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.
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 […]
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 […]
