I kept missing all of our local Black-necked Stilts this year, and recently realized to my surprise that I hadn’t posted about them at all since 2019! We saw lots of the gregarious birds on our visit to Orlando Wetlands last month. They always make me smile, with their large bright red eyes and torpedo-shaped […]
Category Archives: Nature
Roseate Spoonbills gather, as if on display. What a sight to behold as we started walking down the trail recently at Orlando Wetlands 💕~!
All young birds are pretty darn cute, but this guy really makes me smile! Amazingly, Sandhill Crane chicks are able to leave the nest just ONE day after hatching and follow the parents around! They stay close to the parents for 9-10 months (Audubon Field Guide). We’ve seen much younger Sandhill Crane colts in the […]
Much as they try to hide, we’re lucky that the elusive Least Bitterns enjoy our local wetlands! All About Birds includes a very apt description of this shy little bird: “The furtive Least Bittern is often little more than a voice in the reeds that is frustratingly difficult to locate. But these diminutive herons reward […]
A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers are reportedly building a nest in this dead tree, and I just had to photograph the handsome dad poking his head out of the nest cavity! He didn’t oblige me by flying, just surveyed the neighborhood for several minutes and then disappeared back inside. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are found throughout the […]
“The Red-winged Blackbird is known for aggressively defending its territory from intruders.” (Smithsonian Birds of Florida, p. 355). The handsome males are especially vigilant at this time of year, and will make lots of noise to ward off humans as well as other birds if they approach a nesting area too closely. The slightly smaller, […]
While on a birding walk the other day, a fellow birder told me that a River Otter family had been romping about and really “putting on a show”! But by the time I approached them, they looked from the distance like a pile of furry brown coats! Exhausted from their playtime, they’d apparently decided to […]
My husband and I turned down a familiar trail at Orlando Wetlands, when a dot of bright blue suddenly flashed through the tall marsh grass. I did a double-take – what WAS that?? I began thinking of all the blue birds I knew, as I struggled to get a clearer view. . . . Not […]
Back in early November, I visited Circle B Bar Ranch a few days after they’d re-opened following the Hurricane Ian closure and clean-up. The usual beautiful Osprey and Red-shouldered Hawks were out celebrating the clear blue skies. The familiar Limpkins and Great Blue Herons patrolled the trails, stepping gingerly over the fallen branches, entangled in […]
Birder's Journey 