. . . . They are so irresistible, I feel compelled to post more of my recent pictures of Great Egrets from the past week. The National Audubon Field Guide to Florida says rather bluntly that these beautiful Egrets nest in colonies among other birds, and are “common in roadside ditches.” (p. 305).Admittedly, they are often seen […]
The birds in our local wetlands are in their glory at this time of year. And so are the birdwatchers!! Like the Great Egret I included in last week’s post, nearly everyone is in breeding colors, and there are birds of every type and size nesting in all the trees! Some are extremely close to the […]
Last week in my post, A thing or two about Ducks, I mentioned that I would soon blog about some water fowl that look sort of like ducks, and are commonly mistaken for ducks, but are not ducks at all. Now, you can certainly tell that the little creature featured above is NOT a duck at all. But, looks can be deceiving! […]
You’ve probably heard some variation on the expression, “If it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it must be a duck.” Well, the truth is, it’s not so simple! There are many kinds of water fowl that look sort of like ducks, and are commonly mistaken for ducks, […]
When it’s a beautiful sunny day in mid-February in South Florida, it’s only natural that lots of people flock to the nature preserves to stroll and enjoy the fresh air and scenery. But unfortunately, that often means it is much too crowded with humans for my taste ;-). I prefer to go to the places […]
The Anhinga is a really cool bird for many reasons. For one thing, his red eyes and turquoise ‘eye shadow’ really stand out during breeding season. For another, the stately Anhinga is often seen standing in a tree or other convenient ‘drying rack’ with its wings outstretched, drying off, a really unusual-looking behavior. They engage in this […]
“Shabbat Shalom,” said the sleepy Eurasian Collared Dove~! This peaceful dove was roosting in the middle of a sunny day today in the Wetlands of South Florida. The last time I saw – and blogged about – this bird was in the Ashkelon National Park in Israel.
It is fascinating to observe the feeding behaviors of the large wading birds in our Wetlands. The Roseate Spoonbill featured above was using the steady, back-and-forth foraging motion this beautiful bird uses to find and capture its prey.Through a unique process called tactolocation, the Roseate feeds in shallow water by sweeping its large spoon-shaped bill from side to side. […]
When I first started noticing wading wetland birds on my trips to Florida about a decade ago, one particularly large, somewhat awkward-looking bird really caught my eye – the wonderful, one-of-a-kind Wood Stork! Wood Storks are the only stork native to North America, and they are found in the marshes, lakes, swamps and other wetlands […]
The pretty American Bittern above was clearly on a mission last week, stalking very close to the boardwalk. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this large Bittern is quite elusive, “uncommon and very inconspicuous,” (The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Ed.), so it’s always exciting to see one in full view, right near by. They can be nearly […]
Birder's Journey 