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As the cold fronts begin to sweep through the northern states ushering in a wave of seasonal change and color, South Florida becomes a gathering place for migratory birds far and wide across the country. Black-bellied Plover is a common migrant in South Florida, occurring at both inland and coastal sites. Tricolored Heron.
Note: Erika is the Communications Director for Audubon Florida. During a chilly Florida day (yes, we have those) a few months ago, I drove thirty minutes outside of Tallahassee to a co-worker’s house for the singular purpose of checking out her bird feeders. I never expected another opportunity to see a Purple Finch in 2021.
I was birding one of my favorite places yesterday, Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County, Florida, and, as generally happens, people were asking me about the birds they were admiring. Species Accounts in both titles are arranged loosely in ABA Checklist order, with some flipping around of order within each family.
We can, of course, count wild, native, species. We can count vagrant species that made it to the area we are in under their own power. We can count introduced species that have met the criteria of the “Bird Police” for the area to which they are introduced. There are lots of birds we can’t count.
But for a week of mornings during a trip to Maine, none of that bothered me, because I was on the lookout for only one species: the American Goldfinch. Unlike so many other beloved North American bird species, their populations have been relatively stable since the mid-20th century, hovering around 44 million breeding birds.
It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. Smooth-billed Anis were relative newcomers as breeders to Florida, having only begun nesting since the 1930s. During this time, southern Florida was in a state of ecological chaos.
The current situation with exotic bird species in Florida is in a state of flux, particularly southeast Florida where the bulk of exotic bird diversity in the United States resides — and much of it “uncountable.” Egyptian Goose, looking for handouts at Kendall-Baptist Hospital, by Carlos Sanchez.
Florida is known as the Sunshine State. It is also known for the 500 exotic species of animals and plants that now call the Sunshine State home. Exotic species are animals that did not historically occur in Florida. Most were introduced, meaning they were brought to Florida by humans.
I was at the Blue Heron Wetlands in Titusville, Florida, during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival hoping to connect with a Purple Gallinule that the field trip I co-led with Laura Erickson failed to find. The birds in Florida, on the other hand, are of domestic stock gone feral. And why is it still there?
This migration season in Florida is fast coming to a close but it has not been without its high points. The Florida Keys Hawk-watch broke the world record for number of Peregrine Falcons recorded in a single day – a stunning 651 birds! We have had a record season for these birds and have banded 27 to date this fall.
Back in January I finally completed the North American scrub jay trifecta – Western Scrub Jay , Island Scrub Jay , and Florida Scrub Jay. Florida Scrub Jays are having a hard time of it, what with habitat fragmentation, degradation, and eradication.
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.
You may not have heard about the Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus) , and that is fine, not many know this bat even existed. This bat is rare and range-restricted in South Florida, which are some of the reasons it was recently listed as an endangered under the Endangered Species Act. ounces, a body length of 6.5
Florida is one of America’s great avian hot spots, renowned for its impressive bird diversity. The official Florida checklist counts over 500 species, and thus Florida citizens had a wealth of State Bird candidates to choose from when they named the Florida state bird in 1927. The striking Snail Kite?
The birding in Florida is so easy that a kid can do it. I’m fairly certain that there’s no other place in the United States where one can walk out the door pushing a stroller and pretty easily rack up at least 30 species without trying very hard. What sets Florida apart, besides the diversity, is the proximity.
Cloud, Florida, Doug, with whom I had been birding all day long, found a Yellow-throated Warbler foraging behind us. They winter in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. In between moments of staring at and trying to photograph distant Snail Kites at Kaliga Park on East Lake Toho in St.
The southeast tip of the Florida peninsula is not well endowed with a wide variety of sparrows in winter like the rest of the southeastern United States. This is not the case in southern Florida, where a typical outing to such popular parks as A.D.
If you have been out birding in southeast Florida there is a good chance that you have run into him in the field. Over twenty species of wood-warbler may be recorded in a single winter in Miami-Dade County, with several more species recorded regularly in Monroe and Broward. That’s right.
It is also a good description of the birding in southernmost Florida. Sure, Miami and the Florida Keys do not boast any endemics ( ‘Cape Sable’ Seaside Sparrow is close) at the species level. Many visitors who come through Orlando or Tampa see maybe eight or ten species on a winter trip.
Its debatable which one is a better bird for Florida. I may now have the distinction of being the only birder to have found two of this species in North America – not bad for a guy who hasn’t been blessed with a great deal of luck at finding major rarities. To be honest, this was actually a bit of a downer for me.
Take the Florida Scrub-Jay. Photo above by Louise Hunt, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) At just about 5,000 individuals, Florida’s only exclusive endemic is Endangered. And with the bird’s oak scrub habitat rapidly disappearing , scientists are searching for ways to preserve the species.
Although many South Florida specialties can be seen throughout the year such as White-crowned Pigeon and Snail Kite , most visiting birders decide to come in the months of April and May in search of summer migrants or secretive birds that only vocalize during the breeding season. Migration starts very early in the sunshine state.
As the Caribbean’s emerald waters fell away below our seaplane, I had no idea what to expect from my visit to the Dry Tortugas, 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. Sooties, noddies, and where to find them. That last bit of knowledge was shared by a pilot with a gift for understatement.
The ABA checklist committee has recently added the Egyptian Goose to the official ABA checklist, based on an established population in southeastern Florida. Some lament the invasive nature of the species and fear for the welfare of their native waterfowl. Like old-growth forests along rivers of the Florida panhandle.
Of course, I contacted Carlos Sanchez , alleged south Florida birder extraordinaire, to maximize the returns on what time I could spend. The reason the location is remaining undisclosed is that reliable Mangrove Cuckoos are difficult to find in the American Birding Association area and are a very sought after species. He was right!
Sure, we also have Common Myna and Boat-tailed Grackle which would be pretty special to most who do not live in Florida. Gray Kingbird perched on a Gumbo Limbo Tree, another typical West Indian species native to South Florida. They are my preferred birding symbol of spring and summer in southern Florida.
Note: Erika works for Audubon Florida. The data are in: the nesting season proved successful for some species of Florida’s wading birds and… less so for others. Wood Storks in particular had a tough year in Southwest Florida; forced to nest late, an early rainy season wiped out many nests.
So what’s so special about seeing the resident re-introduced Whooping Cranes in Florida? One of the last remaining Whooping Cranes in the non-migratory Florida flock. Whooping Cranes occurred naturally in the eastern United States until the late 1940s, and there are records of Whooping Cranes in Florida until the 1930s.
Over the last weekend, I was at Lake Kissimmee in Florida, observing Snail Kites at an area kites were not present or rare just a few years ago. The threat of extinction of such iconic Florida bird prompted State and Federal agencies to find solutions to stop and reverse the declining trend. Kites now nest there and are fairly common.
I always like to see the look of surprise on a visiting birder’s face when I tell them that the Prairie Warblers and Yellow Warblers in southern Florida are restricted to mangrove habitats. Everyone, I would like you to meet the ‘Florida’ Prairie Warbler ( S. Petersburg area on the west coast.
That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Florida is a great place to bird in January because in addition to the year-round species there are a host of birds that winter in the relatively balmy climate that Florida has in winter.
North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. These colorful songbirds occur in two populations, a western one which winters in Mexico and Central America and an eastern one which winters in South Florida and Cuba. South Florida: Everglades & More.
Broward County has one of the highest densities of Burrowing Owls in Florida. The Florida sub-species of Burrowing Owl is now classified as a threatened species in Florida and it is one of the rarest sub-species of Burrowing Owls. This is unfortunately an all too common problem for these owls in Florida.
” my brother asked on a hot and muggy afternoon in North Florida. Each time, a small notebook tagged along with me, and I would note the bird species I spotted, then put it away. I can go back in my notebook to see when other species arrive, or which spend all year in my Florida region. “It
Note: Erika is the Communications Director for Audubon Florida. Typically, team members fan out across their region, counting as many species as they possibly can from 12:00 a.m. At Audubon Florida, we opted to change a typical Birdathon to bring not only our staff together, but our whole Florida birding community.
Brown-crested Flycatcher ( Myiarchus tyrannulus ) is a widespread bird species of scrub and wooded habitats with a range extending from southern Texas and the southwestern United States, through Central America, and down south all the way to northern Argentina. In Florida, the species shows up annually (and in multiples!)
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida, is an amazing destination to see a wide variety of wildlife including, of course, birds! Florida Scrub-Jays are, of course, endemic to Florida. Roseate Spoonbills are one of my favorite Florida birds. So, if you see one that you like, click it!
Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.
The Purple Swamphen now is considered a superspecies, with each of its six races are designated full species – and in the strange world of birding, a superspecies is rather less than a species, not more. This is despite the most likely African origin of the species. Swamphen yes, but Grey-headed? Again: Grey-headed?
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. And by similar, I mean the species and abundance of shorebirds and gulls.
The cup runneth over with good birding at the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville, Florida. Viera Wetlands is one of those Florida institutions, not only for birders, but also fans of civil engineering (you know who you are). And if you’re wondering where all your Blue-winged Teals go, they go here.
Birding in Florida is unique in that so much of that state’s plenty is evident even to the casual observer. There are few places in the United States where simply driving around can leave you with a list of 30+ species, many of them large and spectacular. I’ve spent the last week in southwest Florida.
My husband and I hooked up our boat to the trailer and set off to the Santa Rosa Sound in Florida’s Panhandle around 3 p.m., In fact, even with the tern and waterfowl species designations I only made it to 11 avian varieties. The post A Relaxing Big Day in Florida appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Driving the boat.
And last week I got to celebrate my coming of (young) age by crossing one off the old list, courtesy of my mate Adrian Binns and Wes Biggs of Florida Nature Tours. They were everywhere and we were lucky to nail down some nice species including Prothonotary Warbler and a very confiding Kentucky Warbler. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6akXhJE44w
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