Dyeyo's Pictures - catandturtle

For Christmas 2009 we got Dyeyo a DSLR and long lens for bird photography. Obsessions really do spread in this family! Here are some of Dyeyo’s favorite shots.

Late October afternoon at Circle B Bar

Even at a distance that makes the picture fuzzy, it’s fun to see the Belted Kingfisher flying off and returning to land on Alligator Flag.

The Purple Gallinule forgets its size and weight as it tries to eat the seeds from the Alligator Flag flowers. The feeding doesn’t stop when the plant collapses under the bird’s weight.

The Snowy Egret is especially white in the afternoon light.

The Tricolored Hereon looks for a few final bites for the day.

The Wood Storks believe in getting to bed early as the sun begins to set making for a pleasant ending for the outing.

July 2013

Black Skimmer Colony on Indian Rocks Beach The beach hosts nesting birds each summer. The stars of the show were the baby skimmers who seem to blend into the sand on the beach. There were also some older birds that had fledged several weeks prior. The parent Black Skimmers are very attentive to their young. I’m not sure I’d want to try to convince a baby to swallow the long fish its parent brought in for it to eat! Birds always have time to preen…. It was interesting to see some of the other birds on the beach and to realize these birds eat both fresh and saltwater fish. There were Brown Pelicans, Great White Egrets Laughing Gulls Sandwich Terns and Royal Terns Last and possibly least, just like House Sparrows, it seems there are Rock Pigeons everywhere you go.

May 2013 Birding

It is fun to go birding at places other than Circle B Reserve sometimes especially during breeding season. Even an “everyday bird” like this Rock Pigeon wore its brightest colored feathers at Lake Morton in Lakeland. It was fun to go birding in the area of two different cattle pastures recently. Baby Burrowing Owls kept company with a Meadowlark. It is difficult to get good pictures of birds in the distance on a cloudy day… Bluebirds stood look-out on the utility lines. A Swallowtail Kite who, with many others, gorged itself on grasshoppers in a grassy pasture. It would have been fun if the gopher tortortoise had popped out of its burrow while we were there. Despite the pine forest in the area, this Red-headed Woodpecker preferred the top of utility poles for a nest cavity. The American Kestrel is always an amazingly colored bird and was a treat to see. Anyone who is willing to be patient will probably find good birding in Florida any time of the year.

Windy Morning at Bar B

May 5, 2013 The pair of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks didn’t seem to know that they are somewhat unusual visitors this far south. The Common Moorhen (on the right) didn’t seem to mind them at all. For about two weeks each spring we may have the opportunity to see the migrating Bobolinks. There have been flocks of 100+ birds, but they easily hide in the bushes and in the tall grass. It is interesting to see that the female Bobolinks really do look alot like their cousins the female Redwings, and to see the white feathers on the backs of the males.

2009

Baby Sand Hill Crane

One Week Old

Baby Sandhill Cranes (approx. 1 week old), Circle B Bar Reserve

Two Weeks Old

Baby Sandhill Crane (approx. 2 weeks old), Circle B Bar Reserve

Three Weeks Old

Baby Sandhill Crane (approx. 3 weeks old), Circle B Bar Reserve

Other Birds

Bald Eagles and juvenile on nest, Circle B Bar Reserve

Palm Warbler, Circle B Bar Reserve

Great Blue Heron (Just an appetizer), Circle B Bar Reserve

Great Blue Heron (The Main Course), Circle B Bar Reserve

Double-crested Cormorant, Circle B Bar Reserve

Black Vulture, Circle B Bar Reserve

Green Heron, Circle B Bar Reserve

White Ibis, Circle B Bar Reserve

Juvenile White Ibis, Circle B Bar Reserve

Black-crowned Night Heron, Circle Bar B Reserve

Black-necked Stilt, Circle Bar B Reserve

American Bittern, Circle B Bar Reserve

American Coot, Circle B Bar Reserve

Bunch of Coots, Circle B Bar Reserve

Great Egret, Circle B Bar Reserve

Snowy Egret, Circle B Bar Ranch

Sora, Circle B Bar Reserve

Purple Gallinule, Circle B Bar Reserve

Eastern Phoebe, Circle B Bar Reserve

Prairie Warbler, Circle B Bar Reserve

Baby Great Horned Owl, Circle B Bar Reserve

Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Circle B Bar Reserve

Tree Swallows, Circle B Bar Reserve - One finally landed

Anhinga, Circle B Bar Reserve

Male Blue-winged Teal, Circle B Bar Reserve

Female, Blue-winged Teal, Circle B Bar Reserve

Laughing Gull, Circle B Bar Reserve

Red-shouldered Hawk, Circle B Bar Reserve

Boat-tailed Grackle, Circle B Bar Reserve

Osprey, Circle B Bar Reserve

Male Cardinal, Circle B Bar Reserve

Caspian Tern, Circle B Bar Reserve

Tree Swallows, Circle B Bar Reserve

Savannah Sparrow, Circle B Bar Reserve

Anhinga (Soushi for Breakfast), Circle B Bar Reserve

Limpkin, Circle B Bar Reserve

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Circle B Bar Reserve

Sandhill Crane, Circle B Bar Reserve

Sandhill Crane (up close and personal), Circle B Bar Reserve

Palm Warbler, Circle B Bar Reserve

Roseate Spoonbill, Circle B Bar Reserve

Roseate Spoonbill landing, Circle B Bar Ranch

Wood Stork, Circle B Bar Reserve

Moor Hen, Circle B Bar Reserve

Great Blue Heron, Circle B Bar Reserve

Critters

Soft-Shelled Turtle, Circle B Bar Reserve

Raccoon, Circle B Bar Reserve

River Otter, Circle B Bar Reserve

Florida Cooter, Circle B Bar Reserve

Hungry Squirrel, Circle B Bar Reserve

catandturtle

photography inspired by our favorite creatures

Dyeyo’s Pictures