Bok Tower Gardens
This past week we took a trip over to Lake Wales to visit Bok Tower Gardens. It’s one of our favorite spots to go for hummingbirds. Bok Tower Gardens is a beautiful place built atop one of the tallest areas in all of Florida. It was originally built by Edward and Mary Bok in the […]
Hurricane Idalia Flamingos
Every now and then there is a silver lining to a major hurricane. Despite all the damage that occurred with hurricane Idalia last week, there were some positive things that happened that astonished communities all along the Gulf Coast. For the first time in decades, American flamingos were spotted in several places after the storm. […]
Highlands County
There is a great park located near Sebring, FL called Highlands Hammock State Park. The topography of the park is like a lot of areas across Florida with a very diversified landscape. At the far back of the park is a flooded swamp with a large tree canopy. It has a jungle feel. In the […]
Bahia Beach Preserve
One of our favorite spots for bird photography is a little place in Hillsborough County, FL called Bahia Beach Preserve. It sits on the east side of Tampa Bay only ¾ of a mile from the bay and just ¼ of a mile from the Little Manatee River. Because of its proximity to the bay, […]
Cortez
This week we took a little trip out to the village of Cortez, which is located on the shores of Sarasota Bay where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Cortez is known for its commercial fishing fleets. There are still places to go to get fresh shrimp and several kinds of fish caught daily. […]
IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix
The IndyCar series rolled into St. Petersburg in early March for their annual street race. It was great to see the 2023 versions of teams and cars. Once again, the beautiful Florida weather cooperated for the three days the teams were here, and record crowds turned out to see the action. Race day turned out […]
Mergansers
The past few years we have been fortunate to find several groups of hooded mergansers that picked this area as their winter home. They are small diving ducks that like to feed on little fish, snails, and water insects. When they find a good food source and get into a feeding frenzy, they will dive […]
Vermilion Flycatcher
Earlier this spring, my wife Pam and I got our cameras out and took a ride over by Orlando to find a rare bird that had been reported in the area. The bird is a Vermilion Flycatcher, and the males are beautiful. They are normally found in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the very […]
Backyard Bottlebrush
We’ve been fortunate the past few years to have some beautiful visitors come to our bird feeders. The painted buntings are marvels. The males are some of the most colorful birds we see. Their combination of a deep blue head, green back and bright red breast and belly is stunning. Even the females are distinctively […]
Rare Butterfly
The area has a new group of guests this year. In fact, these visitors are quite rare. A flock of Atala butterflies has found their way here from southeastern Florida. They were once feared to be extinct in Florida due to the elimination of their host plant. The butterflies only lay their eggs on the […]
Audubon Bird Count
Over the holidays, I joined my friend Art Nadelman for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The event takes place across all North America and parts of South America. This was the 123rd Christmas Bird Count. We were assigned a specific area to record. We started around 7:30 am and completed around 12:30 pm. We […]
Back in the Field Again
This past Friday my good friend Art Nadelman and I got back out with our cameras again after a 3 month hiatus. Art’s arm has healed enough that he can carefully carry his equipment. We decided to visit the Celery Fields which is a favorite among local birders. Over the course of a little more […]
