I’ve often said that people who are more actively observant of the natural world around them are more acutely aware of the seasonal cycle. When you spend most of your free time watching the comings and goings of animals, you can’t help but notice the gradual, steady changes each day brings on our yearly journey around the Sun. This is … Read More
2019 Top 10 Birding Highlights
Like many nature-based bloggers, I enjoy closing each year with a retrospective highlight reel. Ever since 2016, this personal countdown has taken the form of a Top 10 Lifers post, detailing the best new species I tallied during the preceding months. 2019, however, has been the undisputed biggest year of my life thus far. A pair of long-awaited dream trips … Read More
Birding Aruba – Part 3
See also Part 1 | Part 2 I started out Saturday morning sea watching from Eagle Beach (eBird Checklist), where Brown Pelicans and Magnificent Frigatebirds were plentiful. I scanned the beach and noticed four Common Terns to the east, my first for the island. More people were showing up on the beach and the avian activity slowed, so I decided to … Read More
Florida Kayak Birding: Black-bellied Whistling Duck
I’m not sure if it is just me, but I think the weather has been amazing in Florida this summer. We have only had a few days of unbearable heat, and while most days are indeed hot and humid, they aren’t like the horrendous FL summer days you are warned about. Evenings are downright pleasant, especially right before and right … Read More
Orlando birding – lifers and quasi-lifers
Over Thanksgiving, Justine and I headed down to the Orlando area with her family to check out Disney and enjoy some warm weather. As luck would have it, we stayed relatively close to Lake Tohopekaliga and I managed to slip down there several mornings for some birding. I was really hoping to pick up several life birds on the trip … Read More