Every spring since the 1980s, tens of thousands of seabirds have made their way from their South American wintering grounds to Virginia’s South Island to nest. Once there, raucous masses of Gull-billed Terns, Royal Terns, Common Terns, Black Skimmers, Laughing Gulls, and others combine to create the state’s largest breeding colony. But this April, when […]
Tag: Royal Tern
Brazil Ubatuba Day #7 – Tanagers Galore
Today’s birding in the Atlantic Forest of Ubatuba was really about brilliance. We could not have our breakfast quietly, nor leave the lodge on time, because of tanager et al. action on the bananas. Green-headed Tanager is truly spectacular Brazilian Tanager is so brilliant red it hurts the eye Blue Dacnis are uber-pretty too. Here’s […]
Whimbrel At Carlos Pointe: Part II
The Whimbrel that had been reported daily at Carlos Pointe for nearly a week prior to my visit was of course not guaranteed to be there. The Whimbrel was difficult to identify as it was found to be loafing with its bill hidden in its right wing while surrounded by Marbled Godwits and Willets. The […]
Gaviotín Real (Royal Tern) Thalasseus maximus (Boddaert, 1783)
Una de las primeras especies que pude ver por primera vez ni bien pisé la playa del hotel Memories en Varadero junto a la Gaviota reidora y al pelícano fué el Gaviotín real; este gaviotín solo se acercaba al agua para zambullirse si veía algún pez nadando cerca de la superficie del mar. Pude observar […]
Little Estero Lagoon Spring Nesting
For good reason Little Estero Lagoon comes in a close second as a favorite Southwest Florida wildlife venue behind Bunche Beach Preserve. The birds were very accommodating as I continued my walk south toward Carlos Point and back. The Black Scoter was an especially nice find with their behavior “ridiculously tame” as world wildlife photographer […]
Bunche Beach Preserve: Sunrise West End
Recent days, weeks, and months have offered great birding possibilities at Bunche Beach Preserve in South Fort Myers. The Reddish Egret with prey above (image 1) was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in April 2016. An early April visit to Bunche followed my January visit when an American Flamingo was […]
Pelagic Trip from Black Point Marina, 9/20/2014
Sunday I went with some friends on a pelagic trip out to Miami. I’ve never birded in Miami-Dade County before, so I was hoping for some lifers. We had west winds all day, though, so birds were sparse. We didn’t see a single shearwater the whole day, and we saw only a handful of Sooty […]
Forster’s Tern on Lake Monroe
A couple weeks ago I was at the marina on Lake Monroe looking for (and not finding) a Royal Tern that had been seen there earlier. So I occupied my time photographing other terns. I shared photos of Caspian Terns in another post, but there was also Forster’s Terns patrolling the marina area. Most of […]