A Nature Walk in The Village of Fenney, The Villages, FL

A trio of Cooter Turtles, a pair of Florida Mottled Ducks, a Monarch Butterfly, a Fence Lizard, a Carolina Wren and a couple of Great Egrets (not shown here due to blurry rainy pictures) were all spotted on Sunday, April 15, 2018 in the afternoon at the lovely Fenney Springs Nature Trail and Spanish Moss Park in The Village of Fenney in The Villages, FL.

The Fenney area is among the most recently developed areas of The Villages, and it has an especially  beautiful regional park!  The springs are a natural area with added man-made ponds among the fields and Live Oaks.  The park has a lovely accessible boardwalk nature trail.  There also are a few well-placed picnic tables in the grassy area slightly away from the boardwalk and close to the rear pond.  There seemed to be a good amount of parking available for cars and carts, too.  We had to cut our quick visit short due to thunderstorms.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

 

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Neighborhood Songbirds

Carolina Wren

It has been rainy here so I have not gotten out much but I did manage to snap a few pictures of birds on my street in recent days.  I spotted a tiny Carolina Wren enjoying the bird feeder that is in a neighbor’s yard.  I also took a picture of an Eastern Blue Jay perched on the top branches of a very tall tree near my home.  That picture was taken at dusk in very low light so I have lightened it quite a lot here.

The last two pictures were of a Mourning Dove and a couple of male Boat-tailed Grackles enjoying that very same bird feeder.  My neighbor’s feeder attracts many different birds!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Eastern Blue Jay

Boat-tailed Grackles

Mourning Dove

Neighborhood Songbirds (Ibises, too!)

White Ibises

House Finches, Morning Doves, Northern Mockingbirds, White Ibises, a Carolina Wren, and a male Northern Cardinal were all spotted in the past few days here on my street or in my yard.  A neighbor has a very popular bird feeder that is patronized by many of the birds I saw this week!

The White Ibis flock casually strolls the neighborhood’s streets in search of tasty bites of worms, insects and the like.  The Ibises are not here every day but do come by several times a month.  One of the ibises sure had a vividly red face, legs and feet, didn’t it?  We delight in seeing them!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  As ever, enjoy!

House Finch male

Morning Dove

White Ibis

 

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Cardinal male

Carolina Wren

The Tiny, Sweet, Carolina Wren

 

 

This Carolina Wren was happily hopping around the trees, shrubbery, and lawn here when I snapped these pictures on a very rainy afternoon yesterday.  I am always glad to see songbirds here.  I of course, see a lot of larger wading birds but the songsters have been in molt and nesting so I seldom see many.

The Carolina Wrens love to peek around the edges of homes.  They often can be seen on porches.  This bird was hunting for insects in the bushes and in a large nearby Magnolia Tree.  By the way, although we will not have a Tropical Storm, it has been quite rainy here in Central Florida as we are dealing with the frayed remnants of what was “Erika”.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger photograph.  Enjoy!

 

Some of the Bird Sightings of the Past Month

Snowy Egret and Florida Mottled Ducks

Over-heated Common Crows

Eastern Blue Jay Perched on a Fence

Please click on the thumbnail image to see a slightly larger version of that photo.  Enjoy!

Florida Mottled Duck

Older Juvenile American White Ibises

Turkey Vulture

Male Downy Woodpecker

Killdeer

It is likely a House Finch that is attempting to use a decorative nest as it’s own.  (Edited caption)

Smaller Songbirds at Last!

Male Pine Warbler

Pine Warblers, Palm Warblers, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Yellow-throated Vireos, and Yellow-rumped Warblers have recently arrived in the area!  Here are some photographs I took of the small cuties in the past several weeks.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Carolina Chickadee

Yellow-throated Vireo

Carolina Wren

 

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

This and That in the Neighborhood

Here are a few pictures that I have taken of birds and critters in the last couple of weeks.  The green insect is a Leaf Hopper and is about 3″ long.  That insect was on my living room window yesterday morning.  Please click on the thumbnail image and as ever, enjoy!