Weekend in the backyard - Skywatch Friday

Early in the night before dark I took this picture of the moon coming up over the palm tree in our front yard.

Orange blossoms on our tree. I wish I could can the smell and add it to the blog, like a "scratch and sniff here".  Our backyard smells so good right now.

Lots of mallards hanging around in the channel.  Soon we should start seeing baby ducks.

I see this little bird every month or so hanging around my neighbor's dock. It's always alone. I think it's a spotted sandpiper. I spotted it late Saturday afternoon and ran out to take a picture.

The hooded merganser that's been hanging around the channel was seen again this weekend. I wonder if it will migrate back up north. Should be leaving soon if it does.

This is my version of the super moon, taken on Saturday night. Every twenty years the moon rotates closest to the earth and was suppose to be brighter and bigger than normal.

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Rainy day backyard birds

Hooded merganser in the backyard channel. Taken from the bedroom window.

I was trying to sneak out in the backyard but the hoodie was gone in a flash as I opened the door.

Female house finch sitting on my sad grapefruit tree in the rain.

Male house finch.

Female house finch.

Back in early February we had a rainy weekend. I was sitting on the couch watching tv when my husband says "I see a hoody in the channel."  I looked out the window and there he was. I took the first picture through the bedroom window. Since he was so close to our dock I wanted to try and sneak out and get a closer picture. No such luck. He was off like a flash.  As I was standing in the drizzle in the backyard watching the merganser fly away I saw some movement in the half dead grapefruit tree. I took a few pictures and realized I had not seen these birds before that I can remember. House finches are common but I don't ever remember seeing the red on top of the brown that the male had.  There were 3 different ones sitting in the tree.  See, being a couch potato on a rainy day can have rewards.



Hanging with the hoodies.

My hubby came home from the gym one Saturday afternoon recently and said "There are hoodies down at the pond. Bring your camera and let's run down there and get some pictures." Usually, there are only a few mallards there. So off we went, to the small pond down the street.  We found two hooded merganser couples hanging out there. It was an overcast day and the reflection of the trees on the pond made the pond seem red and green.

Hooded mergansers are short distance migratory ducks. They are probably coming from somewhere in New England and hang out in Florida during the winter. They are diving ducks which dive under water to catch their food. They won't hang around to be fed like mallards so they are usually pretty skittish. I sat on the edge of the pond for about half an hour and watched them swim around and preen. There was a couple in the channel behind our house for about two weeks but I haven't seen them recently. I wonder if one of these were the same couple.

The below is a moorhen couple that was hanging out with the hoodies as well.

Hooded merganser couple

The male hooded merganser was swimming in the channel behind our house over Thanksgiving weekend. I didn't see the female that weekend. Well, this past weekend they were both there. It was right before the sun went down and they came fairly close to our dock. The female is the one without the white circle on her head. She does have a nice mohawk though. The last picture is the only time they were close together and it was almost dark. Last year they only stayed for a couple of weeks. I wish I knew where they moved on to. I guess they felt like our channel was too populated since there are houses all along the channels. 

Backyard visitors over Thanksgiving weekend.

I came home from running errands and the above juvenile red shoulder hawk was sitting on my roof. I see lots of adults in our neighborhood but this is the first time I've seen a juvenile here. He watched me drive into the garage. I ran inside and got my camera and was excited to see him still sitting there. I took a few pictures and then he took off. I hope he stays for a while.

Later that afternoon I saw him sitting on my neighbor's fence looking around.

A little while later he was sitting in my neighbor's yard. I grabbed my camera and snuck out the back door to take a few pictures.

I realized he was eating a bug.

Last winter we had a hooded merganser couple hanging around our channel for a couple of weeks.  Last weekend I saw a male. He's migrating through from somewhere up north. I ran out on the dock and took this picture. He stayed pretty far away. You can tell he's not used to people. Anytime I walk out on the dock the mallards always come swimming up quacking for food. I hope there's a female with him. I didn't see one last weekend but she could show up.

Blue heron looking for food under our neighbor's dock. The tide was really low last weekend.

Feature: Wakodahatchee Wetlands

A three-quarter mile long boardwalk with rain shelters meanders through different man-made habitat types at a facility known as Wakodahatchee Wetlands which is designed to naturally filter highly treated wastewater in southern Delray Beach, Florida.

The scene above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

A very large alligator was observed in my February 2010 visit which is a testament to the successful feeding it has on the birds and mammals that have been attracted to Wakodahatchee.

The gator was interesting to watch in its apparent stealth to take down a Green Heron while the bird was brazen on a patch of land it seemed very comfortable on.

The alligator above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

A juvenile alligator was observed during my February 2009 visit.

The five different habitats created on former agricultural land adjacent to the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility has resulted in excess of 150 bird species seen thus far by wildlife enthusiasts.

The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2009.

The majority of the birds are migratory species that should not be expected to be seen year round or even at certain times.

Such an example is the Black-bellied Whistling Duck which I had the great fortune to see in my 2010 winter visit to Wakodahatchee which was not seen in 2009.

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

The 2010 sighting more than made up for it as the dozen or so ducks in the group that inexplicably took flight and strafed me for a memorable experience.

Between the two visits, there was a give and take with species seen.

The Double-crested Cormorant and juveniles above were photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

The very attractive Hooded Merganser was pleasantly seen in the same spot I had observed the species on both visits.

The male disappointingly did not show off his crest on my most recent visit.

The Hooded Merganser above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2009.

The Wood Stork, a bird species of special concern, was observed at Wakodahatchee in 2010 with about a dozen solitary individuals seen along Alligator Alley on the way back home to Florida's west coast.

Courtship behavior of the Great Blue Heron was not observed in 2010 as it had been in 2009.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

There were a number of nests observed that had Anhinga and Double-crested Cormorant juveniles begging for food from their parents on both visits.

This venue is very popular with visitors that are quite disruptive for wildlife photography when using a tripod as the boardwalk shudders with almost every step even from a great distance.

The wildlife enthusiast above was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in February 2010.

A similar must see venue within the Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Cluster of the Great Florida Birding Trail on a much larger scale is Green Cay Wetlands a short drive to the west.

Hooded merganser

Driving home I pass by a small pond near my neighborhood. This weekend I noticed a handful of new ducks in it. As I was sitting at the red light I could see that big white spot on one of the duck's head and knew it was a hooded merganser. Since these ducks are only here for a few shorts months during the winter I wanted to get a picture. I pulled off the side of the road and got out and snapped. I noticed there were 3 of them, 2 males and a female. I wonder if these were the same 3 in the channel behind our house a few weeks ago. They were there for a few weeks and have been gone for about 2 weeks.

Ducks in the channel

This weekend there were 3 hooded mergansers hanging around the channel in our backyard. Two males and a female. In the 5 years we have lived in our house it's the first time I have seen them here. We always get lots of mallards. They stayed right in the middle of the channel and when they saw me walking out on the dock with my camera they started to swim down to the other end. These pictures were taken with my 500mm and highly cropped. They eat fish like cormorants and anhingas and dive down in the water to get the fish. I hope they stay for the winter.