My father and I drove up to see the Snowy Owl at Little Talbot Island State Park that was seen yesterday. It’s a beautiful bird! Apparently I saw one in Eureka, CA when I was a kid, but I don’t remember seeing it, so it’s not on my list. This is a lifer for me. […]
Tag: Scott Simmons
Monk Parakeet
About a week ago I found some Monk Parakeets at an electrical substation near my home. This is one of those birds I thought I’d never see in Seminole Co, but I saw about 15 here a couple weeks ago, and then 25 of them this morning in the same location. I spoke to someone […]
Osprey on Lake Monroe
On Saturday I attended the Wekiva River Christmas Bird Count. I’m just now getting around to working on the photographs, though. My wife was in a car accident that evening, and she’s been in the hospital ever since. It’s not as bad as that sounds, though. Her main injury was a broken foot, and it […]
Bald Eagle in Flight (and Changing Focusing Modes)
Yesterday at Lake Jesup, a Bald Eagle flew very close to me. I was looking for ducks, loons and grebes sitting in the water at at the time, so I had my camera set for birds sitting still on the water. When shooting still birds, I normally select only the center focusing point and put […]
Identifying Florida’s Wrens
Wrens do not top the list of birds that are difficult to identify, but for newer birders they can present a challenge. With practice they can be identified by their sounds alone–they’re vocal enough that they can frequently be detected and identified without being seen. But at first glance, they tend to look similar – […]
Marl Bed Flats, 11/30/2013
This morning I went to Marl Bed Flats with my father and a friend of mine. We had a pretty great time. We saw all the usual suspects: Sedge Wrens, Eastern Meadowlarks, Northern Harrier, Yellowlegs, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and Sora. The biggest highlight for me was seeing a Merlin in the distance–the first I’ve seen […]
Marsh Wren at the North Tract of Lake Jesup CA
Right near the entrance of the North Tract of the Lake Jesup Conservation Area, there’s a little pond with a couple very vocal Marsh Wrens. One of them was very photogenic and allowed me to get a few photos. I found this bird a couple weeks ago, and I’m just getting around to posting them. […]
Loggerhead Shrike Feasts on a Mole Cricket
I found several Loggerhead Shrikes on Brumley Road not far from my house. This one had impaled a Mole Cricket on the barbed wire fence. As I drove by it flew up and perched on the fence by the cricket. After a few seconds, it pulled it off the barbed wire, held it for a […]