Rusty Blackbirds have the steepest population decline of any North American songbird: 85-99% depending on location over the last 40 years. That’s why having them visit our yard is a special treat and a sign that bringing the yard back to a state more closely resembling the piedmont forest that was once here is paying […]
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Speculation Alert I can not find an authoritative source so I’m speculating that Georgia hosts an unusually large number of avian vagrants – birds outside their ‘normal’ ranges – each year and the number is increasing. Though not fully researched, at least by me, I don’t think this is unfounded speculation. How about y’all? Seeing […]
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The first scenes to come to mind for many of us when we read ‘apex predator’ are megafauna hunting across vast expanses (in a documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough) – Lions and Leopards of Africa, Gray Wolves of the Yellowstone Basin, Brown\Grizzly bears of Alaska, or Orcas of the Pacific Northwest coast. Let’s face […]
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,,, or any other native fall-ripening berry plant. In autumn, many species of birds switch from an insect rich diet to including more ‘fruits and vegetables’. For year-round residents and partial, short-haul migrants this switch provides fats, amino acids, and antioxidants that help them recover from molting and prepare for winter. For the long-haul migrants, […]
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This is a Barred Owl that visited our yard yesterday. Based on ‘smaller’ size, a male, I think. In most species, males are larger than females . This is called ‘male-biased size dimorphism’. Owls & other raptors tend to be exceptions. Males tend to be the smaller of the pair.There are multiple theories of why […]
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It’s mid-September, the heat has finally broke, and Female and immature Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are putting on the last few grams to get them across the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that one criteria for deciding if it is time to go is they can’t see their feet 🙂 As a bonus, this is the time […]
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After the flurry of spring arrivals it may seem that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have disappeared from our flowers and feeders and the wild. This is mostly an illusion. Females, who most years out number males, spend the summer doing all the parental duties (males leave after the fun part). Moms do all that is necessary to […]
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Of the 553 bird species reported in eBird for Florida (sixth in rankings of states), Florida Scrub Jays are the only bird species that lives exclusively in Florida. I am Floridian by birth, and an avid birder, but I was surprised to learn this fact just a few short years ago. I suspect it was […]
Read MoreBlack Skimmers are one of many shorebird species that form breeding colonies and lay their eggs in small scrapes directly on dunes & beaches. Their species survival strategy is simple: Large numbers in a breeding colony, sometimes mixed, for more lookout eyes, effective egg camouflage, and short incubation\fledgling times to minimize the open exposures. This […]
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Looks like a hawk. Scavenges for carrion like a vulture. Is actually a falcon. Common in open grasslands, rangelands, and scrubby areas of South & Central America, a small population, about 1,000 individuals, lives in the similar dry prairies with scattered palm cabbage of south-central Florida. Most of which are within large private cattle ranches. […]
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