Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Hummingbird

  • Bok Tower Gardens

    Bok Tower Gardens

    This past week we took a trip over to Lake Wales to visit Bok Tower Gardens. It’s one of our favorite spots to go for hummingbirds. Bok Tower Gardens is a beautiful place built atop one of the tallest areas in all of Florida. It was originally built by Edward and Mary Bok in the early 1920s and was meant to be a bird sanctuary. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning author and the editor of Ladies Home Journal for 30 years.

    Large Purple Crepe Myrtle Along Trail
    Large Purple Crepe Myrtle Along a Trail

    The gardens are beautiful with many native plants. Because it’s Florida, there’s always something in bloom. The property sits in the middle of huge citrus groves and the views stretch for miles. That also means the air is filled with sweet fragrances in the spring when the trees are full of blossoms.

    Polydamus Swallowtail On Red Jatropha Flower
    Polydamus Swallowtail Butterfly on a Red Jatropha Flower

    The tower was finished in 1929 and contains a 60-bell carillon. It is known as the Singing Tower. The Boks gifted the gardens and tower to the US and the tower was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark by President Calvin Coolidge. The music is played by a carillonneur. There have only been 4 full-time carillonneurs in the history of the tower. The current carillonneur, Geert D’hollander, has been there for 11 years. The bells are played each half hour during the day with short concerts twice daily.

    Singing Tower At Bok Tower Gardens
    Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens

    The gardens are a mecca for hummingbirds, butterflies, and many other species of birds. Sometimes there are uncommon visitors during the fall and spring migrations. A few years back a hummingbird native to the western US made an appearance. This year another has returned. It’s called a rufous hummingbird and they are generally found west of the Rocky Mountains. The last time one was spotted in the gardens, it stayed for several weeks. With any luck this one will do the same. But, in case this one decides to continue south, we wanted to capture some shots before it left. Unfortunately, the adage “you should’ve been here yesterday” held true. We thought we saw a rufous, but we weren’t certain. It can be difficult to correctly identify specific birds when they are juveniles because their adult feathers haven’t filled in. Either way, we didn’t get the shots we hoped for. We’ll keep watching for updates from the park. Hopefully we’ll get another opportunity.

    For more information about Bok Tower Gardens, check out the link below.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Rare Bird Sighting

    Rare Bird Sighting

    Every year we see or hear about a variety of rare birds in Florida. It almost always happens during migrations. This year has brought us a Calliope Hummingbird which is native to the far western United States. According to Audubon, it is the smallest bird in North America. The bird we saw was either female or an immature male as the adult males have beautiful purple stripes on their throats.

    Calliope Hummingbird Female In Live Oak Tree
    Calliope Hummingbird Female in a Live Oak Tree

    This bird was visiting feeders with several ruby-throated hummingbirds at a residence east of Tampa. Fortunately, the homeowner is a bird watcher who was happy to let us try to photograph the rare sighting.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Black-chinned Hummingbirds

    Black-chinned Hummingbirds

    The other day I posted about seeing several birds this season that are very uncommon in Florida. Black-chinned hummingbirds are typically found in the western states, most often across the rocky mountain region. While most migrate to western Mexico, there have been sightings across the gulf coast in recent years. We were fortunate to see two feeding on an orchid tree.

    Black Chinned Hummingbird Perched On Hanging Limb
    Black-chinned Hummingbird Perched on a Hanging Limb

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Central Florida Hummingbirds

    Central Florida Hummingbirds

    Last Friday we went to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, FL to photograph a rufous hummingbird. They are most likely to be found in the western US. But they are appearing more frequently in other parts of the country. Their copper and green colors are striking.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

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