New survey shows devastation to farmland birds caused by policies – and experts can see no sign of improvement… They have entranced generations with the beauty of their songs and glimpses of their plumage. But today the sound of the linnet and the vision of a turtle dove are becoming increasingly rare experiences for visitors […]
Category: Wildlife
Snowy Egret – Show Me Those Golden Slippers!
I was photographing at Fort De Soto’s north beach on May 30th, 2008 when I had a very cooperative Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) start fishing in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico right in front of me. People have nicknamed Snowy Egrets “Golden Slippers” because of their yellow feet, this image really shows […]
Ash-throated Flycatchers Nesting in a Natural Cavity
Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens) migrate to Northern California from Mexico and Central America every Spring to nest. They are cavity nesting birds and I one of the species that nest in my birdhouses every year. Every May I look forward to waking up in the morning hearing that sweet gurgling call. The gathering of nest […]
Florida Softshell Turtle
The Florida Softshell Turtle (Apalone forax) is an aquatic species native to Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Rarely found out of it’s fresh water habitat, this female was spotted laying eggs on the bank of a roadside canal in the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Punta Gorda, Florida. The largest of the species abalone, […]
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher Nesting
After Koga, my friend and I went to the Dazaifu area to look for Brown Boobok and Japanese Paradise Flycatcher. Although it was too early for the owls, we could get the rare chance to see a pair of Japanese Paradise Flycatchers building a nest with cedar bark, moss and spider webs! It was extremely […]
Tui, (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae)
One of our common local natives is the Tui. Its highly sheened blue, almost green plumage, signature white throat feathers, which incidentally gives it the occasional name of Parson Bird and rounded out with fine filigree white feathers almost like a lace shawl over black shoulders makes Tui quite easily identified. Tui are superb songsters […]
Sidelit Piping Plover
I was photographing one evening in Florida while laying in the mudflat of a tidal lagoon, there were Dunlins, Black-bellied Plovers and Greater Yellowlegs in front of me where the evening light was great. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a bit of movement and turned my head towards what I could […]