Backyard birds

Well, I thought I was done posting for today, but a loggerhead shrike just HAD to come along and sit right in the backyard, among the starlings and grackles. First, he sat on the fence, waiting for fate to bring him his next hapless victim.



Then, he flew to a bush in the yard, trying to catch a butterfly that was visiting the flowers.



After failing to catch the butterfly, he perched on the fence again. His beak is slightly open in this picture as he curses at the butterfly under his breath.



Finally, he flew up to the powerline before going to try his luck somewhere else.

A Blue Jay also found the fence a good vantage point.

More migrants

Here we have a distant Flicker, who wouldn't let me approach close enough to get a good shot. The flickers here have a higher-pitched, and therefore decidedly more wimpy-sounding, call. The Georgia flickers could kick their butts.



This male Downy was down for some pishing- he flew in very close and did some macho hammering.



I have been seeing lots of Pine Warbler families. Check out Junior here, who looks like he's sulking about something. There were two kids and in true siblinig fashion, they were chasing each other and fussing at each other constantly. "You took my bug! I saw it first!" "No I didn't! It was mine!"




Two Redstarts were also flitting around in the pines, a female and an immature male. This is the fourth migrant species I've seen here.

Tonight we're supposed to camp out at Big Cypress National Preserve, where I hope to photograph Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. I'll let you know how it goes.

Get your gator on

The excitement began today when I was trying to cross a canal in order to get to one of the research sites and I discovered this alligator lurking there. I was considering trying to jump over it, but not after seeing that the gator was waiting for people just like me to fall in while trying to jump across.



This Pine Warbler was ready for action when I started pishing at him.



I watched a few Red-winged Blackbirds mobbing a crow.

I love Eastern Meadowlarks! They are fat and have short tails, which is a guaranteed formula for cuteness. They also sing inexhaustibly.

A group of Black Vultures was perched on the fence along the Anhinga Trail. They would jump down onto the ground and run along the trail, looking like overgrown chickens. You could tell they were a close-knit family by the way one of the parents puked into the kids' mouths.

This gator was either lying in wait or just taking a nap.

This lizard was obviously trying to come on to me.

A gigantic Florida softshell turtle, giving me the evil eye.

Life in the SoFlo

So my new job is in South Florida doing point counting work. There are three major areas, but we've been working in the pine rockland ecosystem of the Everglades lately.



This is what I have to commute through to get to work.



We have to start the counts right after dawn so we're there to see the sunrise every day...



There are some nasty plants out there, but some of them aren't so bad.

And of course, birds.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are everywhere!

Loggerhead Shrikes are a lot more abundant here than in Georgia.

You also have to watch out for venomous snakes, like this cottonmouth...



...and ferocious Five-lined Skinks.

Hooray for the coast!

This weekend I got to go to Brunswick for the Georgia Ornithological Society's spring meeting. I had never been to the coast before so I was pretty excited about it, with visions of terns and sandpipers dancing in my head.


Before we even got to Brunswick, I spied a big bird squatting on a powerline by the side of the road as we were whizzing to our destination. I was expecting it to be a hawk, but instead it was a barred owl, who was shortly joined by a second owl!



It's a long story, but barred owls are the bird that got me into the whole birding thing in the first place, so needless to say I have a soft spot for them and I was thrilled at the unexpected encounter.



The second owl flew back into the woods next to the road, and the first owl stayed on the powerline gazing intently at the grass below. Then he spied something and flew to a tree to get a better look at it, moving his head like a snake.



Voila! Dinner is served.



We checked in at the hotel and after meeting the fellow birders, retired early in anticipation of the morning trip to Jekyll Island.

There was a colony of Wood Storks at the Ampitheatre (I think that was it, I'm not very good with places) and they were nesting! I have a new bird to add to my list of favorites.

Carrying nesting material!

Then we went to the South Beach and got to see lots of terns! My dream come true. There were Royal, Forster's, Gull-billed, Least, and Sandwich Terns.

There were also Brown Pelicans and Black Skimmers- I must say the pelicans looked rather goofy standing amidst the elegant terns.

My camera was acting up that day, but we also went to a birdbath located in one of the campground and got to see warblers splashing around in the bath. Northern Parula, Black-and-white, and Yellow-rumped Warblers all came down to enjoy the facilities. A Worm-eating Warbler was seriously considering it, but decided to just spritz on some perfume instead and hope it covered up the stank.

That night we enjoyed a banquet and a talk on Roger Tory Peterson. Then the next day, it was off to Little St. Simon's Island.

On the way, we stopped at some random place (again, I'm not good with places) where there was marsh habitat and really cool birds.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture, but one of the best parts of the day was seeing a Clapper Rail taking a bath!

Little Blue Heron

Red-winged Blackbird- they may be common birds but I love their style.

Then we went on to LSSI...

Yellow-crowned Night Heron skulking in the grass with blazing yellow eyes.

Black-necked Stilt!

Solitary Sandpiper being solitary.

Other birds we got to see were Mottled Ducks WITH CHICKS, Sora, Common Moorhens, both kinds of Dowitchers, both kinds of Yellowlegs, and Glossy Ibis.

Hermit crab- I saw a Willet trying to eat this guy but his house protected him.

Red-winged Blackbirds completing their toilette.

My favorite of favorite herons, the Green Heron, rocking the mohawk.

After riding the boat back to the mainland, it was time to head back to school and obligations, but with a lot more sanity than I came in with thanks to good birds and good company.