No doubt about it, southeast Florida can be very hot in mid-August. So what do the birds do to keep cool?? Many birds, like Hawks and Wood Storks, soar overhead, circling above the wetlands to take advantage of high altitude currents where the air is cooler. Most birds try to keep their cool by being much less active […]
Quite by serendipity the other day, I was suddenly confronted by some news on social media that saddened and shocked me . . . a dear acquaintance had died quite unexpectedly at her home a few days ago. Nora was her name.I really didn’t know Nora very well – we’d met a couple of years […]
There is something so lovely and graceful, yet vulnerable, about a juvenile Purple Gallinule. He is no longer a comical little ball of black fluff, toddling after his parents. But he is not yet a full-grown shimmering beauty like them either.I came across this young fellow clambering around in a low tree, and had the […]
A couple of weeks ago, we decided to go for a quiet little early afternoon walk at a park we’d never visited before. We thought we’d really enjoy our natural surroundings more if we left our phones in the car ;-). Unfortunately, we also left our jug of water in the car, a really foolish […]
This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the arrival of a large new group of Black-Bellied Whistling Duck babies!The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are everyone’s favorite, I think – the adults always look so handsome, with their long necks, beautiful coloring, and upright posture. And the babies are just an absolute treat – […]
It always brightens my day when I see (or hear) a Red-bellied Woodpecker! I’ve grown to expect them, especially in the wooded areas along our wetland paths. Never quite understood why they seem like such a special treat till I realized recently that they are much more prevalent here in Florida than they ever were in New York […]
I was wandering along, hoping to spot some of the elusive baby ducks, when all of sudden, I noticed this odd, striped, curved shape object (featured above) in the pond on my left. Somehow, it just didn’t look like a plant….! The pond on my right was open and deep, with lots of Lilypads floating […]
There’s a well-shaded pond (referred to as the “Alligator Hole”) where we can catch a glimpse of the Night Heron families each year, sitting up in the Cypress trees. There are both Yellow-Crowned Night Herons and Black-Crowned Night Herons here in our preserves. Both of these birds are large, but have shorter necks and are stockier than many of their more graceful, […]
The glow of the sky at sunrise looks so lovely behind the birds as we all (the birds and I!) begin our day. On the first several tree islands, each bird appears as a silhouette, as I walk toward them facing east.. A lone Fish Crow rests in the crook of the tree branches as the […]
Peaceful Waters Sanctuary is tucked away in the corner of a large public park, not far away from my home. It’s always quiet and peaceful, and almost always empty of people. You never know what you’ll see . . .
Birder's Journey 