Though I’d heard about local sightings since last year, I’d never seen the Smooth-billed Ani until a recent rainy morning. This unique-looking member of the Cuckoo family is found only in certain parts of south Florida, Central and South America, and the Caribbean (All About Birds). According to the Audubon Society website: “John James Audubon and other early naturalists failed […]
Category Archives: Marsh/Wetlands
The little Green Heron is undeniably one of the most patient hunters in the wetlands.We often see Green Herons, like this one, sitting on a low branch for the longest time, just watching the water below.When he spots a tasty morsel swimming by, he stretches out his neck – his whole body, really! – and . […]
Gray Catbirds, like this handsome guy perched above, were everywhere. They are unique songbirds in that their song actually sounds more like a mewing cat – really helps in identifying them! I love this very apt description of them from All About Birds : “Catbirds are secretive but energetic, hopping and fluttering from branch to branch . . .”We […]
The smallest member of the falcon family, this handsome little American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) can be found throughout North America and much of South America (Arkive.org).Only about 9-12″ in length, the elegant but fierce little bird of prey feeds mostly on insects, small rodents and amphibians, and small birds. Yet, due to its petite size, the American Kestrel itself sometimes […]
Sometimes the weather doesn’t look great for birding when you set out in the morning. But you just never know what you will see . . .A few minutes into my walk, a fellow birder pointed out that a Roseate Spoonbill had just flown in near the entrance – so I turned back, of course!Right there […]
I had stopped to take a photo of some other birds wading in a roadside pond, when all of a sudden . . . . . . this charming American Bittern suddenly appeared out of nowhere and walked right in front of me on the path.He looked this way and that ;), and then continued on his way, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Birder's Journey 