New ID Guide

You know you're really into birding when you read a 500+ page bird identification book page by page.

Now, granted, I don't think I'd do that with most field guides. But I have been benefiting greatly from a new guide released earlier this month. It is the Crossley ID Guide, written by Richard Crossley, a Brit who lives in Cape May (two more reasons to like the book). I actually got to hear him speak about a month ago, when he shared his life story and the reasons why he put together this book and thinks that it is significantly different from the loads of other id guides out there. I have to agree with him: it is different, and I think it really does have great potential to increase your ability to identify a bird. 

The reason I think that is this guide really gives you a better feel for the typical habitats where birds are found. If you were to take a typical field guide (say Sibley or Peterson) into the field trying to find a Horned Lark, it wouldn't be much help in terms of where to look. But one glance at Crossley's guide and you get a sense of the places Horned Larks hang out. You probably also get an idea of what a Horned Lark looks like at a distance, in flight, and in multiple plumages. The most interesting thing is you get all of this combine on one page, in one conglomerate photo.

This guide may not be the prettiest, but there is much to be learned, especially for the intermediate-advanced level birder.

Check it out!: Crossley ID Guide

By the way...I enjoyed seeing a Red-Breasted Nuthatch behind the Wild Bird Center where I work last week. Also saw my first Eastern Pheobe of the year yesterday (while sitting a friends deck table)

Florida Top Ten Photos: #1

Here it is...the grand finale to my Florida adventures:

 This Wood Stork, combined with the rising moon, created a really neat photo op. Can anyone figure out what the other bird in this picture is?

Below, here is a video of the area where these bird were. It was such an amazing night.

Surprise Visitor

We had a surprise visitor to our yard today. A new lifebird, yardbird and Feederwatch bird, to boot.

Imagine walking out the side door with the recycling and seeing this in front of you:

What in the world was a chukar doing in our yard?

To answer the question that you are asking, "No, it is not an escapee from Bringhurst's." They do not raise any chukar.

Here's the video as I approached it and it ran off. Note the quiet "chuckling", or "chukaring" it made as it went:

Florida Top Ten Photos: #2

One of the birds I really hoped to see in Florida was this rainbow colored Purple Gallinule. It had been more than 10 years since I had seen one, and it is such an intriguing combination of colors, rivaled only perhaps in the US by the Painted Bunting, which is a bit more gaudy.
Florida didn't let me down, as we saw at least 6 different birds, including four individuals on the Anhinga Trail at ridiculously close distances. I was surprised to see several birds climb into low trees to nab buds off the trees. One look at their long toes tells you they're not exactly made to climb, but still it managed to get up in the tree and hold on:

Florida Top Ten Photos: #3

I like the lighting on this breeding plumage Snowy Egret. I also like how the shadow of the bird on the water makes its "golden slippers" very apparent.

Florida Top Ten Photos: #4

Tricolored Heron, Breeding Plumage