St Marks NWR

You know you love birds and being a birder when you brave 100 degree heat, 85% humidity and Yellow Flies as big as hummingbirds! The birds were truly terrific today at the refuge. We saw 19 species of shorebird including many Black-necked Stilts and Wilson's Plovers. The Roseate Spoonbills and American White Pelicans are still present. We also saw a River Otter out on Stoney Bayou. The Yellow Warblers are migrating thru, we saw 3.

Hopefully it will get cooler sooner rather than later but it won't stop me from birding!

happy birding

Andy

Urban Birding

Driving north on busy Monroe St. Saturday afternoon...hot, hungry....slight motion above the windshield...I glance up to see a lovely Swallowtail Kite gliding overhead. AHA!

I immediately pull into the drive-thru at DQ and order a medium vanilla cone dipped in chocolate to celebrate my luck!

Urban Birding from Michele

Eastern Kingbirds

the really great thing about being a birder is that you can pretty much have an exciting encounter with a bird almost anywhere. Last night after dinner we needed to pick up something at our nearby Winn Dixie. I got out of the truck and noticed an Eastern Kingbird singing and flying around above our heads like a bat! Male birds will often do this when there is a territorial rival nearby. Well, there was another kingbird and he was over by the store doing his bat dance too. We watched both male kingbirds flutter back and forth singing and calling until one gave up and flew back into his own territory on the other side of the carpark. Visits to pick up groceries are normally very dull but last nights was great!

Happy birding

Andy

Barred Owl

We often hear Barred Owls in our neighborhood but we rarely see them, so when this beautiful bird suddenly appeared in our backyard we were both really excited. He even posed for pictures.

Barred Owls are common in Tallahassee and they sing at night. "Who cooks for you, who cooks for y'all".

Happy Birding

Mary