Well, my adventure in Florida is winding to a close. This morning, I’m packing, starting to deal with email, and sorting photos for blog entries about the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. I have over 1300 to sift through from the festival from beautiful places like scrub oak habitat to unique places like a [ Read More ]
I have so much to blog about the Space Coast Bird Festival, but I’m still here in Florida and birding like crazy. Monday is my final leg of the festival: a pelagic birding trip. Sunday, I had a major breakthrough in my gull identification ability. Part of it was really great teachers (who don’t make [ Read More ]
One of the super cool things on display at Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival was an education crested caracara from Audubon Of Florida’s Center for Birds of Prey. The bird was found flailing around on the ground as a fledgling. Examination revealed that the caracara had no wing bones on one side–just a few [ Read More ]
Only in Florida. I just do a a blog entry about never seeing coots in flight and what happens? Tonight I’m driving around Merritt Island NWR and check it out: A coot flies in front of my car. Go figure!
The painted bunting has long been a nemesis bird for me: I’d go to where it was reported and get someone saying, “Oh, it was just here 10 minutes ago!” And it would never be seen again. I knew Space Coast would be my chance to see one but didn’t want to put forth too [ Read More ]
On the off chance anyone needs a cleansing bird, how about a sandhill crane head? Check out that red patch of bare, red skin. Look at the nares (nose hole) you can see right through it, just like you can on a turkey vulture. Those yellow eyes are mesmerizing. You can get so frickin’ close [ Read More ]
I think this male red-bellied woodpecker was feeling what quite a few of us were feeling Tuesday morning at Viera Wetlands (aka Viera Sewage Treatment Facility) during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. BRRRRRRR (a cold snap has hit Florida creating temperatures in the low thirties with wind chills in the twenties) Br! I [ Read More ]
UPDATE: THANKS TO MY KNOWLEDGEABLE READERS, THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED! Warning, this post might be a tad gross for some! For others who are a bit like me and love to examine a piece of dead animal…well, this is right you your ally. As I was doing some digiscoping around Merritt Island NWR, I [ Read More ]
I arrived on Tuesday for the annual Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival. It’s my first time for the festival and word on the street is that this is one huge mama jama on the bird fest scale. Rumor has it that over 4,000 people are expected to attend (how’s that for a rough economy). [ Read More ]
Taken on a brisk Tuesday evening in Florida. How many birds do you see in this photo?
