A Round-About Trip to Jacksonville

Not long after the trip to St. Augustine's rookery, friend Karen and I took a trip up north to Jacksonville and Amelia Island, as it turned out…there are several birding sites along the way and we made several stops to check things out. Overall I'm sorry to say I was disappointed, but we did get an eyeful of nature…

Just no male painted buntings like I was hoping...

My favorite shot of the day was this laughing gull at Huguenot Memorial Park…

(Just look at that saucy red lipstick!)

A gulf fritillary …. uh, somewhere…

We saw this cottontail on the trail to Boneyard Beach on Big Talbot Island...

The beach had a lot of "driftwood"…more like dead trees, hence the name…not a common sight in FL…

(Decided to do this shot in B&W, didn't like the colors)….

Seeing jellyfish washed ashore isn't so rare, however…but then again, seeing one in one piece isn't so common, for me at least…

Also saw this interesting hollow tree….

On a path to Amelia Island Beach, we encountered this baby gopher tortoise…it was marching along, stopping briefly to eat along the way...

Meanwhile, closer to home…near Flagler Beach, we saw this pileated woodpecker near the boardwalk that goes to the Intra Coastal Waterway…might be the same one I saw last time I was there...

I'd never noticed fiddler crabs before, below the boardwalk in the marsh muck…Karen pointed them out to me. Don't think I'd ever seen a fiddler crab before! (If memory serves me right, which is highly debatable, I'm sorry to say.)

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Back at home, the avian nursery work has been in full swing…this pops was gathering grub around my hydrangea bush...

Mayme I canph stuff oneph phore fug in myph mouph...

A Lucky Ducky Lifer

Our rambling RV'er friends returned to their favorite campground recently, and after a pleasant lunch, hubby headed off to work while I hung out awhile…the three of us enjoyed some relaxation at the beach, needless to say…

While lounging like lazy lizards, we noticed a dark duck shape come bopping along from the north...

….I had to get the photos home and cropped and looked up in a guide book to know that this was a lone female black scoter! Not only a lifer, but she was a bit off course…apparently they are rare but not unheard of this far south of the Georgia coastline…

After several moments, along came two males, cruising south behind the female! This is my second scoter, having seen the white-winged scoter some years ago on the N. Calif. coast. 

*   *    *   *

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (or cottage)…

…the brown thrasher has been making an occasional appearance…

This No. cardinal recently showed up, touting an exceptionally bright fiery red...

An indigo bunting showed up, just when I was lamenting the possibility of not seeing any again…he seemed interested in the bottle brush blossoms...

The squirrels continue to do their acrobatics to reach the blossoms at the end of skinny, flexible branches...

…As do the No. mockingbirds…the blossoms look like a vampire sucked the life out of them…deflated and faded red…

I'm tickled that I continue to see a grey catbird occasionally…managed to get slightly better photos than before.

The anoles are back out, green ones and brown ones…there's always one who claims the top of this sprinkler for an outlook post.

Who Let the Birds Out?!

Spring has definitely sprung in the kingdom of feathered frolickers…I barely posted about my long over-due ID of an Eastern bluebird, (seen on a power line, during a walk) when lo and behold, I looked out the window at the feeder pole and there sat a bluebird! I was even able to dash for the camera, which sits at the ready on the guest bed near the window…and get one shot before it zipped away. 

The following pictures were taken on two different days during a very short period of time...

I would think this is a female...

Not to be overlooked, finally a goldfinch sighting…I was beginning to wonder if I'd missed them this year...

I'm a bit thrilled to say, the Carolina wrens have become braver and less scarce at the feeders…this one didn't mind sharing with a pine warbler (r), even...

I saw four blue jays coming and going from the feeders at the same time…

The Carolina chickadees are appearing…no mistaking their distinct call…

But they're hard to capture…and fairly scarce...

I couldn't resist this shot through the lattice-top fence...

My guess is that this is a chipping sparrow, morphing from winter to summer coloring…

Update: A fellow birder, Laurence, feels this is a morphing palm warbler, pointing out the narrow bill…I would have to agree, the bill's too narrow for a sparrow. I've compared it to images online and it does match a palm warbler. Thank you Laurence!

…A female yellow-rumped warbler...

…And a male, hiding in a leaf-sprouting tree near the feeders...

…Up in the newly-leafed maple tree, a male No. cardinal waits for a turn at the feed…

At the front of the house, in the next-door neighbor's driveway, some serious drama unfolded…

One No. mockingbird gives the stink-eye to another…

…followed by strutting and posturing...

…Moments later, a kerfuffle!

…A blurry kerfuffle….

Until someone squawks, "I give!" and plays dead...

…Followed by more kerfuffling…

Now was this males being territorial,

Or a mating ritual?!

I hope the former, yeesh!

…Yet another new visitor…not very welcomed, either! An American crow checking out the base of the feeder pole…it didn't eat or even peck at a thing...

…While up above in a neighbor's pine tree, another crow looked on. The Stokes guide says they come to feeders. Please tell me this is NOT going to happen! N-o-o-o-o! It's bad enough I have to put up with the hoggish, couch potato mourning doves. Ack!

A Feathery Tail…or Two

 Well, I'm finally back at my Blog, updated my bird sighting list and now posting the latest photos collected in the past month or so…I saw my first bald eagle in Florida about a week ago! I was driving, so no photo…the eagle was soaring over the coastline, hunting breakfast no doubt...

A recent round of beach therapy…in-between Arctic Vortex blasts…resulted in a first sighting of 3 black skimmers at Flagler Beach, since moving to the area. I'd seen a couple at Fort Lauderdale Beach a couple years ago, but didn't have my camera then (gasp!) 

The larger birds shared the shoreline with the usual sanderlings, ruddy turnstones, and this lone willet…

Meanwhile, back at the "ranch"...

The titmice are showing up a bit more, flitting in and out as rapidly as ever...

…And the pine warblers are back, equally good at flitting about…although, this fellow allowed me to get within 8 feet to take photos...

…Along with the pine warblers there is an occasional Carolina Chickadee, scarce really…

and still about impossible to photograph...

The fairly abundant pine warblers and No. cardinals chow down daily…

…The feeders can be so busy that there is literally a queue in nearby trees…the chipping sparrows are back in abundance this winter as well…

…The red-bellied woodpecker couple is back…they're suet lovers...

…And the squawky, pushy blue jays…have been seeing a pair together at the feeders more often than I did last year…but they still don't seem to like to share with one another...

…I know we're getting more than one type of mottled brown sparrow at the feeders but can never seem to get a clear shot…is this a song sparrow? Or…? Probably just a "vague" chipping sparrow…

…Hubby likes the olive-colored female cardinals...

…Like last year, a downy woodpecker has made a few scarce appearances, not 

at the feeders, but pecking at our small trees...

…Not to be left out, the brown-headed cowbirds are back, sporadically as usual...

…The Carolina wrens are also scarce and flitty, seen in the background mainly but also they take a peek at the feeders, not sure they actually eat anything (don't think so)...

…The yellow-rumped warblers arrive at dusk, mobbing the maple and small trees in our front yard...

The American robins are back too…these lovely red berries don't stand a chance…as soon as they were ripe, the robins came, conquered, and left…in 3 days the tree was BARE. Well they're still about town, just not at this property now that it's been wiped clean.