Bird Book
 Anhinga - Juvenile Anhinga - Juvenile A Juvenile Anhinga. The strong black and white colouring is yet to develop. Shot in Taylor Park, Largo.  |  Anhinga Anhinga Anhinga |  Anhinga Anhinga The Anhinga is also known as the Snake Bird. Because its feathers do not have oil, it does not float. When it is in the water, normally only the snake-like neck and head show. |  Anhinga Preening Anhinga Preening |  Cormorant Cormorant Double Crested Cormorant |
 Duck - Lesser Scaup Duck - Lesser Scaup Lesser Scaup |  Egret - Reddish Egret Egret - Reddish Egret Reddish Egret This is a juvenile. See the gallery devoted to Reddish Egrets. |  Egret - Reddish Egret |  Egret - Reddish Egret Egret - Reddish Egret Reddish Egrets are solitary. This pair is probably because mating season is beginning. |  Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret Snowy Egret |
 Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret Egretta thula |  Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret Egretta thula |  Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret |  Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret A close-up of the Snowy Egret's legs. Notice how the black looks like it has been painted on. |  Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret Egretta thula |
 Egret - Snowy Egret Egret - Snowy Egret |  Godwit - Marbled Godwit Godwit - Marbled Godwit Marbled Godwit |  Godwit - Marbled Godwit Godwit - Marbled Godwit The Marbled Godwith is actually quite a big bird, about 13 inches in length with a 30 inch wingspan. A few could be found at a particular saltwater pond at the north end of the North Beach in Fort DeSoto. |  Grebe - Pie-Billed Grebe Grebe - Pie-Billed Grebe Pie-Billed Grebe |  Heron - Great Blue Heron Heron - Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron |
 Heron - Great Blue Heron Heron - Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron |  Heron - Great Blue Heron Heron - Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron |  Heron - Great Blue Heron Heron - Great Blue Heron |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Little Blue Heron |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea |
 Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Little Blue Heron he Little Blue has a length of 24" and wingspan of 40" compared to the Great Blue, which has a length 42" and a wingspan of 72 inches. |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Little Blue Heron |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Little Blue Heron |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea This is a juvenile, just beginning to darken up. The Little Blue has a length of 24" and wingspan of 40" compared to the Great Blue, which has a length 42" and a wingspan of 72 inches. |  Heron - Little Blue Heron Heron - Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea This is a juvenile, just beginning to darken up. The Little Blue has a length of 24" and wingspan of 40" compared to the Great Blue, which has a length 42" and a wingspan of 72 inches. |
 Heron - Tricoloured Heron Heron - Tricoloured Heron Tricoloured Heron |  Heron - Tricoloured Heron Heron - Tricoloured Heron Tricoloured Heron The Tricoloured Heron looks like a Great Blue Heron, but is smaller, and has a white line down the front of its neck. |  Heron - Tricoloured Heron Heron - Tricoloured Heron Tricoloured Heron I am entertained by this shot, as the Heron looks like it is carved from wood and hand-painted. But it is a real Tricoloured Heron. |  Ibis - White Ibis Ibis - White Ibis |  Ibis - Juvenile White Ibis Ibis - Juvenile White Ibis Eudocimus albus |
 Ibis - Juvenile White Ibis Ibis - Juvenile White Ibis Juvenile White Ibis |  Loon - Common Loon Loon - Common Loon Common Loon |  Loon - Common Loon Loon - Common Loon Common Loon |  Loon - Common Loon Loon - Common Loon Common Loon |  Loon - Common Loon Loon - Common Loon Common Loon |
 Loon - Common Loon Loon - Common Loon Common Loon Mississippi Lake, near Carleton Place Ontario |  Merganser - Red-breasted Merganser Merganser - Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Merganser |  Oystercatcher - American Oystercatcher Oystercatcher - American Oystercatcher American Oystercatcher |  Oystercatcher - American Oystercatcher Oystercatcher - American Oystercatcher American Oystercatcher |  Pelican - Brown Pelican Pelican - Brown Pelican Brown Pelicans are impressive low-level fliers. They can often be seen flying at water level. When gliding, the breast feathers will almost touch the water. Then as the bird flaps its wings, it will rise just enough to keep the down-stroke of the wing out of the water.. See the gallery devoted Brown Pelicans. |
 Pelican - Brown Pelican Pelican - Brown Pelican This Brown Pelican has bold breeding colours. In the breeding season, the head is yellower, and the nape of the neck becomes dark brown. See the gallery devoted Brown Pelicans. |  Pelican - Brown Pelican |  Pelican - Brown Pelican |  Pelican - Brown Pelican Pelican - Brown Pelican Brown Pelican with fish hook. You can imagine the excitement when you have a four foot bird struggling to get away. The standard approach is to cut the line, if it doesn't break first. The State Park Rangers suggest that the hook should be removed and instructions are posted in the parks, but you have to hang on to the bird to do it. See the gallery devoted Brown Pelicans. (They suggest that children should not try to remove the hooks.) |  Pelican - Brown Pelican |
 Pelican - White Pelican Pelican - White Pelican American White Pelican |  Pelican - White Pelican Pelican - White Pelican American White Pelican |  Pelican - White Pelcian Pelican - White Pelcian American White Pelican |  Plover - Black-bellied Plover Plover - Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Plover |  Plover - Black-Bellied Plover Plover - Black-Bellied Plover Black-Bellied Plover |
 Plover - Black-bellied Plover Plover - Black-bellied Plover Juvenile Black-bellied Plover |  Great Egret |  ND3_0411 ND3_0411 A Great Egret in the early evening at the Pier. Great Egrets can be distinguished from Snowy Egrets because they are bigger by a foot or so and have all-black legs and feet. The bill of a Snowy Egret is all black, while this one clearly has yellow. |  Great Egret Great Egret A nice head and shoulders (well, head) shot of a Great Egret. This one was hanging around the North Fishing Pier at the Sunshine Skyway. Perhaps he was looking for handouts from the few fishermen who were there. And, indeed, he was given at least one small handout while I was there. |  ND3_0891 ND3_0891 |
 DSC_9097 DSC_9097 |  DSC_9684 - Great Egret DSC_9684 - Great Egret A Great Egret in flight. The position of the head and neck can be helpful when spotting a bird from a distance. In this case, though, there is little doubt because the colours are vivid. |  Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Yellow-Crowned Night Heron |  ND2_23856 ND2_23856 Yellow-crowned Night Heron |  ND2_21891 ND2_21891 Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) |
 Wood Duck Wood Duck Aix sponsa |  Northern Pintail Northern Pintail
|  RX1_02049 RX1_02049 Northern Pintail |  Double Crested Cormorant Double Crested Cormorant Normally the cormorant rests atop a pole, usually the higher the better. I found a trio of them on the beach at Fort DeSoto and was able to get quite close. A largish bird, about 33 inches, the Double-Crested Cormorant is almost always alone. This day on the beach was an exception, but it was also spring (breeding season). Notice the thick legs. |  Green Heron |
 ND3_24046 ND3_24046 Juvenile Roseate Spoonbill |  Wood Stork |  Double-Crested Cormorant Double-Crested Cormorant The Double-Crested Cormorant dives for its food, and dives quite deeply, I think. When they disappear under, you are not sure where they will re-appear. This is about as good as it will get without going underwater with the camera. The cormorant has just dived under and we can still see its head. |  DSC_9688 - Double-Crested Cormorant DSC_9688 - Double-Crested Cormorant A Double-Crested Cormorant after a successful dive. Taken from the North Fishing Pier of the Sunshine Skyway. |  Canada Goose Canada Goose And, while we're on the topic of Canada, Penticton does also host a pretty healthy looking Canada Goose. |
 ND3_19512 ND3_19512 Roseate Spoonbill Not just another pretty face. More bird shots can be seen in Serious Bird Shots |  Red Shouldered Hawk Red Shouldered Hawk |  Osprey |  Osprey Osprey Osprey |  Osprey |
 Bald Eagle Bald Eagle
|  ND3_17746 ND3_17746 Bald Eagle This one of a nesting pair at Honeymoon Island State Park near Dunedin, Florida. |  Warbler - Palm Warbler Warbler - Palm Warbler Palm Warbler |  Willet Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatas |  Willet Willet Willet |
 Willet Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatas |  Willet Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatas |  Willet Willet This bird is a little over a foot in length. It hangs around the seacoasts as far North as the Canadian Maritimes. The Willets follow the waves as they roll back away from the shore, looking for small bits of food that are deposited in the process. When the next wave comes along, they scamper for higher ground, and repeat the process. Here a Willet is chased by the incoming wave. Notice how the wave has wrapped around its leg. |  Willet Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatas |  Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy Turnstone |
 Ruddy Turnstone |  Dunlin Dunlin Calidris alpina |  Least Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla |  ND2_29920 ND2_29920 |  Laughing Gull Laughing Gull Only a handful of the Laughing Gulls had this dark handsome head. It's probably because of molting or some changes which take place in the spring. |
 ND2_23710 ND2_23710 Laughing Gull |  ND3_3437 ND3_3437 Laughing Gull |  Laughing Gull Laughing Gull |  Laughing Gull Laughing Gull |  Laughing Gull Laughing Gull |
 Laughing Gull Laughing Gull |  Laughing Gull Laughing Gull |  composite composite Seen at Fort De Soto. |  Ring-Billed Gull Ring-Billed Gull The Ring-Billed Gull is largish and very common. It is a "three year" gull, changing from birth through the first three years. The pink legs and brownish tones suggest that this one is in its second year. In the youngest gulls, the whole bill is black. |  Ring-Billed Gull Ring-Billed Gull |
 DSC_9154 DSC_9154 An older Ring-Billed Gull. The distinct black ring on the bill and the yellowish legs mean that this bird is in its third (or later) year. |  Lesser Black-Backed Gull Lesser Black-Backed Gull I'm pretty sure about the identification, as the more common, Great Black-Backed Gull has a red ring around the eye, and this one doesn't. |  ND2_29996 ND2_29996 Great Black-backed Gull This gull is common on the Atlantic coast, but is quite rare on the Gulf coast, so |  Great Black-Backed Gull Great Black-Backed Gull The The Great Black-Backed Gull can be up to 30" in length, with a wingspan of almost seven feet. While walking the beach at Hollywood Beach, this one caught my attention because of its size. It was a giant among the more numerous Ring-Billed and Laughing Gulls. It could be a Herring Gull, but it was truly large and seems to have more white than a Herring. This one would be in its first winter of life. |  ND3_1075 ND3_1075 Razorbill |
 DSC_9840 DSC_9840 Royal Tern |  Royal Tern Royal Tern This common guy, the Royal Tern, is distinguished from the Sandwich Tern by his yellow bill. About 18-21" long. I see that this one has been banded. The Royal Tern flies above the water at about 30 feet, occasionally crashing headfirst into the surf, presumably to catch something. |  Royal Tern Royal Tern Sterna maxima |  Royal Tern Royal Tern Sterna maxima |  DSC_9765 - Royal Tern |
 DSC_21579 DSC_21579 Male Royal Tern tries to impress the female. Nesting time is approaching. |  Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern The Sandwich Tern is distinguished from other terns by his black bill with the yellow tip. |  Forster's Tern Forster's Tern Forster's Tern in beginning to acquire breeding colours. These don't seem to be all that common on the beaches around here. At twelve inches overall length, the Common Tern is about half the size of the Royal Tern, but definitely shows its relationship. Shot at Indian Rocks Beach. |  DSC_13497 - Common Tern in Flight DSC_13497 - Common Tern in Flight |  ND2_29911 ND2_29911 Forster's Tern |
 DSC_9240 - Black Skimmer |  DSC_9240 - Black Skimmer |  DSC_9189 - Great Blue Heron DSC_9189 - Great Blue Heron I made my initial photographs of this Great Blue Heron from behind a bush on the shore. As I move away from the bush, in its direction, it became a little nervous. It finally took off, coming back less than a minute later. The land behind are the flats exposed at low tide. The light was very red the on this February morning, even though it was about an hour after sunrise. |  ND3_0534 ND3_0534 Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) These tiny guys winter along the southern coast and spend their summers in the far north. In this case, I found a few hanging around the East Beach, with a group of Willets, Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings. This flock was intent on grabbing some shut-eye, so I was unable to get a shot of the bird with both legs in the water. |  ND2_36511 ND2_36511 Piping Plover |
 Sanderling Sanderling Calidris alba |  Sanderling Sanderling A Willet, in the background, gives some scale to the Sanderling as it heads toward the outrolling wave. |  Sanderling Sanderling Calidris alba The Sanderling is tiny, about the size of a Robin. They are abundant along the beaches, where they chase the retreating waves like little wind-up toys. |  Sanderling Sanderling Calidris alba |  Common Moorhen Common Moorhen This solitary Moorhen was in a small pond off of Country Club Drive in Aventura, Florida. |
 Common Moorhen Common Moorhen A Common Moorhen. I was taken with the brilliance of his red beak. In the winter, the red is quite muted and may not be apparent at all. Some of the other Moorhens in this pond in Largo did not yet have the same brilliance. |  Limpkin Limpkin Limpkin Limpkin with shot at sunset, preparing for its evening meal. Limpkins are very uncommon outside of Florida. With a lenght of 26 inches and a weight of 2.4 pounds, they look like giant waders, but five times the size of a Willet, for example. |  DSC_9577 - Hooded Merganseer DSC_9577 - Hooded Merganseer This Hooded Merganser was spotted swimming in the pond of an RV Park on Sanibel Island. |  DSC_9873 - Mallard Pair DSC_9873 - Mallard Pair This pair of Mallards was in a small pond on Country Club Drive in Aventura, Florida |  DSC_10083 - Turkey Vulture DSC_10083 - Turkey Vulture Few birds are uglier, if you look them in the face. Here the Turkey Vulture's small, naked red head can be easily seen. This one was cruising low over the old bridge at Bahai Honda State Park on Pine Key in Florida. A diurnal raptor, the Turkey Vulture is extremely common in the Florida Keys. In Key West we saw nearly a dozen in close proximity cruising above the waterway. |
 DSC_10081 - Swallow-Tailed Kite DSC_10081 - Swallow-Tailed Kite The Swallow-Tailed Kite is uncommon, but unmistakable. It is moderately large, with a wingspan of about four feet. This one was shot from the old bridge at Bahai Honda State Park on Pine Key in Florida. It was taking full advantage of the breeze and hovering in a limited area for most of the afternoon. |  DSC_2104 - Sandhill Crane DSC_2104 - Sandhill Crane A Sandhill Crane, seen beside the golf course in the Clermont area. This bird can be up to four feet tall and may have a wing span of seven feet. |  White Ibis |  DSC_9202 - Bald Eagle DSC_9202 - Bald Eagle I grabbed this lucky shot of this Bald Eagle as I was leaving the Fort DeSoto beach one morning. |  DSC_9547 - Red-Shouldered Hawk DSC_9547 - Red-Shouldered Hawk This bird looks tiny in this photo, but they range in size from 17 to 24 inches. I would have put him at around 18 inches. The Florida version of the Red Shouldered Hawk is much paler than the same species outside of Florida. The other possibility is that this is a Broad-Winged Hawk but they are not as likely to be found in Florida. Also the tail- banding of the bird in this photo points to the Red Shouldered species. |
 DSC_9813 - Monk Parakeet DSC_9813 - Monk Parakeet This shot looks a little like a scan of a pet shop brochure because the background is actually a bit of outdoor carpet in a mini-putt. This was one of a pair that were busy on the ground before the min-putt opened. The Monk Parakeet is pretty hardy; while this one was seen on Hollywood Beach, they can occur as far north as Chicago. |  Nanday Parakeet Nanday Parakeet Black-Hooded Parakeet |  Lorikeet Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus |  Rainbow Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus |  Barred Owl Barred Owl Barred Owl. Strix varia |
 Pileated Woodpecker |  DSC_13990 - Red-bellied Woodpecker DSC_13990 - Red-bellied Woodpecker This guy was unusually sociable for a woodpecker. I don't know why they are called Red-bellied. This is a male; his red covers the crown and the nape. The red in the female covers only the nape. This was one of a pair seen through the window at our Fort De Soto camp site. |  Downy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker |  Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Chickadee |  American Robin American Robin Turdus migratorius |
 American Robin American Robin Turdus migratorius |  Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler |  Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird |  Painted Bunting Painted Bunting Passerina ciris |  ND3_28585 ND3_28585 Northern Cardinal |
 Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal |  Red-winged Blackbird Red-winged Blackbird Red-Winged Blackbird |  DSC_9880 - Brewer's Blackbird DSC_9880 - Brewer's Blackbird This seems like it might be a particularly light-coloured female Brewer's Blackbird. Seen next a pond on Country Club Drive in Aventura. |  DSC_9861 - Fish Crow DSC_9861 - Fish Crow I am guessing this to be a Fish Crow. I thought it was too small to be an American Crow. The Fish Crow is common near the coast, but is reliably identified only by its call, which I didn't hear. This one was spotted near the Boardwalk at Hollywood Beach, Florida. |  NZ6_00894 NZ6_00894 Dark-eyed Junco |
 ND2_9157 - Brown-Headed Cowbird ND2_9157 - Brown-Headed Cowbird |  NZ6_00692 NZ6_00692 Common Redpoll |  NZ6_00612 NZ6_00612 Chipping Sparrow |  DSC_10036 - Key West Rooster DSC_10036 - Key West Rooster Roosters are to Key West as cows are to India. The roosters are everywhere, wild, handsome and healthy. We were told that they are the legacy of a period when cock-fighting was legal. When cockfighting was banned the roosters were turned out to fend for themselves. Strangely, we only saw a couple of hens. They must be stay-at-homes. |  Vulture - Turkey Vulture Vulture - Turkey Vulture Turkey Vulture |
 Yellowlegs - Greater Yellowlegs Yellowlegs - Greater Yellowlegs Greater Yellowlegs |  Yellowlegs - Lesser Yellowlegs Yellowlegs - Lesser Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs |
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