“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.
A couple of days ago, on a very dreary and overcast morning, I was out on the boardwalk with several other birders, photographers, and walkers. We were watching the Great Blue Herons fly back and forth across the water with small branches, on their way to and from their nesting areas. This one, however, was […]
Last evening was one of those really special times in the local wetlands preserve. Since it was just after sunset, cool, and very overcast, few people were there. As a result, it was quiet and still . . . just lovely. But, the birds were out and about before their bedtime~This large adult Wood Stork above […]
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. […]
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the story of the Jewish people crossing the Red Sea, following the Exodus from Egypt. After the splitting of the Sea and their miraculous rescue across on dry land, the people sang a beautiful song of thanks and praise to G-d, the Song of the Sea, when they reached the opposite […]
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 […]
In a recent blog post, I mentioned that the name of Zipporah, the wife of Moshe (Moses) is ‘Bird’, in Hebrew. There are often variations in the spelling of Hebrew words transliterated into English, and most often Tzippor (or Zippor) is translated as Bird.Rabbi Natan Slifkin is the author of Nature’s Song (2001), a remarkable book about the beautiful […]
I was intrigued by an article called Birding without Borders, in the current issue of Audubon magazine, because it was about a wonderful young author/birder named Noah Stryker. A few months ago, I had read and included mention of Stryker’s new book, The Thing with Feathers (a real treat to read!) in a post on my blog. Imagine […]
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 […]
Birds are found everywhere in Torah!! This past week’s Torah reading includes important references to birds, including the name of Zipporah (which means ‘bird‘, in Hebrew), who is the wife of the great leader Moshe (Moses). There are numerous references to Zipporah’s swift actions, comparing her behavior to the swiftness of a little bird. This week marked […]
Birder's Journey 