Adult Little Blue Heron....come on down!!!!

No this bird did not win a prize on The Price Is Right:)  However, the Adult Little Blue Heron won his debut on my blog.....let's give him a big hand:)  The first picture shows a close up of his face which is an important piece of identifying.  *Note: I am using 'his' for the purpose of this post because male and female look the same; if you'd rather use 'she' please feel free:)  The shape of his beak and the color of the eyes are important factors for birding.  I figured he is either a heron or an egret but I wasn't sure and the color of the eye helped alot.  The middle picture is his whole body to show the coloring of his feathers and his leg color which again help in identification.  The third picture on the right shows his feeding behavior, which I was luckily able to catch him flipping the piece of fish in his mouth.  'To the victor goes the spoils'.....he had won that piece of fish from a small Snowy Egret that was also on the dock that day:)

Some interesting facts I learned:  The reason I name it as Adult Little Blue Heron is because it is important to note that only the adult of this breed is actually this blueish grey color with light maroon head and neck!  The young Little Blue Herons are actually white feathered with dark tips, dull green legs, and their beak is light blue with a black tip.  I am still shocked that birds can change their feather color so drastically given age or season!  Happy Birding:)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hello again bird nerds:)  I used to have a picture of a turkey but I was not able to find it.  However, recently on my trip to central Florida to visit my brother I saw some wild turkeys:)  I am including a picture of a wild turkey from enature.com which is a wonderful site to find a lot of information on birds and other wildlife.  I have learned that the male turkey has many tactics to attract a lady turkey:)  The red "gobbler" as I've always called it under their chin is actually called a wattle and the flap of skin hanging from their nose is called a snood.  The female turkey like many other species of birds are much less colorful and flamboyant.  The males apparently need all of these extravagant features to attract the females.  The males also do a "strut" for potential females lol much like humans if you think about it lol:)  Well I hope everyone has a very happy and safe Thanksgiving:) 

While I wait for the weather to clear....

While waiting for our crazy weather to clear I came across this picture I took a year and a half ago while I lived in Tavares, FL.  This is a Red Shoulder Hawk.  This particular one was constantly stalking our neighborhood and unfortunately we think it was in search of the many squirrels and pigeons :/  However, it is the circle of life and the hawk has to eat just like the rest of us lol.  Anywho the Red Shoulder Hawk is really a beautiful bird.  The striping on the stomach and the wings are also multi-colored with brown, black, and white.  While looking up more facts on this bird I learned that the Florida Red Shoulder Hawks are more paler than the Western ones.  Apparently the Western ones are more redder.  The Red Shoulder Hawk is very common in Florida.  I have seen them many times here in Palm Coast just haven't had an opportunity for a picture like this one in Tavares.  Wishing y'all much birding fun! :)

Learning more about birding everyday! :)

Hello Bird Nerds!  I know that my blog has been skimpy on the pictures lately and I promise to get some new bird pictures up soon once our weather clears up a bit.  We have had cold fronts and now other odd weather out to the east of us that is causing birds to be pretty scarce lately.  Nonetheless I never pass up a chance to learn more about birds so here is what I did tonight.....

Tonight I watched "Bird Park 3D" on Netflix (doesn't have to be in 3D but that is it's title) and I learned some new facts about Pelicans.  I live in Florida so if you go to zoos or parks in the summer it is definitely hot hot hot!  I've noticed that some of the birds will seem like they are panting so I just assumed it was because they are hot.  Well today I learned that the Pelicans and their cousins the Cormorants will slightly move their beaks and puff air into their throat poach to cool themselves down!  Seems so simple but it was just one of the things I assumed was just a panting reaction but instead they are doing it on purpose as a cooling method. 

I also found it interesting that the reason Pelicans are usually seen soaring in the sky is because they are not able to flap their wings for very long.  They will flap them and use their feet quite clumsily to get themselves in the air but since they used all that energy to get up there they have to find high wind pockets to keep them up. 

Anywho I hope everyone is having a great week!  Please feel free to comment on my blogs or tell everyone about your own birding adventures!  I look forward to hearing your stories :)

Fall is here!

I'm so excited fall is here because that means lots of birding opportunities!  Especially in Florida with all the cold fronts we get you will start to see lots of birds right before the cold fronts.  The actual birding term for that is "Fallout".  For instance yesterday we were having a cold front come through and there were tons of birds flying all around!!!  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a photo but I was able to see Red Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and a newcomer.....the Tufted Titmouse!  Please look the Tufted Titmouse up because they are adorable!  I believe there were other finches flying around but again I wasn't able to see all of them.  I was happy to see so many types of birds and I look forward to trying to capture some on film soon for all of you fellow bird nerds!!!! 

Strike a pose!

This bird is the Snowy Egret.  I first saw this bird on the beach around March 2012 I believe, and I was struck by it's funny behavior on the shore and it's orange feet!!!  Today when I saw this bird he seemed to follow me as if he wanted his picture taken lol....this picture he is definitely striking a pose but I also got a few pictures of him looking straight at me lol!  He was quite hilarious!  Anywho the Snowy Egret is known for their black legs and orange feet.  The Snowy Egret also has a reason for it's odd behavior in the surf.  I learned that they will put out their wings and stoop a little to fool the fish in the surf to think they are safe in the shade and that is when the Snowy Egret snatches them!  Certainly funny after I was laughing making fun of their jerky spastic behavior only to learn it is quite genius lol :)