10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida By James • March 8, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by shorebirds.

Florida 187

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 187

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Having now visited Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in January this New Yorker will never have that problem again. I had only been in Florida for about fourteen hours when a herd – yes, a herd, not a flock* – of American Avocets was foraging its way across the shallow water in front of me.

Wildlife 169

Wildlife Florida 2012 Groups 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2012

Platalea ajaja is a marvelous bird and I was delighted to make its acquaintance - for only the second time in my life – at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s Black Point Drive when I was attending the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in January.

Wildlife 178

Wildlife New Jersey South America United States 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2014

Fish and Wildlife Service is down-listing the wood stork from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The wood stork was listed as endangered in 1984, because the Florida population was dropping at an approximate rate of 5 percent per year. The wood stork occurs and breeds in Central and South America.

North Carolina 194

North Carolina Bald Eagle South Carolina Florida 194

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I challenge that false notion and welcome those to visit Anhinga Trail in late winter and see one of the great wildlife spectacles of Florida. Regardless, it is still freshwater wetland birding in Florida at its best.

Wildlife 129

Wildlife Alligators Miami Florida 129

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2015

The invasive Burmese Python ( Python molurus ) is well established in the Florida Everglade. Another species of Python, the African Python ( Python sebae ) has established a small population in the 2,877-acre Bird Drive Area (BDA) in South Florida. The impact that pythons are having on native wildlife is not well understood.

Pythons 180

Pythons Florida Mammals Reptiles 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

While at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival I could not resist making the drive north to Daytona Beach one day to witness the awesome gull fly-in from the dump to the beach. In winter, Laughing Gulls should have black legs and bill and in alternate, or breeding plumage, those parts, while staying dark, get a nice deep red color.

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Florida Panama Wildlife 2014 190

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2016

While on a tour of Rookery Bay near the Florida Everglades, I was reminded of this lovely personality trait once more. Unlike many other estuaries in this part of Florida, Rookery Bay is protected by the Estuarine Research Reserve system, and remains almost entirely undeveloped.

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Florida Mexico Protection Pelicans 141

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2017

Many species had left for breeding in more northerly climates, and those that remained hid out in cool spots until saner temperatures reigned in the morning and evening. Lower Suwanee River National Wildlife Refuge. We both added avian species to our year lists, and honestly just had a great time exploring coastal Florida.

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Florida Wildlife Fish Game 135

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

This spurred her to pursue a career in environmental education and wildlife nature tourism as a park ranger in Texas and as the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator with Florida Fish and Wildlife. About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2012

In fact, prior to my visit to Florida in January for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, I had never seen an Anhinga at all save one lousy look in Honduras back in 2009. And their plumage, especially their breeding finery, is a sight to see. In fact, he pointed out the exact same bird as the bird below.

Florida 173

Florida Honduras Turkey Wildlife 173

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Southern Florida offers many unique wintering birds, but perhaps none more so then the sparrows that call different parts of Florida their winter homes. Tom Dunkerton tipped me off to an area on the Black Merritt National Wildlife Refuge where some of my target birds can be seen. There are always good birds to be found.

South Dakota 168

South Dakota Florida Sparrows Wildlife 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2020

bike commutes, Natural Encounters describes other Beehler forays — as far south as the renowned “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, where you can see enough Roseate Spoonbills to give you an ice-cream headache, and as far north as less well-known locales in northern New Hampshire and elsewhere.

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New Hampshire Washington Virginia Montana 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

Birders are familiar with the National Wildlife Refuge System, which consists of more than 550 units distributed through all fifty states. National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs), which are managed by the U.S. Ding” Darling NWR in Florida. FWS calls WPAs the “Prairie Jewels of the National Wildlife Refuge System.”.

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Factory Ducks North Dakota Nebraska 117

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2013

He now wakes up to the choruses of Northern Cardinals and Northern Mockingbirds in sunny Vero Beach, Florida. This photo could have been taken in Florida’s Treasure Coast during the winter months or in South America during the same period. Please report banded and flagged birds to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Chile Peru South America Florida 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the “Rufa” population of Red Knot ( Calidris canutus rufa ) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia. Red Knot in non-breeding plumage.

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Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Well, when I got the text I had just returned to my hotel room in Titusville, Florida, after a full morning birding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. They do breed in Florida, after all, even if they are exceedingly rare in winter. … a.

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Florida New York Wildlife Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2015

The Marbled Godwit ( Limosa fedoa ) in the photo above, shown landing at Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida, is used with permission from my friend Mia McPherson of On The Wing Photography fame. It’s nice to have friends that are excellent wildlife photographers. Click on photos for full sized images.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Seals Alaska United States 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2013

First off, Audubon of Florida reports that counts indicate more Roseate Spoonbills are nesting in Florida Bay (between the mainland and the Keys) this year than last year, although those numbers are still lower than in the last decade. The hope is that their presence while inspire the grown-ups to breeding success.

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Michigan Chile Tennessee North America 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

You find them in the south from Florida to Texas and down into Mexico, occasionally as far north as the Carolinas in the east and up the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois. … 10,000 Birds is a Scrub Jay-level sponsor of the 15th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Mottled Ducks. ……… a.

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Ducks Illinois Florida Mississippi 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2012

Living in Northern California offers nature lovers many opportunities to view wildlife in there native habitat. Most of the Osprey breeding in North America are migratory, only Florida, the Caribbean and Baja California host non-migratory breeders 1. Click on photos for full sized images.

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California North America Sacramento Breeders 199

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

I think a lot of people know that climate change is not a positive thing, but do they know whats in it for wildlife? The EPA speculates that there will be a global sea level rise of 2 feet from the current sea level by the year 2100, which will have huge impacts on our coastlines for both people and wildlife. Whats in it for birds?

North America 213

North America San Francisco Suffering California 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

The epicenter of large, charismatic, and often photogenic, fish-eating birds is in Florida, at places like Everglades National Park and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the only site in the park system that could convincingly be named for an exotic dancer. Who knew?). Is there a more elegant heron in the entire world?

South Carolina 157

South Carolina Alligators Florida United States 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

January – Starting Off and Florida. I went to the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. It was my first Florida birding so I had quite a few easy birds to check out and check off my ABA life list. Florida Scrub Jay ? May – Migration’s Peak and Breeding Begins.

2012 143

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. June 2, 2010 BP apparently bans workers from showing dead or dying wildlife and from talking to the press.

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2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 231

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

I see grebes and gallinules all the time, but one can never tire when watching successful breeding birds. Though I’ve now been to Wakulla on a trio of birding trips, I know that when my next visitor arrives I will make a bee-line for my new favorite wildlife-watching destination!

Alligators 117

Alligators Turkey Hunting Raised 117

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

These are extremely large stick structures (some articles compare the largest ones to the size of a car) that are usually populated by multiple breeding pairs in separate chambers. Florida’s Introduced Birds: Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). Monk Parakeet is the only parrot species that builds its own nest. and Sam Logue.

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Chicago New York City Illinois New York 198

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

The vast majority of Baltimore Orioles that breed in North America return to the tropics between Mexico and northern South America for the cold half of the year. Fish & Wildlife comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. Instead I saw a flash of orange. The proposal from U.S.

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North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

Corey encountered a bunch of winners, but 24 Common Redpolls at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, in almost the exact same spot he saw them a couple of years ago, feeding on birch inflorescence by the East Pond, were easily his best birds of the weekend. However, I’ll bestow that honor upon my first local Common Grackles of spring.

2011 154

2011 New York Deer Philadelphia 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right? And then I showed them the one photo that was not taken in Florida, an image of baby American Robins in a nest in Central Park. There is nothing as deadly as 15 bored 4-year olds.

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Switzerland Birds Owls Lions 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

the same few states always come to mind first…Alaska, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, CA. Gull-billed Terns breed in south San Diego Bay, along with Black Skimmers and several other tern species. When one thinks of taking a birdcation somewhere in the U.S., Northeastern California.

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California San Diego Oakland Birds 197

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird spent the 2011-2012 winter at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in northern California, migrated someplace exotic and distant in February, and returned to the same pond at the beginning of this month. Southern Cassowary with chicks by Duncan Wright Carlos Sanchez was particularly appreciative of a new bird for him in Florida.

2012 146

2012 Guatemala Birds Florida 146

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). And I can’t forget the awesome birds I saw in Florida in January. (If

2014 187

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Penguins 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

The guide covers over 650 species, most of the breeding birds in the United States (minus Hawaii) and Canada (like most guides with ‘North America’ in its title, it does not include Mexico or the Caribbean). Acorn Woodpeckers use both communal and cooperative breeding strategies which vary widely among family groups.

Eggs 227

Eggs United States Sparrows Birds 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

Whooping Crane, Florida. There is a small resident population in Polk County, Florida, in the middle of the peninsula, mostly on protected land, and once in a while they show up in a place where they can be easily observed. Nice to know that some things don’t change! An eBird mystery. I also noted that the U.S.

2018 153

2018 Michigan North Dakota New Jersey 153

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

.” It is a relief to eventually reach the chapter on The Life of Waterfowl, written in a much more conversational style and unashamedly fascinated with waterfowl’s unique breeding behaviors. So–not a fan of hunting. And, neither are most of our 10,000 Birds writers.

Ducks 117

Ducks Geese North America Hunters 117

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2011

Breeding behaviour and plumage was very apparent, but John Wise , an ex-pat Brit now resident in Orlando, told me that the birds’ activities had been held up for a couple of weeks during a cold snap that saw frosts in Florida. There are more at the Orlando, Florida post on Redgannet. Get yours today! The proposal from U.S.

Alligators 116

Alligators 2011 Deer Florida 116