Unexpected encounter with a Red-shouldered Hawk

As I stepped out of my car at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge recently, this Red-shouldered Hawk zipped by at eye level out of nowhere, and quickly disappeared into the trees lining the road. At first he stayed hidden, but then he emerged cautiously, peering out as if to get his bearings. The eBird entry […]

Motionless in the shadows (well, most of the time)

Rather solitary and secretive, according to Audubon, Yellow-crowned Night Herons are frequently spotted hiding in the Cypress trees surrounding the ‘Alligator Hole’ at our local wetlands at this time of year. Although ‘their range extends inland as far as the Midwest’ U.S.(All About Birds), the Yellow-crowned Night Herons are year-round residents of Florida, nesting and […]