When I first moved to Florida, I thought surely some of the Blue Jays in our local preserves were actually Scrub Jays – they just looked so much gentler and prettier than Blue Jays in New York! But I was wrong . . . This is a post about the REAL Florida Scrub Jays, and […]
We recently had the good fortune to spend 6 days in Panama – what a beautiful country!! The stunning BIRDS, the lush landscapes, the clean, clear, fresh air, the warm and friendly people . . . I only wish I could have taken photos of ALL the birds we saw. Alas, so much to see, so little time. […]
We visited the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for the first time the other day. The Refuge is located about 3 hours north of us, not far from the Kennedy Space Center, near Titusville, Florida. What a magical place! I will need to add multiple posts in order to show the wonderful diversity of birds – and the […]
White Pelicans are amazing to watch! “One of the largest North American birds, the American White Pelican is majestic in the air . . . [They] soar with incredible steadiness . . . and often travel long distances in large flocks by soaring.” (All About Birds)Not long after spotting these huge White Pelicans soaring by overhead, […]
We were strolling through New York’s Central Park at dusk, just after Thanksgiving, when we spotted this group of people below who appeared to be looking skyward at something through telescopes.But when my husband approached them, he discovered they were peering through long camera lenses and binoculars at a Great Horned Owl way up high in a tree! […]
I spotted this Red-Shouldered Hawk surveying his surroundings from a perch on a bare tree this morning. Red-Shouldered Hawks are monogamous, solitary nesters, and return to the same nesting spot year after year, sometimes generation after generation. The Hawk’s average life span is less than 5 years, but “the oldest-known Red-shouldered hawk was at least 22 years, 5 months […]
What a thrill to watch an amazing murmuration of Starlings and Grackles right here in our local preserve the other evening! As I snapped photo after photo, my husband remembered to also take some video, a clip of which can be seen here:This magical event has been occurring every evening at sunset for a week […]
The Pine Warbler has to settle for these cypress forest branches when in Florida, though he is “overwhelmingly a bird of the pines” in his normal range (Peterson Field Guide to Warblers of North America, p. 343). The Yellow-throated Vireo favors a similar habitat, and has very similar coloring. I found this crouching behavior above amusing, as this tiny […]
There is just something about Woodpeckers . . . I blogged about the wonderful Pileated Woodpecker featured above a couple of months ago. Since that time, a variety of other Woodpeckers have caught my attention. There is a collection of stories about varied types of Woodpeckers on Bird Note, a great resource. One of the most common Woodpeckers is our […]
Birder's Journey 