Chasing Florida State Vagrants in January 2020 Birding has many facets, as many of us know. It gets us outside, exploring new and fascinating places we wouldn’t normally visit. It connects us with people we may never interact with otherwise. But one part of the hobby that really drew me in nearly 11 years ago and continues to do so … Read More
Birding Both Ends: Two Long Island Rarities
When it rains, it pours. Fall migration can feel a bit slow at times when the winds and weather fail to cooperate, but these bouts of inactivity are frequently punctuated by impressive flights and exciting vagrants. Once the conditions finally shift favorably after a few days of stagnation, the action along the Atlantic Flyway can really heat up. Coastal New … Read More
Phone Skope Big Year Update
Wow, time flies when you’re having fun. I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I last gave an update about my Phone Skope Big Year (First Update, Second Update). Anyway, it’s been about six months and I finally hit 100 species for the year. Remember, my goal is to Phone Skope 200 species. February was filled with gulls, waterfowl, … Read More
Vermilion Flycatcher – Orlando Wetlands Park, FL
One of my target birds for my past weekend down in Florida, were the two adult male Vermilion Flycatchers hanging out at Orlando Wetlands Park. This park, which is located about 40 east of Orlando, is one of my all-time favorite birding locations. We arrived at 9:00am, it was beautiful and warm out, but occasional rain would shower down every … Read More
Goodbye Moorhen, Hello Gallinule
Sometimes I am okay with changes, other times I am a little hesitant to accept things, and sometimes I just downright cannot stand certain changes. This is especially true when it comes to birds. For instance, last years split of the Whip-poor-will into the ‘Eastern Whip-poor-will’ and the ‘Mexican Whip-poor-will’; this was a great split and made perfect sense given … Read More
Limpkin: A Unique Florida Specialty
There aren’t many species of birds that you can find only in Florida. Most of Florida’s herons and egrets can be found up the east coast and Gulf coast, and many of Florida’s passerines and raptors migrate north in the spring. On the small list of Florida specialities is the Limpkin. Limpkins are only found in Florida’s fresh water marshes (with sporadic records in the … Read More
Avon Park Christmas Bird Count
On January 5th, I was able to help out with a Christmas Bird Count at the Avon Park Air Force Range in Florida. This CBC is entirely conducted within the Air Force Base. Our team consisted of Reed Bowman, Shane Pruett, Anna Fasoli, Jenn Smith, and myself. We started the day off at 5:45am, trying a few locations for Eastern … Read More