Spring feels like summer this weekend with temperatures in the high 80's. Good for the beach!



One of the resident box turtles.



Lots of insects.







Haven't seen a hummingbird for a couple of days so I suspect that they have gone north. Painted buntings are still here though.



I was in Charlotte for work last week. The trees were covered in blossoms.





Over a month later, here are the first of the vacation pics. Butterfly world in Coconut Creek.













I loved this little guy against the bright orange flower. Can not decide which shot I like best, so I'll just post them all!















The violet-ear was spectacular, as usual.













One of my favorite shots of the day.



More to come!

Just got back from Canada. I was lucky enough to see what they hope was their last snow of the season! It was pretty chilly.

Hamilton





Field Work





After that, I was on the US side of Niagara falls and found a nice place to pull over for some phone calls. The gorge was beautiful. And because it was warming up, chunks of ice would crash down every so often.





This squirrel kept harassing me though, he would scratch scratch scratch on the car while I was on the phone! Luckily he moved on eventually.



Last week I was back in New Orleans for an industry seminar. It was great to see the city in full swing!



I spent a morning exploring the Garden District.



Tour of Lafayette Cemetery #1











This symbol was particularly meaningful for me. Time has certainly been flying by lately. It was a reminder to make time to enjoy the moment.



We've also had a few different hummingbirds stop by. Most recently, a young male I named Mr. Scruffbag because of all his pinfeathers. They really like the flowers of the Coral Bean.







Another interesting visitor, an immature male Indigo Bunting.





I'm slowly going through the vacation pics, will get those up here soon!

Just got back from vacation and I've got tons of photos to go through! But first the latest on the hummingbird. Decided to try and get some closer shots with a gopro type camera.

Here's the setup:



Here's the video:



More to come soon!

I've got two males and a female visiting the garden now.







The female doesn't use the feeder but both males do. The males used to spend all day fighting but now they seem to tolerate each other.

The rabbits visit every evening, just before dark. They come right up to the window and munch on my wildflowers.



Flocks of robins gather in the garden in the evenings as well. I think they are fattening up for their trip north.





Birds are on the move all over. Whistling duck flyover at Riverbend:





Here's a video of the three males on the feeder:



There are also two pairs of cardinals . They seem to have divided up the territory; one pair lives in the front yard and one in the back. It would be nice if they both nested nearby, but they fight over the bird feeders. Once the hummingbirds leave for the summer I will put another feeder out front for them.

It's been warm again this week. Looking forward to seeing more snakes! Might go check out some of my favorite snakey places soon.

It has been an eventful week. First, I finally got some photos of the hummingbird visiting the feeder.



And video!



The painted bunting was drinking water out of the "ant moat." Guess he is telling me that he wants another birdbath!



The alpha anole



Next, I was in New Orleans for Winter Storm Leon. These shots were taken before the city was shut down.









Finally, I saw a couple of metal shows in Ft. Lauderdale.

Enslaved



Amon Amarth





Atrocity/Leaves Eyes





Moonspell





It has been in the 80's in FL since I got back. Hopefully we will have just a little bit more cool weather before the summer begins!

Went to Nevada for work last week and had my first experience of Las Vegas. And the Mojave Desert. Of the two, I think I prefer the desert!























Got to watch the Thunderbirds practicing for an airshow




One of the casino hotels had an aquarium inside, so that was a nice escape from the craziness of "the strip."







Last weekend we had some chilly weather in FL. Riverbend was hopping with birds!

Misty morning





Downy Woodpecker



Lots of red-shouldered hawks



Robins



This little blue heron was a great poser. I couldn't decide which shot I liked best.











The mischievous racoons again

Today I was able to attend the release of a rehabilitated sea turtle at the Loggerhead Marine Life Center. I'm usually out of town when these events take place so I was very happy to be there to see "Atwell" return home.

Getting ready to go





The procession down the beach





The final stretch





Home at last





I've also been vising Riverbend when I can. The weather has been pretty weird lately. No polar vortex to worry about, but we have had some unseasonably heavy rains this past week.

Stormy skies


Raccoons







Lots of birds





Attitude



I was planting some flowers in the front yard and disturbed this narrow-mouthed toad. He was grumpy but I put him in a safe spot to sleep for the rest of the day.



I saw a hummingbird one morning, but no use of the feeder that I have seen. Lots of painted buntings still here!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! May 2014 bring you health, happiness, prosperity, and beautiful birds!

We are celebrating the occasion with Painted Buntings.



Click videos to play:











Many people have been asking why my new bird feeder looks like a robot.
I use the Heritage Farms Squirrel-proof feeders because these are the only ones that I have found to be actually squirrel proof. They might not be the cutest feeders, but they do the job!
The reason for the new, more robotic look is that the view of the new feeder is from the side, because it is double sided. The old one only had one perch, so it faced front. The old one is still in use and has lasted well after 5 years in the elements.

Still waiting for hummingbirds!

Visited the park last week for Christmas. The birding wasn't spectacular, but because of the warm and rainy "winter" we are having, there were lots of reptiles about.

Gator at Eco Pond. The site was flooded with salt water and muck during Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and has taken many years to recover. It was encouraging to see the gator (since they prefer fresh water to salt), plus lots of fish and birds.





The American Crocodiles were hanging around Flamingo marina, as usual.





Largemouth bass pairing off



A peaceful end to the day















That night on our drive back, we found a new snake. All I could see was a reddish tail disappearing into the grass, so we got out to have a closer look.





When we first got the flashlight on the head I thought it was a Rainbow Snake. This would have been an amazing discovery because the southern Florida rainbow snake, Farancia erytrogramma seminola, is extremely rare and has only been seen a handful of times. It didn't have the lengthwise stripes for a rainbow snake though, so we were puzzled. Upon closer inspection of these really bad photographs, it looks like an Eastern Mud Snake, Farancia abacura abacura. Still an exciting find!

The painted buntings really like the new feeder. The old feeder is still up too, but for some reason only one of the females will use it.







There has been more use of the birdbath lately too.





Another ancient wanderer found in the garden yesterday.



Last week I was working in Colorado. The highlight of the trip was a bald eagle winter roost. We saw at least 13 birds. I didn't have any decent gear with me, but we encountered some nice folks that let us look through their scope.

"Record shot." Those black specks are the eagles.



There were still a few patches of snow, but it was much warmer than I had expected. 60's during the day!



Watched a few prairie dog battles



Sunset lights up the prairie grasses in the most amazing ways.







Lights and skating in Denver



It is nice to be home now. I just put up a hummingbird feeder in hopes of enticing them to stick around for the winter. They tend to stopover in the fall and spring.

Rich and I (and the buntings) wish you a Merry Christmas!