Lucky me – this lovely Roseate Spoonbill emerged out of the reeds and was the first bird I spied on my walk today. Though he spent most of his time with his head down, foraging in the shallow water, I noticed the broken tip of his large spatula-shaped bill right away.I got thinking about a Roseate Spoonbill I’d seen last […]
When I first moved to Florida, I was so awed by the egrets, herons, spoonbills and other large wading birds, that I scarcely noticed the more ‘ordinary’ waterfowl. But now I’ve grown to love the Ducks, like these Mottled Ducks above. They are rarely seen in large flocks, but rather, gliding gently by in pairs like this […]
I recently posted (Sibling Rivalry) about the Tri-colored Heron chicks, who are fast learning to be independent. The babies have gotten much bigger and much more self-sufficient in the past few weeks. This Tri-colored Heron is learning to forage like the grown-ups in the shallow water, where they find fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and other small invertebrates (iBird Plus). I chuckled […]
The juvenile Wood Storks are getting bigger now, and there are lots of them in the nesting trees at one of our local preserves.They are so coy and – I dare say – cute, with their impossibly large bills and fuzzy heads! Our Wood Storks are among the later nesting birds. They breed “. . . just in […]
We love watching the Loggerhead Shrikes and checking the sharp prickly branches they perch on, as that is where the Shrikes often impale their prey, left to dry out, and be consumed later! Their nickname is “Butcher Bird“, as I described in a previous post!My husband caught sight of one of the Loggerhead Shrikes arguing with […]
The Tri-colored Herons have been prolific, as usual, in our area and there are many new broods this spring. Of course, (as you can see above) the competition for the choicest morsels can get pretty serious when a parent drops by with something to eat! It is really comical to watch their facial expressions as they wait […]
The first few times I saw Sandhill Cranes, they were wandering around in baseball fields and parking lots at regional parks, and I couldn’t help but think they looked like gangly, long-necked umpires with little red caps!Only when I discovered them in preserves like this one, could I see their true beauty! Sandhill Cranes feed in […]
Black-necked Stilts are aptly named (Audubon), with their improbably tall, stilt-like legs. In fact, they “have the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.” (All About Birds). They forage for insects, small fish and aquatic invertebrates in shallow water, but – curiously – Black-necked Stilts rarely swim (All About Birds)! Pairs work together to build […]
I watched this striking Purple Gallinule preening in a low, marshy shrub one recent sunny morning. He stayed there for the longest time among the shadowy leaves, as I patiently waited for him to come out into the light.Finally, he began to clamber slowly, deliberately down the long leafy reeds. And then he did something I had never […]
The same drizzly morning that I saw my first Smooth-billed Ani, I also photographed my first Snail Kite! These birds have been hard to find in recent years, due to the diminishing Apple Snail population.
Birder's Journey 