This Red-bellied Woodpecker was quite noisily chatty when flying between a Washington Palm and a bountiful acorn-filled Live Oak at the shoreline of the pretty Freedom Pointe Lake here in The Villages, Florida on Sunday morning, Dec. 17, 2017. I just love these boisterous birds! Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo. Enjoy!
Little Blue Heron
I visited the very lovely Ocklockonee River State Park a few weeks ago and spent a wonderful night camping there. I was thrilled to see three White Tailed Deer, an Osprey, a Little Blue Heron, a Red-headed Woodpecker, several Boat-tailed Grackles, a pair of Mourning Doves, a couple of Brown Thrashers, and a gorgeous little White Squirrel (sorry no photo).
I took these pictures several times in the morning and it was very cloudy and misty out in my early shots that morning. I am including a couple of shots of just scenery so you can get a sense of the view at this beautiful Florida State Park. The river is a short walk from the campground area.
This state park is quite close to the St. Mark’s National Wildlife Sanctuary and is probably about twenty-five miles to the Gulf of Mexico. I enjoyed the park and would return someday for a longer stay. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture. Enjoy!
River Scene
River Scene
White-tailed Deer at a vernal pool
River Scene
Osprey
Brown Thrashers
On June 26, 2012, I took these pictures of a small flock of common Crows perched and flitting around in a clump of dead trees in the gulch area just below the pond’s dam. The Crows made a lot of noise and could be heard across the yard up at the house. We don’t have Crows here very often. Sometimes they will be a clean-up squad but usually they are tormenting a larger bird of prey. They are pretty interesting birds. They are medium-to-large birds that are jet black. They will eat just about anything from insects, small animals, fish, and grains, and fruit. When eating plant foods, they especially love eating Sunflower seeds, and Corn. This morning, I am looking out the window and seeing that same group of crows sitting in the Oak across the yard just near the pond. I think that the corn is getting more mature and they may have their eye on it. Ha! Fat chance!!! The Crows are smart and are interesting birds! Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
Happy Fourth of July! I am showing some photographs I took a couple of weeks ago in Alaska of Bald Eagles. Several Bald Eagles were sighted in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska. I think that the eagle on the nest was one that I had photographed before during a trip we took two summers ago in 2010. We enjoyed our cruise excursion that was arranged by the Chilkat River Adventures Company there near Haines, Alaska. My husband and I were on a week-long Princess cruise, which is how we found this particular jet boat excursion. This excursion was excellent, as was the overall cruise!
The picture of the Bald Eagle sitting on the iceberg was one I took when we were in the Tracy Arm fjord near Juneau, Alaska. Yes, the ice really is that color of blue! Just stunning! Yes, the eagle really was sitting perched on that ice! I did not have my Nikon camera or a long lens on this trip. I took these pictures using my Olympus snap-shot camera. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger photo. Enjoy! Have a safe and fun celebration tonight if you will be watching fireworks or traveling.
I took these pictures here in my yard in the last two days. I am always amazed at the big variety of different birds, ducks and small animals that come around. I even had this mysterious kitty that is hopefully a neighbor’s wayward pet. I also saw a Cotton-Tailed Rabbit on the street just in front of the driveway.
The Wood Ducks were lounging on the opposite shoreline near the dam. The Eastern Chipmunk was sneaking up on the porch looking for bird seed treats. I saw an American Robin sitting on a fence post. There even was a Chipping Sparrow on the bird feeder and also a Tufted Titmouse. The Red-Headed Woodpecker and the White-Breasted Nuthatch made themselves known, too! I had a great time looking at all the wildlife! Both of the days I took these pictures on had short, on and off rains. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
This Brown Thrasher was up on a dead tree located in the woodlands in what I refer to as the gulch area a few days ago. I was taking pictures of the Baltimore Oriole that was nearby and saw this Brown Thrasher. This was the first Brown Thrasher I have seen here at the little farm. These are medium-sized birds that are approximately the same size as a Mockingbird. Their color is a rusty brown on the back and head and a buff with brown streaks on the underside of the wings and on their chest. The Brown Thrasher has a stout pointed bill. They hunt for insects on the ground in ditches and in woodland areas. I have only seen a few of these birds ever. They are shy birds. I was glad to get the pictures. I took these pictures on May 5, 2012 late in the afternoon from my driveway at the street here. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Now there are two woodpecker families here. I saw and heard a Red-Bellied Woodpecker here the other day up in one of the pond-side Oaks. It trilled its call a number of times and flitted around the now fully-leafed out branches. I think that there are caterpillars in the Oaks that the woodpeckers find delicious. The other of the woodpeckers in residence here is the Red-Headed Woodpecker. I saw it yesterday up at the top of the electric pole near the house. It too was trilling away. These two kinds of woodpecker have similar calls and songs but the Red-Bellied’s song is louder and longer in my opinion. I took these pictures on May 7, 2012, and again on May 8, 2012 in my yard. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Robins have not been around the grass too much in recent days because they are busily nesting up in the trees here. Robins are great insect-getters. They eat lawn grubs, worms, beetles and other yard insects mostly. The males and females look pretty similar with the female a little less colorful. The Robins here in the United States are not the same as the European Robins. The American Robin is a member of the Thrush family of birds. I am very much looking forward to seeing the little juvenile Robins arrive and be out and about in a few weeks. The Robins are super parents with the father Robin having a lot of parenting duties. I took these pictures about a week ago in my yard. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
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