Margaret I would be interesting if bears came to my feeders. However, I think I will stick to cursing the cockatoos.

I went to Selby Botanical Gardens today and got some cool photos, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow because I am dead tired.

So why am I posting? Because I don't want to forget to tell you guys that Dad told me when he went out to get the paper this morning around 8am, he saw a "big ass owl". It was sitting under the oak tree, and Dad had his cell phone up and ready to take a pic when it flew off. He described it as having vertical bars and being very large. I pulled out my phone and went to the Audubon Birds app and searched for owls that are in Florida in September. I showed him some pictures, and he is sure it was the Barred Owl. If you remember, I had been hearing owls a few months ago, but I listened to the calls, and I'm fairly certain that was a Great Horned Owl. The Barred Owl sounds like a strange dog barking-noise. I am seriously considering sitting outside with my phone and playing owl calls. Or maybe I should just go get the paper more.

Or, if you're up in the night go outside and listen for a while. I've heard people describe the Great Horned Owl's call as "boom, boom, boom". Should be neat to hear. But not nearly as great as acutally getting a picture! Nearly impossible at night but really early in the morning, a good chance?

All I hear when I go outside at night are the screech owls, yes, screeching.

We have a pair of hoot owls aka barred owls living in the woods by our house, they've been here for years. They make various sounds, different calls. I sometimes wonder if the female makes different sounds than the male when they call back to each other, they make different sounds. Let's see if I can find the audio....

Okay, this is a good one. They call it "caterwauling" when they call to each other. Sheesh! I was listening to the sounds and now the dogs are barking like crazy. Must go outside now.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...

Early in the morning I like to sit in my rocker on the front porch with a cup of coffee and watch hawks swoop across the pasture. These beautiful birds of prey amaze me as they search for field mice (or my beloved lizards). I've tried many times, in vain, to get a photo. The image is usually a blurry speck against the clouds.
Today my luck changed. One landed in a nearby tree - and, fortunately, I had my camera.
It was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

I hear the first call...the "Who cooks for you" most often from the Barred owls but we do hear the "Caterwauling" from time to time. Often it is during the peak mating time which is February here mating. I believe it was our second February here that we heard them so went outside, this was like 10 pm, and there numerous owls flying around like crazy! We just stood on the porch and watched in amazement! Have never seen it again.

Gorgeous hawk GrammaChar!

Claudia, I just love the Phoebe and the Chickadee! We sometimes see the Eastern Phoebe here in the winter months.

Christine, love the call of those Barred Owls, very cool!

GrammaChar, Wow, amazing photos of that Hawk!

A couple from my backyard earlier today ... it's so hot and humid out that I needed another shower when I came back inside.

Red-bellied Woodpecker


Blue Jay

Very Beautiful Lin

Thanks Kurt!

Gorgeous hawk, Char and so glad you had your camera at the right moment.

I love your red-bellied WP shots Lin - they're pretty birds but behave badly at my feeders, chasing off all the other birds. I hear you about the extra shower, but
that's September in Florida, right? Not much longer we will get a little relief. All I have outside right now is a swarm of Grackles squeaking like a bunch of rusty door hinges. Wish the WP would show up when I need him!

Elaine, that's really interesting ... I've never had a problem with the WP's chasing off other birds; if a WP is at a feeder it usually takes off when another bird lands.

I'm glad the Grackles are spending the summer somewhere other than my yard. I saw enough of them at our Daytona house to last me a lifetime; they would arrive in hordes from trees where they nested across the waterway and empty the feeders within 30 minutes!

Yes, September in Florida; hot and .... sticky humid.
I hope we get some relief before long; the newspaper this morning reported that the entire U.S. will see a warmer fall. I promise not to be moaning about the cold when January and February get here.

Beautiful pics of the hawk, woodpecker and bluejay.

The grackles do sound like noisy rusty door hinges, or they remind me of squeaky wagon wheels.

The bluejays can be noisy too, I've noticed them around recently too.


The hummingbirds are dwindling down. Just a few hanging around now.

Okay, I went to Selby Gardens yesterday, but first I had to get up and feed the caterpillars.

I saw this Red-Bellied Woodpecker while I was gathering food.



Selby is right on the water so you can watch the boats go by. This one had an Osprey on the front!



There's a section of Selby where I usually see Herons and other water birds so I told Mom to shush as we came around the shrubs. And there was a Great Egret sitting up in a tree! It looked bigger than the ones I usually see, but I think that's because usually part of them is in the water.



He was grooming and I got close enough to see how each feather passed through the bill. But I like this picture where it looks like he's scratching an itch.



And this is where I snuck around the other side. I was so close to him!



This Blue Jay was warning all the other birds around. Another Blue Jay joined it in the tree, only it looked smaller. I saw it grab a berry and fly off which was cool.



Is this a Mockingbird? I mostly had a back view of it and it looked darker but that might have been due to the deep shade I was in.



These ducks were underneath where the Egret was standing. Mallards?



I was wilting in the heat so we headed for the cafe when Mom spotted a couple of birds back over in the same little inlet where we saw the Great Egret. I think this is a Snowy Egret on the left and a Little Blue Heron on the right.



This Anhinga was hanging out in the mangroves. I only saw it because I was looking at a butterfly. And yes, that's someone's house across the water from Selby.



Mourning Dove was right in front of me so I took its picture.



And for contrast to the Anhinga, I saw a Double Crested Cormorant! As you can see, it's perched on one of the signs in the bay.

Very Beautiful pictures and descriptions Melanie ,
I don't think I have ever seen an Anhinga before Very Beautiful capture and bird

I see Anhingas a lot drying their wings, but I'm usually driving and can't stop to take photos! One nice thing about Selby is that I'm pretty sure the birds are used to people being around.

Christine, love the hummer shot! I sure miss seeing them; hopefully I'll be able to attract them to my yard again in the fall or next spring.

Melanie, lucky you getting to visit Selby Botanical Gardens. It's been awhile since I've been over that way but I sure love that place! What beautiful shots of the Great Egret! Yep, I think that's a mockingbird in that tree and I agree, the Snowy Egret and beautiful Little Blue Heron. Loving all the pictures of the shore birds!

flaflwrgrl said:@mcash70
Margaret, I think you've mentioned before that you have an app for your phone that ID's birds by the songs??

Ann, no that wasn't me, I think it may have been Becky, I don't have a smart phone, we are still in the dark ages with a flip phone.

You can text on a flip phone, Margaret. DH does.

Thanks Margaret.

Melanie, I agree it's a mocker and yes, I also think you got the mallards correct. Awesome photos!