February 28, 2014

Today's excursion was to E. G. Sewell Park on the Miami River. A very nice location had it not been for the grayness of the day.

Palm Warbler

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Two separate people thought this was a Broad-winged Hawk so that's what I'm going with

Anhinga

And then the squirrel and the Turkey Vulture wanted the same tree

Raccoon

Once again, no breeding evidence. But the mockingbirds were rather loud and they did not like having the hawk or the raccoon around.

February 27, 2014

Today's excursion was to the small Nature Preserve on FIU's main campus. I got in a lot of practice taking pictures of warblers, but now that I look at them, the pictures didn't come out as great as I thought they did.

I think the most common species I saw was Gray Catbird.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher taking off. You can really see the white tail feathers

The shot that made the trip worthwhile. A male Painted Bunting.

Great Blue Heron

Almost all the sports field light posts had nests on them. I didn't see any bird hanging around though.

I had a little trouble figuring out what species of hawk this is because a lot of juvenile hawks looks the same. I decided this is a Cooper's Hawk because the tail bands (seen in an unpublished photo) are rather large

Yellow-rumped Warbler. I'm pretty sure this bird is less than a year old because it's so brown.

Took me forever to capture the Black and White Warbler and then I can't even line up the shot. This is a female.

Northern Parula! A new species for the blog, I'm very proud of this picture.

A good spot. Breeding season should be picking up soon, so I won't have the "it's too early in the year" excuse anymore. Today I really tried to take my time and observe behavior to see if the birds were in a mating mood, or showing signs of territoriality, or carrying food or nesting material. I didn't see anything like that this time, but hopefully soon!

February 25, 2014

Today's excursion was to Miami Beach. Maybe I didn't spend enough time, but there doesn't seem to be much good habitat. A couple of warblers, a couple of waterbirds, but I'll only post the interesting photos (few as they are). All taken at Pine Tree Park.

Double-crested Cormorant

Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk.

On the optimistic side, I've bought the parts to build a camera on a stick to inspect nest cavities! Those should be cool pictures (if I can get it to work).

February 18, 2014

So the big day was a trip to the Shark Valley section of Everglades National Park with my wonderful boyfriend. We biked the 15 mile loop and saw numerous species (he took several of the better photos you're about to see), but surprisingly only one nesting species.

Six birds of 5 species in one shot. Just the beginning of the diversity here. From left to right: Little Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Snowy Egret, Anhinga

Black-crowned Night Heron

Another 2 records for the Atlas! Anhinga babies! I say two records because the 15-mile loop includes 3 Atlas blocks and I saw Anhinga nests in 2 of those.

Slightly older Anhinga babies. These nests are very close together

Sora, a somewhat rare sight I was very excited about

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

You can't go to Shark Valley without taking an alligator picture. Taken from the Observation Tower

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

An interesting behavioral display right near the Observation Tower. Two Great Blue Herons displaying to each other (the upturned heads and extended necks). The Park Rangers nearby told us they'd never seen them do it in the water before.

As the Herons were displaying, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew over with a prey item.

Can't quite tell what the prey item was, but another Red-shoulder came when this guy called, but flew off again before I could get a picture. The Rangers said a pair usually nests nearby

Greater Yellowlegs? I really can't tell

Roseate Spoonbill in back and a Reddish Egret in front

The Park Rangers also told us that another Red-shoulder pair nests in the palm trees by the entrance. I think I found it (the sticks, center left), but I didn't see or hear any hawks nearby.

Like I always say, I'll have to return here and really take my time. Two hours is nowhere near enough to thoroughly survey a 15 mile trail, especially when there's this much diversity around. It's also still early in the year for many birds. But still a productive trip and a wonderfully enjoyable date with my love!

February 17, 2014

So the big day was pushed to tomorrow, but today was pretty cool too. I went to Amelia Earhart Park and saw quite a lot. That was my first visit there and it's a truly beautiful park; you should check it out.

American Coot on the left and Common Moorhen on the right

What kind of duck is this?

White Ibis

I sat under this male Osprey for probably an hour, hoping he'd hunt. He didn't.

A mallard trying to mate with a Muscovy. Animal mating can be pretty violent.

So birds have one hole for all excretions (feces, urine, and sperm) called the cloaca or vent (pink parts on both birds). Most birds just press them together to mate, but mallards also have a pseudo-penis (not seen here).

Mexican Spinytail Iguana

Pied-billed Grebe

Slider. Can't tell which kind. Where are my herpetologist buddies?

Tricolored Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black and White Warbler

Many more species were seen, but these were the notable photographs.

Post-script: The Egyptian Goose record from yesterday has been submitted for review. It'll be the 7th confirmed breeding record in the state for this species. I want those numbers to be as low as possible.

February 16, 2014

Wow! And I thought tomorrow was going to be the big day for the blog! I got out of work today and literally sat in my car for a few minutes, debating: Do I go bird or go home? Well I went birding and WOW will I never have to ask that question again. If today is any indication, the answer is: always bird!

I went to Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, which started off as kind of a slow trip considering it was 4 PM on a crowded Sunday. But then I made my way over to the Crandon Park Gardens and that's where all the action was.

Palm Warbler

Even though I did a TERRIBLE job taking this photo, it's the best view of that red eye ring. That's breeding plumage y'all. Ring-billed Gull

I didn't know Gray Catbirds have red butts

I guess picking trash through the grate of a garbage can is kinda like picking flesh out of a carcass...
Turkey Vulture

Not a one-footed kestrel (I hope...), but a kestrel resting on one foot

European Starling. Non-native

And here is where the Crandon Garden pictures start!

At first I really didn't like this place because it was non-native heaven. There were dozens of peafowl and people were letting their kids chase them around (which I would not advise because in my experience, they are rather mean birds with a vicious kick).

Red-winged Blackbird

Palm Warbler. You can begin to see why birding takes years and years to master. How many Palm Warbler pictures have I posted and yet they all look slightly different.

Common Moorhen

The first exciting experience: a Canada Goose with a leg band!

Ok, so we know the number ends in 97 (but you will never know how many blurry pictures I took of this bird's leg)

Unfortunately I'm not 100% if that's just 2-9 or 4-2-9. Please weigh in

Sandhill Cranes! The first time I've ever seen this species

Mourning Doves

Second exciting thing! Breeding evidence! I'll have to e-mail the Breeding Bird Atlas coordinator to see if this counts. It might not count because the chick is old enough to be mobile, so there's no guarantee he was born in this block. Egyptian Geese

Pied-billed Grebe. In this photo you can see what they're named for: pied usually means two-toned, so the black and white bill

Tricolored Heron and White Ibis

Great Egret

Last exciting thing! A Great Blue Heron with a prey item! I'll have to ask my herpetologist buddy for confirmation, but it appears to me to be a juvenile Florida Softshell Turtle

Eyes bigger than his stomach? Great Blues have been known to kill things too big to swallow

New strategy: impale it. This poor guy looks like he's been chomped on before. There were crocodile/alligator warning signs posted.

He managed to fit it in his mouth?!?

He managed to swallow it?!!?!?

Unfortunately, I took so many pictures of the Canada Goose and the Great Blue Heron that my battery promptly died. Thank you Nikon companion of mine for holding out as long as you did! I may need to buy a second battery or a car charger or something if I keep doing this to myself. Thanks for tuning in to the most exciting day of the blog so far!