Eagle Nesting Season is Underway
The bald eagles are back, and nesting season has begun. Last week we headed to our favorite nest site and watched the eagles continue repairing and rebuilding their nest that blew down over the summer. When reports of the nest falling started rippling through the rumor mills, it was easy to wonder if the birds […]
Common Mynas
One of the ecological issues in Florida that often goes underreported is the impact of non-native, invasive species on native wildlife populations. The one species that gets most of the airtime is the Burmese Python which has had a huge effect on the Everglades. But there are countless other animals that have been introduced to […]
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
A duck that is common in our area but seldom seen in the rest of the country other than southern Texas and southern Arizona is the black-bellied whistling duck. A few things make them easy to identify in the air. First is their distinctive call. They sound much like a wood duck with more of […]
Heading Toward Fall
Summer is beginning to wind down for many, including wildlife. It seems in Florida that summer is the time to catch up with things like editing and organizing photos and finishing projects that need to be done around the house. While summer is generally quieter for wildlife photography, there are species that we only see […]
Crested Caracaras
It’s always a thrill to see a Crested Caracara. They are a Federally designated threatened species so sightings are not real common. Caracaras are usually only found in parts of Florida, Texas and Arizona in the United States. Their range is mainly in Mexico, Cuba and Central America. They feed on dead animals like vultures […]
Lakeland
One of my favorite photo destinations is Lakeland, FL. As the name implies, Lakeland is a city of lakes. According to recent data, there are 38 named lakes in the city. Lakeland is famous for its population of mute swans that are descendants of a pair of swans given to the city by Queen Elizabeth in […]
Shore Birds
During one of our recent visits to Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg, we saw several types of shore birds. Some live in this area all year while a few are just temporary residents until returning to distant nesting grounds. The whimbrel is one of the birds that migrates here from way up north […]
More Buntings
We visited one of the local nature preserves a few days ago just to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. To our surprise, we found a bunch of indigo buntings along with a single male painted bunting. We thought maybe they had started their journey north for the summer but to our delight, they’re […]
Baby Birds Everywhere
The nesting season is in full force. It seems like there are babies everywhere. We picked one day recently to check on bald eagle nests and found a total of 6 new eaglets in 4 nesting sites! It appears that they are all well on their way to growing into young adults. There are also […]
Back From a Break
Wow! When I looked at the date on my last post, I couldn’t believe it’s been 6 weeks!! There has been plenty going on to keep us busy. But 6 weeks? Shame on me. During my hiatus from the website, I had the opportunity to get out a few times with the camera and capture […]
Our Favorite Bunting
Our favorite male painted bunting has been coming to our caged millet feeder since early November. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t see him several times. A couple of weeks ago he surprised us by bringing a buddy to the feeder. Two male painted buntings on the feeder at the same time is […]
Diving Ducks
Tis the season for our northern visitors. I’m not talking about the mass migration of “snowbirds”. I’m talking about waterfowl. We have huge numbers of ducks just about everywhere. One small lake behind Costco has become the winter home for ring-necked ducks and lesser scaup. They look very similar. The main differentiating feature is the […]
