron feeding so intently that it never paid attention to me as I took a couple dozen shots.

Little Blue Heron

Just nearing the restrooms I saw a bird flash out and back to the trees. It was an Eastern Phoebe plucking insects from the air and returning to its perch.

Eastern Phoebe

I turned toward the car and had a Northern Mockingbird pop up out of a bush. Who can resist that shot?

Northern Mockingbird

I then headed over to John S. Taylor Park. It is a park that is hidden in plain sight, almost. It is surrounded by office buildings and homes but is fairly large and holds different birds than the other parks. Like Ring-billed Gulls which were relaxing all along the shoreline and atop signs. Which profile do you prefer? To the right...

Ring-billed Gull

...or to the left?

Ring-billed Gull

I love how this Common Gallinule looks like it was carved out of wax and the color scheme really works for me, too.

Common Gallinule

Up in the pines was a lone Anhinga just relaxing.

Anhinga

There wasn't too much more to look find so I had to take more shots of the gulls on the way out. This one seems a little younger than the others around.

Ring-billed Gull

This one is definitely an older bird

Ring-billed Gull

Not a bad way to spend a long morning of birding. However, it will soon be time to head back to Orlando and home.

Sunday, April 05, 2015

Easter in Winter Park

I wrapped up our Sunday bird banding and got prepared for celebrating Easter with the at the in-laws. I got ready and ushered our youngest into the car and headed toward Winter Park. I left a little early because I had a mind to make a stop along the way.

When we reached out destination I was surprised to see a number of Mourning Doves feeding on grass seeds next to the road.

Mourning Dove

More surprising was another bird that dropped in next. A bright red House Finch!

House Finch

A nice find but I was here to see the birds a little higher off the ground. I have not had time to visit the Purple Martins this year and now was the perfect time. Not sure if it was the best time for them. Seems like some argument was taking place.

Purple Martin

I stepped out of the car to try for some closer shots and, of course, the only rain cloud around opened up. I was glad to see several apartments being occupied. Last year I only recall one pair.

Purple Martin

The Purple Martin let me get even closer for a nice pose. What a handsome bird.

Purple Martin

Then over to the family to spend some Easter time and get ready for lamb. I have to take a walk out toward the lake to see what I can find. The lawn next to the lake was accented with various flowers popping through. I have always had a thing for pink Oxalis.

Oxalis

Over to the right, a single bright yellow Cow-pea poked through the turf.

Cow-pea

I recall Frog Fruit (Carpet weed) from my youth and used to watch the bees flit from flower to flower.

Frog Fruit

Water Hyssop is found near water sources throughout the area but is so small it is sometimes overlooked.

Hyssop

Up on the dock having a drying stint, a male Anhinga kept a close watch on me.

Anhinga

On the opposite side of the dock a stalk of Duck Potato waved in the breeze.

Duck Potato

Dragonflies chased one another and occasionally grabbed onto more swaying blades of vegetation in the water.

Dragonfly

Once the Anhiga flew off I headed out onto the dock to get a couple of more photos. Spatter Dock sends up closed yellow blossoms above the lake surface.

Spatter Dock

I am also fond of Water Lily blossoms. I have to get a shot of one every time I spy them in the distance.

Water Lily

We always hear of Dollar Weed and how hard folks try to get rid of it from lawns but they have very interesting flowers. It is called Pennywort, too.

Pennywort

You often find Pickerel Weed in roadside ditches of in swampy wetlands but they also turn up on the shores of lakes.

Pickerel Weed

Finally, I left the lake to head back inside. I was wondering where more birds were but there was a group of skiers out on the water so they probably chased most of them away. At least a Pied-billed Grebe popped up for one last shot.

Pied-billed Grebe

A nice Easter day, including that excellent lamb dinner.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Return of a House Finch

In the past, we had many House Finches showing up at the feeders. In fact, they were breeding nearby and would bring the fledglings to the feeders and we enjoyed them during certain times of the year. Then, they disappeared. Hmmm...

Today, I was about to leave the house for some chores and noticed a strange silhouette at the front feeder. A closer peak through the curtains revealed it was a male House Finch enjoying the sunflower seeds. I bolted back to the camera bag and eased outside very slowly to get a shot.

House Finch

He looks a bit rough but he is a very welcome sight back by the home. Maybe we can see some more into the Spring next year.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Chasing (and missing) a Gull at Fort DeSoto

This will be a long post. Bear with the length to see some interesting shots and a couple cool bits of information on migrating birds.

Once Dad and I finished our looking at Redhead ducks up the road, it was time to hit the beaches of Fort DeSoto and try to find a new Life Bird. A Franklin's Gull had been reported for a couple of weeks and this was my one chance to find it. Last year, my after-Xmas present was going a bit farther South the get the Razorbills at Anna Maria Island. A new Life Bird this year would be a nice end to the year.

First, we decided to stop off at the North Beach and look for anything that might be in that area. Most of this stretch is closed for the breeding season but you can walk down much of it now. Our first bird to greet us was a foraging Reddish Egret prancing along the interior before the shoreline.

Reddish Egret

I then turned my attention to the waves and soon spotted an American Oystercatcher walking in the water. Always a striking bird.

American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatchers are not a new bird for me but I have had trouble getting good shots of them on my visits. This birds did not seem to mind my presence as I approached and scanned for other birds.

American Oystercatcher

Off to my left a Sanderling braved the waves and a wandering photographer (me) and probed for food under the sand.

Sanderling

Soon, beachcombers approached and were agitating the birds which led this Willet to fly up and land next to me. Thanks (?) beachcombers!

Willet

Time to head to the pier and search for the gull. We scanned the first flock of birds on the Bay beach but it was just a mix of local gulls and terns. Then we headed to the Gulf beach and saw a promising flock resting. Except for these two Ring-billed Gulls having a quarrel.

Ring-billed Gull

We examined all the gulls one by one. There were many Ring-billed Gulls like this juvenile.

Ring-billed Gull

Adult Ring-billed Gulls were also well represented.

Ring-billed Gull

Then we came to this dozing bird. Could this be our Franklin's Gull next to the Forster's Tern?

Laughing Gull

Alas, no. It was just a Laughing Gull trying to fool me.

Laughing Gull

Dad needed a bite to eat so we headed up to the snack bar before returning to the flock to do more searching. More birds were flying in and some were busy feeding along the waves like this Forster's Tern.

Forster's Tern

Suddenly, a small flock of Red Knots dropped into the waves next to us.

Red Knot

I soon noticed that a couple were banded! Red Knots are studied a lot as their numbers have been in decline so I made sure to get shots so I could report the band numbers later.

Red Knot

When I got home and processed the photos I reported them and discovered that both birds were originally banded in this area and have been migrating back and forth for many years.

Red Knot

I figured we had struck out on the gull we were after. All that was left to photograph was a few Ruddy Turnstones.

Ruddy Turnstone

The clouds were finally breaking as we headed out. I always like to make sure I get some sort of flower shots while I am out and the Beach Sunflower would be just fine for the records.

Beach Sunflower

On the way home we decided to make an attempt to find a Whimbrel which I was told years ago about it always being near the bridge. On the Inter-coastal side there were plenty of Red-breasted Mergansers.

Red-breasted Merganser

I noticed a white patch on one of the birds meaning it had to be more rare bird. A Bufflehead or two were diving midway out. Thanks for the photo bomb, Herring Gull!

Bufflehead and Herring Gull

Nearby, a Brown Pelican remained positioned in front of a fisherman. Hoping to snatch a meal, no doubt.

Brown Pelican and Fisherman

Way out in the waves I could just make out a black and white bird. Turned out to be a Common Loon.

Common Loon

We switched our search across the road to the Gulf side but only found a few more Loons but a pair of diving Horned Grebes was a nice way to round out the visit.

Horned Grebe

So, we headed home feeling some disappointment for striking out on the Life Birds. However, we did have a fun time. Out back, a pair of House Finches were at the feeder.

House Finch

Something spooked them into the tree and only then could I tell that the male was a seldom seen yellow variant. House Finch males are usually a purple-ish red but I have had yellow and orange variants at our house before.

House Finch

Rain is forecast for tomorrow. Not sure if I will chase another Life Bird or not.