A slight migration...:)

1. ....not sure why a '1.' Is showing but anywho I'm so sorry I know I haven't posted in a few months....got some more hours at work and now I moved....only a slight migration north but moving is always time consuming. I'm excited because my new place has its very own nature trail which should make for incredible birding opportunities!!!! Even before moving I've seen many new birds I want to post about and am excited to hopefully be able to photograph more birds! :) Very exciting times so please I hope you can be patient and stay tuned :) Happy Birding :)

Birding and Health

It seems like there is a new diet fad or way to exercise coming out on the news every week.  As well as all the sales pitches about joining a gym this year!  However gym memberships and diet foods that offer a quick fix can get quite expensive.

Another option is exercising the natural way and changing your lifestyle like getting outside and walking, running, playing a sport, etc.  However you never see birding in that suggestion list....Yes, yes I can almost hear the non-birding readers laughing.  The assumption seems to be that only the older generation or anti-social science geeks (not that there is anything wrong with either of those groups) are birders, but the truth is birding has started to grow in popularity among younger generations and can sometimes be quite a social event!  There are many birding tours that are around nowadays and most of them are free!  Some require signing up beforehand but all that takes is one phone call and you suddenly have weekend plans!

Birding is also a low impact activity because most of the time you are walking slowly and quietly to see these beautiful creatures.  It also stimulates the mind because if you really get into birding you will start to learn and remember the different species, what their migrating habits are, the differences between males and females, their mating and nesting rituals.  Furthermore, for all that are concerned about eco-friendly activities birding is perfect because it is completely natural and you leave the environment just as it was when you came in.....the only things you might take are some pictures :)

Lastly, with the growing concern of childhood obesity birding is great for the younger generation.  With more and more technology coming out it seems that children go outside and play or even are concerned about the outside world less and less.  This is extremely sad but there are activities that are not just regular exercise but activities and hobbies like birding that not only can help your weight challenges but engage your mind.  This is true for adults and children.  Geeze even for the people that are competitive and like sports....The Big Year contests to find the most species in a year can get quite competitive.  So go on and get out there!  Happy Birding :)

No Laughing Matter

 Actually for this bird most of it's life is a laughing matter.  The Laughing Gull got it's name for a very good and obvious reason....it's call sounds like it is laughing.  Also this gull's markings make it easy to spot.  In the first picture the dark wings almost make it look like a Great Black Backed Gull, however if you look closely the wings are dark grey except the tips, not fully black like the Great Black Backed Gull. Also the Great Black Backed Gull has a white head and orange/yellow beak.  More importantly the Laughing Gull has an unmistakable black mask covering it's head with a little white right around the eye.

The second shot I was able to get was quite challenging.  The Laughing Gull was circling and diving around us hoping to snag one of the fish we caught.  It had competition with a very feisty Royal Tern and a cautious but determined
Great Blue Heron.  I had to snap several shots to get the Laughing Gull straight on like this.  Luckily the wonders of modern technology with a digital camera taking many shots does not end up with a waste of money on film like the old days but I was able to find one that was clear.


The Laughing Gull is a nice change-up with the other gulls that frequent our beaches here in the winter.  Their distinctive pattern and call make for a easy and enjoyable check mark on the ole birding life list :)  Looking forward to the new birds that come in the Spring and Summer months.  Happy Birding :)

Life of Birding :)

Hello Birders!  This is a picture of me with binoculars looking for birds when I was about 3 years old.  I have read many articles lately about Birding starting to become popular again for younger ages and that pleases me to no end.  This has been a lifetime love for me that brings me joy everyday and I can only wish the same for others:) 

Viva il Papa!

Ok so I couldn't resist lol!  For all who do not know the Catholic Church now has a new pope.  The media has been filming the Sistine Chapel looking for the white smoke that will appear when a new pope has been chosen (black smoke if one has not been chosen yet).  Oddly a few hours before the vote was made a seagull (I'm guessing a Herring Gull) was flying over the chapel and landed and sat on top of that chimney!  Not only was that odd but also the new pope chose the name Francis after St. Francis who is the patron Saint of animals!  So of course I couldn't resist to post this picture I found while Googling the story.  Hope everyone had a great day and Happy Birding! :)

Northern Gannet

Northern Gannet: 

This picture is from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Gannet/id.  Unfortunately the bird that I saw was not alive laying on the beach.  Quite sad because it is a beautiful bird so I hope to see more flying around soon.  As you can see they have a beautiful brilliant white body and black tip wings.  There is also the light brown/bronzish color on the back of their heads and a light grayish/blue beak.  I had to do a bit of research of this bird because I have never seen one birding before and I found out that the adults look like the picture above but the juvenile of this species looks quite different.  The juvenile Northern Gannet is mostly dark and from the link above it explains that it takes the juvenile three or more years to reach the adult plummage.

 

 

 

 

American Robin

Hello Birders!  This picture was taken last year when a ginormous flock of birds came through our neighborhood!  First I saw a few in St. Augustine while my family and I were walking around the historic streets, however I wasn't sure what they were.  It wasn't until a few days later I noticed a large amount of birds flying all through our trees and neighborhood!  I finally caught a clear glimse and sure enough it was the American Robin.  Truly beautiful birds but I must admit at the time I thought I was in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds"!  Lol!  I was pleased (and relieved lol) to find out they were migrating then.  So this weekend going to and from work I noticed a large group of birds and this morning I saw that they were the American Robins!  They are back!  I didn't think it was the Robins because it seems a little early however this year it is a fairly short and warmer winter for Florida coupled with the horrible snowy blizzard weather in the northeast that perhaps the birds might migrate a little early this year. 

On another note I am pleased to announce my new job is going well and has proved to have quite a bonus....I had mentioned that I am able to get some birding done during my working hours but I had no idea how much!  Just this weekend I saw the following:  American Robin, a small woodpecker (that I have yet to identify), Pileated Woodpecker, Red Cardinal, Red Shoulder Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Great Blue Heron, Great White Heron ( Great White Egret, Great Egret, etc.), Mockingbird, Carolina Wren, and oodles of little Finches that I wish I could have seen better to accurately identify them.  It's been such a blessing to not only have a job but to have a job that I don't feel bad going to work on a beautiful day because I'm outside and can observe all the beautiful birds :) 

Anywho, I hope everyone has a great week!  Happy Birding :)

Behold...the Royal Tern! ...at last lol :)

Finally I was able to upload this picture of the Royal Tern that my last post refers to.  Once again if you look closely you will see the "bling" or tag on his ankle.  I would really like to know where he was tagged and what information they want about him because it's not like he is a pet type of bird.  Perhaps he escaped from a zoo???  The possibilities are endless so Bird Nerd's please let me know if you have any information on the tagging of Royal Terns!!!  Happy Birding!!! :)

Royal Tern

Hello fellow birders!!!  The winter birds are definitely coming in.  One of which is the Royal Tern.    In the picture I saw that he has some "bling" on his ankle!  I didn't notice it until I was trying to upload the picture to this blog.  That means he must have been tagged to help with research on the breed or migratory patterns.  It would be interesting to find out so if anyone reading this knows about that please let me know!  It would be fascinating to find out who tagged him and why!  Unfortunately for whatever reason I am not able to upload the picture.  I don't know why since obviously I've done it many times before.  Does anyone know why?  Anywho....

The Royal Tern migrates to Florida during the winter and I've seen them usually on the beach hanging out with all the other winter birds.  So far I've only seen one in each group of seagulls and other shorebirds.  I'm not sure if this is coincidence because it is still early in our winter season or if they are not particular to which breed of bird they hang out with.

Another thing to note about this bird is to not confuse it with the Caspian Tern.  I at first thought it was a Caspian Tern until I looked further and found out it is actually a Royal Tern.  They look very similar but the beak has a slightly different coloring.  The Caspian Tern has a bigger beak and it is more red orange with a little black at the tip.  The Royal Tern's beak is more yellow orange.  Also the head feathers are slightly different.  The Caspian Tern's top of it's head is almost solid black, while the Royal Tern's head has more white except for the black tuft at the back of it's head.

On a side note I have recently become employed again!!!  It's such a blessing but will also mean my posts will not be as frequent.  However my new job is partially outside so you know what that means???  Chances to still squeeze in some birding of course!!! LOL!  Hopefully some day I will find a way to make birds part of my career but for now I'm so happy to be employed again.  So happy birding and hope y'all have a great weekend :)