This, That, and A Positive ID!

I thought I'd try to post about every 2 weeks, but HELLO! It's been a month since my last post. My bad?! Anyway, some new birds for the year's count have been sighted -- no photos dang it! -- and one, just this morning during my stroll around the 'hood, is also my first positive ID of….drum roll please… the Eastern bluebird! Oh yay! I've seen this "mystery" bird a few times over the past year-ish, but every time I saw it, it was an overcast day and I could not, no matter how hard I squinted, actually make out the color blue. ARG! Today, I saw BLUE! What other bird has the russet "bib" and white belly? I was like 99.9% sure it was the bluebird but me being me, I HAD to see that pretty blue top-side before claiming I'd sighted one.

Also, a couple days ago, also during my morning walk, I spotted not one but two pileated woodpeckers! I spotted one in a neighbor's pine tree last year, and one at the WA Oaks Gardens State Park as well. Gotta love that 'do! These two were near each other, about 2-3 houses apart, so am wondering if they were a pair. They were both hammering, or I'd never have seen them...

I just have to mention that I received a book in the mail the other day, from my 90 year old, dear dad. He sent me his copy of A Field Guide to Western Birds by Peterson. The point of my mentioning this is that this particular edition is copyrighted 1941; the newest edition is 2010. The book arrived the day after I'd spotted the two pileated woodpeckers…there was a small note tucked into the book like a bookmark…the page it was tucked into happens to be page 104, under the Pileated Woodpecker…!

Oh, also seen recently…the first batch of wild turkeys!

A thank you goes to Bob P. for helping me with the correct ID on my previous post…the small tern is a Forster's not the common tern, which isn't so common it turns out…at least not in FL...

Ok, on to some photos…mostly blurry due to taking them through a window…

The birds are eating us out of house and home…and, we now have a male downy woodpecker visiting the suet feeder! I saw him 1-2x last year, but he has been showing up occasionally this early spring on a fairly regular basis.  :-D

The pine warblers had been scarce lately, but seem to be making a come-back…they're here year-round technically at least…

I ran out of suet Wed., the day before I went grocery shopping, and after watching several birds at the empty feeder, I felt guilty enough to make my own suet, ha! The Carolina wrens sure seemed to like it…I even had two at once at the feeder. They are definitely becoming more brave at the feeders this year vs. last year when they were very skittish and scarce.

You know it's spring when the squirrels start pigging out on the maple tree seeds! And I mean PIG OUT…they don't quit until the seeds are all gone, just like the robins and the red berries. Last year, we worried whether the tree would still grow leaves…this front yard tree is still leafless but the back yard, larger maple has it's new leaves.


We have been to the beach since my last post…

Is it me or does this hunkered down pelican look like a feathered football?!

There was a large cluster of sea birds, including a few immature brown pelicans…this one has a leg band…

…Lots of laughing gulls, which are getting their solid black "helmets" back for summer…in case you're wondering why they're called laughing gulls, well just try hanging out for a few minutes with a flock of them…they don't shut up, and they sound kind of like they're laughing when they squawk at each other. Which is constantly. OY! Just another fun day at the beach!

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.

Catch Up but No Fries

I confess! As anyone can see by the date on my last post, it's been over 2 months that I've been MIA...Nothing drastic has happened, I've just been extremely lazy about keeping up with my Blog. I have done very little birding outside of watching the backyard birds at the feeders, or the few varieties of birds seen at the beach, but what deliberate birding I have done ~ namely visiting two different birding spots on the Great Florida Birding Trail ~ has produced very disappointing results as far as visual and photographic issues goes...

Hubby and I just visited No. Peninsula State Park a few miles south of Flagler Beach...this is where the FL scrub jay can be found supposedly. We heard and saw many birds but not well enough to ID any, except for some black vultures and a blue jay.  ARG! Discouragement reigns supreme!

Ok I really shouldn't whine, we have quite the variety of birds coming and going at the back yard feeders, and neighboring trees...

The most common birds, the chipping sparrows, arrive daily...

Yellow-rumped warblers are about town...but are rare to our feeders...

We are suddenly seeing a No. mocking bird here and there...not at the feeders, but

this fellow came in for a vigorous bathing...

The tufted titmice grab a nut and zip away...

The American goldfinches have appeared recently, still pale...

The male pine warblers are very yellow now...

The blue jay couple continues to show up daily, usually separately...

When together, they don't seem to share well or tolerate one another...

Despite there being two separate platform feeders...

The same goes for the red-bellied woodpecker pair...this is the female...

Another No. mockingbird, this one in our blooming bottlebrush tree...

(I was very excited when it started blooming!)

We're seeing a few brown-headed nuthatches now...

In S Dakota I saw white and red-breasted nuthatches,

So was excited to see this little fellow to add to my lifer list...

The male red-bellied woodpecker up in our backyard maple tree...

The squirrels have STUFFED themselves with those pink seeds from the front maple tree...

Wiping out the entire tree's seed supply, except for what is

Scattered all over the driveway and front lawn...we saw up to 5 squirrels

At a time in the front maple...the back maple already has leaves...

Will the front yard maple grow leaves?!

A handsome male No. cardinal on a feeder arm covered in morning dew...

The new feeder pole has 2 criss-crossed arms and holds 8 feeders...

I'm going broke just using 5 of the hooks...

A chance visit from a yellow-bellied sapsucker, looking for a drink...

The robins rarely visit, but when they do it's a good-sized flock,

Descending upon the bird bath and ground feeding...

They're in and out for a short period just one day...

Then gone again for weeks...

This photo includes a female brown-headed cowbird...

The females are like the robins, wham, bam, gone...

Except for very recently...we're now seeing males & females,

all over the feeders, daily.

(Queue the theme from "Jaws" ...)

The bad boy of the bunch...a sharp-shinned hawk (I don't think it's a Cooper's hawk due to the small size)...he appears to have a mockingbird perhaps...these guys scout backyard feeders for prey...we have seen him swooping thru the yard a couple times since this deadly visit...

Even tho we didn't see any birds of interest today at No. Peninsula St. Park,

On the way back home, heading along Flagler Beach, we stopped so I

Could attempt to photograph the No. gannets...still too far away for decent shots...

Only to discover that a small pod of porpoises (our guess) was cruising by...

3-4 of them were actually surfing in the waves! Cowabunga!

The Blurry Bird Blog Bit II

I'm still here, have just been "out of pocket" for awhile due to the major distraction of putting a house together, from paint to furniture to what-nots.  We're getting there, slowly but surely.  New kitchen counters look fab, bedroom furniture is finally ALL here, tho there are a couple small issues that we have to wait for someone to come out and look at...ARG. Anyway, I have finally ordered a belated Christmas gift for myself, it is back-ordered naturally, so probably won't see it for 3 more weeks...a new 4-hook, squirrel repelling, tall bird-feeding pole. Dang they're expensive! If you haven't checked out Duncraft's website, I recommend that you do if you feed the yard birds...

Speaking of, I have been taking more blurry shots from inside the house but have not gone out birding ~ other than snapping beach birds during the past couple of visits ~ in some time.  Our weather is up and down, today being down to 55 for a high. Yesterday it was 75. We've had frost a few mornings...one of the perks of living in central Florida.  Yes Virginia, it can frost in Florida!

Ok without further ado....the latest (mostly) blurred birdy bling around the homestead...

The chipping sparrow is an occasional visitor...

I believe this female red-bellied woodpecker and her mate are the only 2 RBW's visiting the feeders...I love how they use their tail to stabilize themselves...

What the...? A red-winged blackbird came through briefly...

The titmouses have been checking out the suet...they continue to be very flighty...

The Carolina chickadees are occasional visitors and also very flighty, which is weird considering how people-friendly (curious) the black-capped ones are...

The yellow-rumped warblers are occasional and fleeting...

This is Mo, Larry, or Curly...one of three squirrels that are almost always on the maple tree or under the bird feeder eating fallen seeds...due to crippled nature of the feeder, at least one of them knows how to get to the platform feeder despite the baffle....

Finally, robins! They came, they saw, they conquered....and now they don't visit anymore, but I do see them around the area.  This is the first I've seen any robins at all since arriving in Florida over a year ago, tho the Stokes field guide claims they're here year-round. What's up with that?!

The Carolina wren (me-thinks the same one) still visits occasionally, and seems to be getting a little less timid....

Two female brown-headed cowbirds and a male No. cardinal...I wasn't sure what the dark birds were (except female) until I saw the male...

The cowbirds are abundant in S Dakota so I knew him right off....

Beings that this is Florida, there are 'shrooms...this one appeared in our backyard...

The mourning doves are plentiful...

As you can see by this shot...which also captured Mo/Larry/Curly zipping up the maple tree...and a chipping sparrow at the green feeder.

Our daughter visited for a week in early December...we had perfect weather the day we got our beach therapy.  Here she's greeting some brown pelicans as they do a fly by....

There isn't much variety of shore birds at the beach here, I'm sad to say, at least not that I've found yet...will try to explore the Intracoastal Waterway side soon...of course there's gulls; this is an immature (winter) ring-billed gull.

The willets are a common sight at the beach...

As are the sanderlings...

...Back on the "ranch"...a female cardinal poises for a shot at the feeder while Mo/Larry/Curly hangs on the maple tree...the cardinals are very common and plentiful, and a bit hoggish of the feeders...

A red-shouldered hawk visited recently...a step up the food chain from the other feathered visitors...

While trying to snap the hawk, I heard a familiar drumming sound...and could just make out this pileated woodpecker in a pine tree a couple houses down, and waaaay up high...

This was the first time I saw a blue jay eating suet instead of the seeds...

Naturally I could only get one blurry shot of this bright yellow fellow... a pine warbler...

Hubby and I went for a bicycle ride yesterday... and discovered a couple of these bright red mushrooms like the ones always depicted in fantasy art that includes faeries and elves...when we got back home we jumped in the car and drove back to the spot so I could take some photos.  :o)  Do you think they're poisonous?  Hmm.

Well, I'll see you next year...I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and will have a healthy, exciting 2013!  See you in the new year...