From the category archives:

Birds

Birding with St. Pete Audubon–Shorebirds at Fort Desoto Park

March 6, 2010

Shortly after 8 a.m. this morning I found myself standing out on the rather chilly mud flats at Fort Desoto County Park with members of the St. Petersburg Audubon Society, hoping to learn about shorebirds. For a novice, shorebirds are incredibly challenging to identify. But with the assistance of experienced birders I found myself quickly [...]

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Report Florida Sightings of Banded Shorebirds at BandedBirds.org

March 1, 2010

Have you seen a shorebird with colored bands or numbered flags on its legs? You can report your sighting at BandedBirds.org. The web site asks for a description on the bands, the location of the sighting, the date and time, the weather, the birds environment, the size of the flock and how many banded birds [...]

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Florida Screech Owls Encouraged by Nest Boxes

December 28, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogtheBeach.com

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Handfeeding Hummingbirds

November 17, 2009

I hardly ever see hummingbirds anymore, so it’s really cool to see this person hand-feeding one. Thanks to Sharon Steitler at BirdChick.com/wp/ for posting this video.

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Dunedin Osprey Cam Now Live

September 14, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com.
Would you like to get a close-up look at an osprey on the nest without placing yourself in danger of those dangerous talons? Now you can. The City of Dunedin has just put a web cam near an osprey nest. Check it out. You never know what you might learn!
Dunedin [...]

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Nurturing Nature on Florida’s Southwest Coast

July 21, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com
Charlotte County (located about halfway between Tampa and Naples)  has some of the least developed beaches in the state of Florida: Stump Pass State Park, Palm Island, Don Pedro Island State Park, and Little Gasparilla Island. So it’s no surprise that both shorebirds and sea turtles favor these beaches for [...]

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Black Skimmers Love Anna Maria Island

July 14, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com
The black skimmer (Rhynchops niger) is a strange and beautiful bird present year-round on Florida beaches. It has a unique method of catching fish–it flies along parallel to the shore with its lower bill skimming the thin film of water (called the “swash”) left by the surging waves. When it [...]

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Dusk Brings Out the Interesting Birds

July 12, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com
This evening I took a drive on Terra Ceia Island in Palmetto, just to see what I could see. It is still very much Old Florida. On one quiet road I spotted this owl sitting atop a pole above the mangroves. The light was not good for taking photos and [...]

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Ospreys Rule the Coast

July 5, 2009

Osprey photo by David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com

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A Bird’s Life on Siesta Key

June 16, 2009

By David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com
These pelicans on Siesta Key were having a hard time eating the fish they caught. As soon as they caught a fish, a gull would land on their head and try to make them drop it. I guess the pelicans are used to this because they seemed not to be terribly [...]

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