Archives
Header Image: Cold Front Departing How can we be “The Sunshine State” if the sun is not shining? Winter. What is it good for? Absolutely nothin’! So there we were, standing on the dock of the lake, peering into grayness. At the end of the dock were two Brown Pelicans, peering into grayness. Soon, the fog will lift and they can go fishing and we can go birding. Soon. Any minute now…. Read More
Header Image: Burmarigold or Smooth Beggartick (Bidens laevis) Standing by the side of the road in the dark. Hands cupping our ears. Straining for the sounds of the night. “Whip, whip, whip, whip!” The loud call accompanied the sound of flapping wings passing us as an Eastern Whip-poor-will flew along with mouth open wide to inhale insects hovering above the sandy stretch of road. Ten minutes later, the surprisingly soft trill of… Read More
Header Image: Red-eyed Vireo “What day is it?” asked Pooh.“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.“My favorite day,” said Pooh.” ― A.A. Milne As we entered the month of September, thoughts turned to fall migration. Even in a region which barely alters appearance during “autumn“, we can sense all sorts of changes. We actually do have some trees which have leaves showing us a golden or reddish hue instead of forest green. Annual bird migration is… Read More
Header Image: Black-crowned Night Heron Florida has a unique combination of heat and humidity which can wilt the best of us at times. Late August typically provides us with afternoon thunderstorms which can help cool us down a bit, but at the expense of maintaining very high humidity. Wiping optics lenses for half an hour each morning becomes a reflex. In our area of central Florida, we average 115 days a year… Read More
(Header Image: Female Painted Bunting) Time. It doesn’t wait around for us. It seems we were enjoying New Year’s dinner and all of sudden we remarked how wonderful Easter Dinner was! Just a few days ago, in my mind, the yard was filled with nervous Palm Warblers and Chipping Sparrows combing through the grass for insects. We just realized we haven’t seen one in a week. Our winter flycatcher is no longer… Read More
Our Natural Places 