Birds of Wakulla Springs State Park

These are some of the birds we spied from our boat trip through the Wakulla Springs in January.

Enjoy.  Joining Saturday Critters
Through My Lens

Flycatcher and Other Wild Things

My camera has great zoom.  I was sitting at the dining room table having lunch yesterday when I noticed this flycatcher on top of the tuteur in the Perennial Garden.  I haven't seen this bird all summer.  He or she was busy looking all around for bugs.  It left once briefly and captured one.

 

And then as I was typing this, who should appear but the resident ground hog.  Isn't it huge?

I don't mind it keeping the grass clipped, but when it ventures into eating other plants I do mind.  I'm stuck with it for now and probably for all winter under my deck.

Finally, the hummingbirds are draining the feeder more quickly at this time of year as they stock up for their trip south.  Won't be long before they disappear.

Common Ribbon Snake

We discovered this snake next to our deck this afternoon.  We scared it once and it slipped into a hole in the mulch to hide under the deck.  It needed to be in the sun for warmth, it's a rather cool day, so when we checked again it was out in the sun.

It took a search of Maryland snakes to discover what it was.  It likes wetlands and bogs so maybe it's making its home here because of our pond.  Hmm. I wonder how many gold fish it will eat?

Another Visitor

Haven't had one of these to visit for a number of years. It's a sizable one, too. My fear is it will eat the creeping phlox which is what was nibbled in the past. I think I doused it with Liquid Fence which is supposed to work for rabbits as well as deer.

And one of my pepper plants under the grow light has set a bud. See it?

Residents and Visitors

I'm sure you have resident wildlife that share your garden spaces with you. For me they are the deer, raccoons, frogs, all sorts of birds and these fine looking creatures who have become regulars each morning looking for a handout. They let me know they are ready to eat by coming up to the deck, climbing the beams and looking in on us as we have our breakfast. I tear up a piece of whole grain bread and toss it on the deck and grass. They aren't tame enough to stick around while I do that but once I close the window they scamper back to eat. This morning there were these two. A third was chased off so it didn't get to partake.



Then there are the occasional visitors. Yesterday it was a flock of cedar waxwings taking a drink from my pond. Didn't catch them on the camera before they flew off to who knows where.

(Photo from GBYBC - anonymous.)

This morning it was a single duck who landed on the embankment of the pond. As I reached for the camera she flew off chased in flight by another duck, I assume a male. I believe she was a female wood duck because she look somewhat like this. It was the white patch that was distinctive but she wasn't the lovely coloring of the male wood duck.

(Photo from web search - Terry Sohl)

Residents and visitors - an ever changing scene here at my gardens.

Fox Sightings and Other Visitors

Last Wednesday I was seated at this laptop when movement caught my eye. I looked up and saw a lovely red fox walk through my backyard along the edge of the glen. It stopped under my new suet feeder and sniffed up at it. It won't get any closer than that (but that's the subject of another blog) and then veered off over the edge of the glen.

About ten minutes later the same thing happened again, but this time the fox was moving faster as though it was chasing the first fox.

Yesterday morning I looked out the bedroom window at the backyard and there was the fox again trotting along the edge of the glen from west to east. I called for Dan to come see and as we watched the fox veered to its left and came up on the deck, lifted its leg and marked the upright beam with its urine! It continued on the deck and Dan speculated it was going to do the same thing to the other beams, but we lost sight of it as it continued east our sight obstructed by the rest of the house.

The other visitors have been the regulars: birds and deer. The latter I just chased away from my English laurel bushes. They were having a fine breakfast out there. I didn't think they liked to eat those kinds of leaves. I haven't seen any evidence of them eating there before. But why am I surprised? They eat anything that's green.