The highlight of our recent trip to Florida was a visit to Crystal River to swim with manatees. We booked an early morning tour to beat other boats and enjoy the manatees in greater concentrations. We hoped we would see a few manatees, maybe touch a couple, and get some nice underwater photos. Me ready [...]
Random Osprey in Florida.
The only bird species unique to the state of Florida is the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay—and this week, new research took a step forward in devising ways to protect the 5,000 or so birds that remain. The work was published in the scientific journal Biology Letters on Wednesday and appeared in online news today and in a press [...]
Our trip to Florida brought us to the scientifically-reknowned research center known as the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. Situated in the beautiful town of Sarasota on 10.5 acres of land, Mote is a fascinating place for anyone with even a reMOTE interest in ocean life. We wanted to see manatees and sea turtles but [...]
As each year over the last decade and more, Cornell University and the National Audubon Society host the Great Backyard Bird Count – an opportunity for everyone, no matter what their skill level or location, to post their sightings from their backyard or neighborhood birding patch. The benefit of this is the terrific snapshot of [...]
There were many wild Black-crowned Night-herons among the injured birds at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Florida.
While on vacation in Florida we stopped at the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa to see and learn about big cats. We were amazed at just how lax the laws are for owning, using, & mistreating these beautiful cats. Jumanji, Male Leopard The Big Cat Rescue in Tampa takes in unwanted cats from all over [...]
We’re steadily working to improve the offerings in our All About Birds online species guide. It’s our goal to eventually feature detailed ID information, photos, natural history, cool facts, sound recordings, and videos for all 700+ birds that live in North America. Right now we have basic information for some 580 species, and we’re [...]
Well, now you can! Click here to download the songs of the top 5 species in last year’s Great Backyard Bird Count! The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday and lasts through Monday, February 20. It’s a great opportunity to have some fun, enjoy a winter day, and put your bird watching [...]
The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary located in Indian Shores, Florida is the “largest wild bird hospital in the U.S” and also one of the coolest places we’ve ever been to see birds! We were greeted immediately by a super nice woman and this (wild) Black-crowned Night-heron Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary admits some 8,000 birds each year and [...]
Update: You can now listen to the archive of this broadcast at Bird Calls Radio It’s a week before the start of the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, or GBBC for short. If you’re new to the count, or just want to hear more about how and why it’s done, tune in to Bird [...]
We saw this beautiful Brown Booby at Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Florida.
Our second day in Florida we spent seven hours at Tampa’s famous Lowry Park Zoo. We took hundreds of photos and saw a lot of cool birds and other animals. Here’s some of them. Giraffes The super rare Okapi Relatives to giraffes! Shoebill Stork Helmeted Guinea Fowl White Ibis (wild) One of the coolest experiences [...]
To escape from the winter blahs of northern Illinois, Stacia and I headed to the Tampa area in Florida for a week. We were able to fly out of Rockford (instead of Chicago) which meant it was super easy and hassle free. Shortly after landing at St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport, we headed to Weedon Island Preserve [...]