Beach & Backyard Babes

Life is pretty good here in NE Florida...we may be only semi-settled into our new home, due to the fact that we're waiting until we get back from our seasonal job in Hawaii before we paint inside and buy furniture, but we're getting to know our neighborhood with almost daily bicycle rides, which we really enjoy. We've witnessed a hawk snatching up its latest meal from a nearby canal, and we've also witnessed a red-bellied woodpecker pestering a hawk in flight...sorry, no snaps! The hawks are small and, I think, red-shouldered ones. I've now spotted two brown thrashers (a lifer!) in the 'hood...again, no shots so far. But, the number of species has increased at the bird feeders in the backyard, including a couple lifers; oh snap! 

We've made a few more trips to Flagler Beach, and one day in particular, we saw yet another lifer.....wait for it......

First, right off, I was thrilled to see that the black-bellied plovers were sporting their summer attire....

...A male least tern (lifer!) was trying to court a female,

Offering her a piece of sushi,

But she was stand-offish.....he seemed stumped...what to do now?!

...An osprey suddenly flew overhead...it's always suddenly w/ the osprey at the beach;

They just appear out of nowhere...

The ruddy turnstone above was nicely camoflaged by the brown seaweed...this is probably a female (winter plumage is very similar)....

This male ruddy turnstone was definitely sporting its summer plumage...

Flagler Beach Pier in the distance...It's $1.50 a person to use the pier for the day ($6 to fish)...we walked out on the night recently that the moon was big and full...

The coquina sand of Flagler Beach....

There are many scattered shell caches on the beach...

And one sign explaining the unique orange sand color......

After leaving the beach, we idly drove around the area, one block from A1A, looking at the beachy and swanky beach homes...we came upon Silver Lake Park, a woodsy trail around a lake...

At the trailhead there's a sitting area, where we barged in on two anoles doing what critters do best in spring...

On the flip side of the railing, we discovered that Romeo had an incredibly long tail....

Probably made him popular w/ the ladies.....

Back on the home front, we now have a pair of tufted titmouses (titmice?) visiting the feeders...a lifer!

...and a Carolina chickadee has flitted in a few times...also a lifer! (But not much difference from a black-capped chickadee except the body is grey (Carolina) not pale rust )....

A pair of house finches, both with the orange-colored head variation, have appeared a few times...

The red-bellied woodpeckers and cardinals continue to visit often, including these two females...

...and the blue jays come squawking daily as well.....

One day I caught this determined (or lazy) squirrel lying down while it was digging for and eating fallen bird seeds in the mulch below the feeders.....

Blanket flowers grow wild or semi-wild here (or are planted)...these were at the beach...

I was thrilled to see my first passion flowers recently! We have some growing wild in a vacant, uncleared lot at the other end of our street.....named passion flowers because they reminded early pilgrims of the passion or suffering of Christ.

Turns out this is called a Touch-me-not! Also sighted growing in an uncleared lot....

Back at home once again, we now have pale yellow day lilies blooming.  :o)

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This may be my last Florida post before we leave for Hawaii ~ ~ !! My one allowed "carry on" will be, what else? My camera bag! Ru's carrying my laptop so I'll still be able to share photos in Hawaii, of course!  See you there soon!

Feathers & Flowers at the New Nest

Whew! We are finally moved into our new-to-us Florida home, since Thurs.Three days of unpacking, cleaning, and shopping trips later, I have tamed the kitchen -- figuring out what goes where is the hardest part; Yeesh! Or is it putting the blasted contact paper down?! Wouldn't you know, the very last sheet went psycho on me...But I do have lots of room to work with, including my very first PANTRY, oh Yay! It only took me four homes and 30 years to have one! We love this area; it has a forest-y feel with all of the pine trees surrounding the homes and area. Love it! The previous owner was a 70 y/o lady, and she left a multi-bird feeder and other yard gew-gaws, yeehaw! We're a bit overwhelmed by the large backyard but supposedly the sprinkler system (also our first) waters all the plants for us too. We have a large maple tree in back, and one in front, and much more...

Here's what I snapped yesterday outside at our new sanctuary.... 

Ah yes, we have No. cardinals! Mr. C is hard to miss....

The feeder has an anti-squirrel gizmo on the pole but

The squirrels have plenty to nibble on at ground level...

We have bright green anoles here, plus some brown ones too...

(We only saw brown ones at my BIL's house)....

This poor No. mockingbird is missing its tail!

Perhaps one of the 'hood cats tried to make a

Meal out of the poor fella...

Mourning doves are plentiful, like the mockingbirds...

This male red-bellied woodpecker is quite a messy eater....

I'll get all sunflower seeds for the other feeder...

Three guesses who's providing the squirrel feed down below...

This jovial toad-topped wind chime sits in the back

Of the back yard...for now....I'll move it closer

To the screened lanai some day so we can hear it...

The neighbors have a real tall magnolia tree...

They are planted all about town too...

At least, we think they're magnolias...

Oh lookie, we have a red bottlebrush tree....

If only it had blossoms...not sure why it doesn't

Unless the prev. owner trimmed it recently...

We have these around the lanai and 1-2 other spots,

Alliums or close to those....

We have the larger purple alliums out front....

Now this, growing wild in the Black Hills,

Is called Mt. blue-eyed grass...

Prev. owner called it something else...

Shirley left us a pedestal and globe...

I'll get a more colorful globe some day

And reposition the whole thing...

We even have two very small hydrangeas!

The other one is white...both appear to

Have been chopped down; I hope they'll grow

And fill out better...

Another shot of the woodpecker,

Having returned to the feeders

After my appearance scared it off...

We've got a couple of these funky split-leaf philodendrons...

They have real large, wavy leaves and "wavy" trunks...

I believe this is a salvia a.k.a. Mexican bush sage...

We even have a peach day lily!

We have a tall queen palm tree out front,

Which has streamer-type flowers....

There's one pine tree by our house,

on one side out front...

Many others all around though...

There's even an amaryllis on the side of the house...

(Below) Mrs. Cardinal is more shy than Mr. C but

I managed to snap her from the guest room window.

Hope Springs & a New Title

Hubby and I continue to take our morning bicycle rides,

And a few days ago I was thrilled to discover

A Muscovy mama with six chicks!

So far she still has all six, too...

I just couldn't get them all in one photo.

They were not shy and kept coming at me,

No doubt looking for handouts...

Snappy but Unsnapped (today): Two cormorants; tri-colored heron.

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Sideline: I've gone ahead and changed my Blog's title even though I'm not living in Flagler Co. quite yet...too anxious to wait! We close escrow sooner than we'd first been told, on the 23rd, but will be out of town for an important family matter, so won't be moving until the 26th. Still, a few days earlier! After six months of living w/ a relative and "out of a box" as hubby says, it's going to be uber-super to have our own home again!! Hopefully I'll be able to visit 1-2 birding spots before we leave for our 3-month job in Hawaii. And who knows what will show up in our cozy, private back yard?! Soon, no more life in limbo! 

Spring Things

Yes there is a spring season in Florida...

Not only is it warming up,

But some plant life has bloomed...

Red bottlebrush is everywhere...

The yellow trumpet tree blossoms are short-lived, 

Already wilting and falling...

Mama Muscovy and her two ducklings...

I hate to say it but this is a sad story...

Mama had four chicks when we first saw her

At a nearby park, but she went down to two

And then one...

Today, I saw no chicks but not sure I saw her..

I doubt at the fast rate they were disappearing

That the last one survived.  :o(

I did see another Mama Muscovy

Yesterday in a mall parking lot,

She had five chicks.

I hope at least one survives!

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On a personal note...Ru and I have found THE house in NE Florida,
Not far from the beach! We'll be moving in, in three weeks,
Will be in the new house for about three weeks, and then...

We're going to Hawaii for three months! We've secured a
Seasonal job June - Aug., How crazy cool is that?!
Of course, the camera goes with! 

Beach Birds

...Not to be confused with snow birds,

Which I admit I still feel like I'm one of those...

Even tho we now have our Florida license plate

And Florida driver's licenses,

Making us "official" now!

Spring has sprung in S. Florida,

And I hope to get around the 'hood to get flora fotos soon.

In the meantime, we've been to Ft. Lauderdale Beach

A few times recently...

The laughing gulls' heads are blackening...

So are the royal terns, but this one is still in transition...

During our last trip to the SW coast, we checked out Bunche Beach,

Which is on the Great Birding Trail...

An osprey flew over, and a brown pelican,

But otherwise it wasn't impressive

Even if I did smile for this pic...

I thought I was taking a shot of a Calif. gull,

After once again failing to find any skimmers

Since I saw the two and had no camera...

BUT, this is actually a lifer!

Checking my Stokes guide,

I then thought it was a great black-backed gull...

But the legs are yellow, not pink...

So it is a lesser black-backed gull!

Now this royal tern has it's spring/summer black cap on...

This spiffy moth was in the driveway recently...

Ru remembers being afraid of these as a kid, cause they look like a wasp...

This is actually a polka-dot wasp moth!