Finches Get Along

Well, that is interesting.

For the first time ever here, I have just witnessed American Goldfinches and House Finches feeding together. Check out this crappy shot through the kitchen screened in window.



Typically, the House Finches haven't shown up at the feeders until just after the Goldfinches take flight back home in the Spring. Then the House Finches flood in. However, the House Finch numbers have been increasing over the past couple of years and I know that they have bred here last year.

Must be here to stay. Fine by me. Glad to see them mingling together.

Backyard Birds

Titmice always grab my attention because they usually attract other birds that check out their calls. Today it just seemed like a pair were busy calling to one another near the kitchen feeders. But they did seem to be on the watch for something.



They continued to call all around the yard as they flew from spot to spot, occasionally grabbing a seed along the way. They would then retreat to the oaks.



Goldfinches continues to flit about. Mostly wondering what the HECK I am doing out there.

Lake Jessup Swallows

Went out to see what was left of the North Lake Jessup Conservation Area after TS Fay flooded the entire area after days of heavy rains. Many local roads were covered for days and the area where the Vermillion Flycatcher visited the last two years was 3 feet deep in water.

I arrived a little later than planned but found a nice windy day sweeping across what has become less of a sparrow habitat and more the actual cattle pasture that it was intended for.

The floods removed all of the weedy brush that the sparrows love and I found no sparrows on my trip at all. A few Palm Warblers darted about but nothing like the numbers of birds found previously. The only thing left were a few raptors staring at the ground in hopes of finding food and a huge flock of Tree Swallows.

Gave me a chance to try the frustrating task of getting images of little bullets soaring past every few minutes. Sometimes they would actually fly within feet of me but getting an auto-focus lens to deal with these streaking hunters was quite a chore.

Out of all of the times that I pressed the shutter release I maybe ended up with only a handful of good shots. Like this one.



One of the surprising finds was that I captured a juvenile among all of the adults swooping past. Didn't even notice the difference while I was watching.



A number of the swallows were swooping low to grab insects from the water surface just around the muddy edge. Nabbed this one milliseconds after it hit the water for a snack.



A last adult in flight.




Even if there are few birds out on this pasture it is always a thrill to be surrounded by Tree Swallows. It is a grand experience every time and brings a smile to my face though I might be 2 feet deep in mud.

American Goldfinch

Feeding increases and the Goldfinches are getting a 'little' less wary. Though this is a fairly cropped photo, they are letting me get closer, closer, closer...

A New Year of Birding Begins

What is one to do when just informed that his company is folding just before the end of the year? Go birding, of course!

So, I headed over to the general Apopka area to see what I could see and clear my head on the first day of the year. Never did find the recently reported Ash-throated Flycatcher but I did find plenty of birds to keep me busy and bring a smile here and there.

First stop, Lust Road. This is a favorite spot for birders which may cease to be in the near future. Highways are being built all around and are basically eliminating the "Kingbird Roost" already. For now, there are still a number of birds to be found along this edge of Lake Apopka.

You can almost always find a Painted Bunting trying to avoid detection near the gate along the ditch.



White-crowned Sparrows are found year-round along the southern edge of the fence at Lust Road. You can see them darting here and there and when you do get a chance to photograph them they are usually sitting on the fence in the shrubs.



Nothing else of notice here so I headed over to the Ranch Road area in Astatula on the northern edge of the lake. I want to see if the Say's Phoebe was still hanging out. It took a while to find anything interesting there but I was happy to see several Bluebirds out in the distance. Finally, though, I did notice a spec out on a far-away fence. It was the Say's.

It hardly ever gets close to the road so the best I could do was get a couple shots as it swooped for insects before settling on the fence again.



One of the tell-tale ID marks for the Say's is the black tail feathers. They show up nicely here.



OK, that bird checked off and time to see if anything was along Ranch Road and Clay Island. On the way to Clay Island I noticed that a parcel next to the Scrub Jay habitat is being developed. Not good. I don't see the Jays in their usual hang out. Just before the parking area I do find a large flock of Black Vultures arguing over a dead animal.

Pretty in their own way.



I didn't walk too far at Clay Island but did have a long encounter with an Osprey trying to find a spot to eat a small fish. My favorite shot of this bird in flight.



Later, it decided to land on the telephone poles and offered a few more great views.



Just after the Osprey settled in for a snack, a Turkey Vulture glided by.



On the way back out of the Clay Island area, I heard a lot of bird noise near the parking lot. Titmice, doves, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers fed along the tree line but I was more interested in the Golden-silk Spider inspecting its web.



I headed back toward home and stopped in the Scrub Jay area for a final look. Fortunately, the family popped up to say 'hi' for a few minutes. Still safe for now.



I still say that these birds should be the Florida state bird. Gorgeous.



On the way to the house I swung past my former work place to say hello to any Hooded Mergansers that winter there. I found one drake who almost made me forget that I won't be seeing them anytime I want anymore.




Home at last, and what better way to end a New Year's Day than have a visit from our Flying Squirrels right after dark.



Now to get on with the task of finding new work. A new year might just offer a new direction.

Bald Eagle at the Cemetery

A few days behind with this one but it is one of my new favorite shots.

I spun around the cemetery to check on the nest building and they are still in the same dead pine. I didn't see anything right away except for dozens of Fish Crows circling around. A few were actually at the Bald Eagle's nest.

I drove on past the nest tree and found an eagle perched on the very same branch I took shots of an eagle years before. It had a large fish and was probably the thing attracting the crows.

This bird tolerated me for a while while took a ton of shots. This is my favorite.



I will keep checking in on the progress when I can.

Red-shouldered Hawk Still Hunts

For a hawk that was never here before, it seems to like it here!

The same Red-shouldered Hawk is still hunting in the neighborhood.



Pretty bird. As long as it leaves with some Mourning Doves I can stand it for a while. Mess with my Goldfinches though...

Goldfinch Time!

No photo, but just a report of the return of the American Goldfinches to our feeders. A single female birds was feeding but another was heard.

I have been checking the feeders for signs of activity lately. Two days ago I could tell something had been there since the nyjer seed was outside the feeding ports. Last night I checked again and there was bird poop beneath a feeder!

Arrival time is exactly the same as last year.

Let the flocks come in. Christmas wish? Bring some Siskins with ya...

St. Pete CBC

Time again for the Christmas Bird Count season! Once again I helped fellow birders and major environmental activists, Don and Lorraine Margeson, count birds near the Largo area. We missed the Great-horned Owl that I got great shots of last year but there were plenty other birds to keep us busy.

Sit back. This will be a rather long post.

The day started, well, in the dark. We got up and out around 5 AM to call for Screech Owls. We managed to get 4. No Great-horned Owl, though, as I mentioned.

We headed over to Joe's Creek Preserve to begin the real counting at dawn. Problem was fog. It was just a tad foggy. Imaging trying to locate birds in this:



Or this:



However, once we settled into positions along the marsh edge we began to hear and see many small birds. Goldfinches came down within yards of us. Myrtle Warblers jumped from perch to perch and Swamp Sparrows peered out from secret mangrove hideaways.



Every now and then a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds would erupt from the cattails and fly directly overhead.



We didn't find much at the cemetery but this American Kestrel added to our species count.



The fog eventually did burn off around 10:30 AM. Over near the treatment plant we found Cooper's Hawks, a ton of Fish Crows, herons, and numerous Ospreys. This one was mere feet overhead.



Eventually we made it back to Veteran's Memorial Park. There we added a lot of new birds like Blue-headed Vireos, Black and White Warblers, and out at the beach a Spotted Sandpiper.



Among the feeding flocks of smaller birds, a Downy Woodpecker fed in the palms and in the oaks.



My favorite encounter, though, was this Yellow-crowned Night Heron. We first spotted it stalking a meal in the grass just off of the beach.



It was fairly cooperative of my approach. How cooperative? Beat this for a handheld shot from 6 feet!



What a beautiful heron. I am sure this was my best photo op this count.



But, we had to move on. Off to our last stop: The country club around the corner. We were given access and carts to ride in and we headed around the course, to the slight annoyance of some golfers, to get the rest of our count done.

One of my other favorite sights is that of resting Anhingas. Especially when they preen on the branches while drying off.



I also have grown quite fond of the growing numbers of Wood Storks in the state.



Our day all but over, we got back to our cars to depart. I had to make one more check of the boat ramp to get the last few birds. A Great Heron here, a Royal Tern there, and one last set of shots of loafing Brown Pelicans.



All in all, a great day. Could have had more birds but that is the nature of the count. 12 hours later I headed for a shower and long trip back to Orlando. Can't wait until next year.

A New Neighbor

This was strange. All the birds were going crazy. Especially the Jays so I figured there had to be hawk around somewhere. Now Cooper's in sight. What was it.

Headed out to get the paper and up on the telephone pole out front was this guy.



Strange thing is, I can't recall ever seeing a Red-shouldered Hawk in our yard. EVER.

Cooper's Hawks? Check. Sharp-shinned Hawk? Check. Red-tailed Hawk? Check. Bald Eagle? Check.

Red-shouldered? Only when the Blue Jay s pretend to be. Yet here it was.

Go figure.

Interesting Feathers Ya Got There!

The front from yesterday cleared out and brought in cooler temperatures and many, many Sundogs.



Later in the day I walked back to my desk and noticed a large bird on top of the pine tree across the parking lot. I took a couple of distant shots and thought nothing more about it. Until I got home and actually looked at the photos.

What the heck was THAT!?



Not a familiar bird to me. Several species of hawks hunt in this area but none look like this bird.

I quickly emailed more experienced raptor birders and the reviews were mixed. The final answer of a dark morph Red-tailed Hawk was settled upon.



They do not breed this far east and are rarely seen here.

Always something new.

Bald Eagle from Work

We had a front moving through the area. Storms were predicted to be severe so we kept a watch on the sky. Glad I did.

Midway through the morning the clouds darkened and the dark shape of a Bald Eagle began flying in looping motions over our parking lot.



Sometimes it would swoop low and lower its legs as if landing atop one of the tall pines nearby but most of the time it would just soar in steady circles.



Then, it suddenly headed closer to our building and flew off into the distance.



Now I will have to try and find a nest!

Some New Birds Banded

Things have really gotten quiet at the banding site but we did get a couple of nice birds today.

Always nice to have a Hermit Thrush stop by.



We also banded our first Swamp Sparrow for this site. A very pretty adult with fresh feathers.



Now where did those other birds go?

Red-shouldered Hawk

I stopped by a couple lakes on the way home. Nothing unusual but this young Red-shouldered Hawk made for a nice photo-op.

Conjunction, Junction

I mentioned a few days back that I would try to catch the conjunction between the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. Here are a couple of the results.

I found a spot across the street from work that offers the best uncluttered view of the sky here in town. As the sun was setting I grabbed some distant shots for scale.



A closer view proves even more beautiful.



Next year, the meteors are suppose to be rather good. I will keep practicing night photos until then.