One of the displays in the "Ribbit Exhibit" at Mounts Botanical Garden



Desert Botanical Garden, Tempe, AZ.

Curve-billed thrasher



Black-capped gnatcatcher



Costa's Hummingbird





Local park

Shots from our last sunrise outing before everything got locked down























At home, we still have painted buntings and hummingbirds. Less every day as they move north.

Still have the usual brown thrashers, cardinals, and mockingbirds. Catbirds also becoming fewer in number, and a few warblers passing through.

Been an odd mix of travel and home time for the past few weeks. Looks like I will be home for a while due to travel restrictions, so I am looking forward to catching up with my photos!

Some nice rainbows from cooler weather a few weeks ago







Snapping Turtles









Neighborhood birds









Wild Sundew, a carnivorous plant



Birds in the garden













Tommy Emmanuel. Great shows in Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. Amazing guitarist and such a sweet and lovely person.





Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these crazy times.

The usual characters are plentiful in the garden:











Recently came back from a work trip to NY. It was a little chillier up there!











We ended 2019 with an enjoyable evening with Mr. Malmsteen. Hope that 2020 rocks just as hard as 2019!

At home, we've had some cooler weather and the light has been amazing.





















Was recently in Palm Springs, CA for work and enjoyed the different quality of light there.







An early morning flight was like visiting an alien planet







At home in the garden, the wildlife is abundant.















Wondering when the goldfinches will arrive this year. We had a couple of sightings of a single goldfinch over the last month or so, but they have not stayed around.

Still a few warblers in the garden:

Black-throated blue female



Northern parula



White-eyed vireo



Lots of buntings







Cardinal and catbird





Hummingbirds still numerous





Was recently in Golden, CO for work. It certainly glows in the morning light.



In contrast, it has been a little cooler here in S. Florida so we are starting to venture out a bit more. Still lots of mosquitoes though!

It has been an exciting few weeks with plenty of birds visiting the garden.

The painted buntings started arriving in numbers on October 4, right on time!





The arrival dates over the years have been fairly consistent:

2019: Oct 4 (one single male showed up for a day on Aug 19)
2018: Oct 2
2017: Oct 2
2016: Oct 4
2015: Sep 26
2014: Oct 4 (one single male showed up for a day on Aug 2)
2013: Oct 14

One of them has a silver band. Interested to know where it was banded. I reported it to USGS so hopefully they can tell me!





Lots of hummingbirds too. Seems like we are having a good year for them.







Other visitors include red-bellied woodpecker and American redstart.





Another fall occurrence is the flowering of the Night-blooming cereus. It put on a nice display recently.





Now all I need is some cooler weather!

Had a week off to explore the pacific northwest and take in some scenery and music! Happy to be home with the hummingbirds now :)

Seattle Ferry to Bainbridge



Banana slug



Scenic Whidbey Island











Metsatoll in Seattle. It was a treat seeing them since they hail from Estonia and don't get to Florida very often!











Ghost in Seattle and Vancouver. Both shows were awesome!