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The Helpful Birder

Featured Posts General Birding

Where to Find Birds

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Featured Posts General Birding

Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

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Featured Posts General Birding

How Nature Reuses Its Resources

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Bird Species Featured Posts

Species Spotlight: Swallow-tailed Kites

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  • Florida Birding Hotspots

    Birding St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in January

    Every year, my girlfriends and I take a trip to northwest Florida, near Tallahassee, to bird at St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a great way to start out the new…

    November 29, 2022
  • Florida scrub-jay
    Bird Photography

    My Favorite Bird Photography Gear

    It’s funny, I got into birding AFTER I bought my first camera. I didn’t set up to be a bird photographer; I just wanted a DSLR camera to use. I bought…

    October 21, 2022
  • How to Photograph Birds in Flight
    Bird Photography

    How to Photograph Birds in Flight

    One of the hardest things to photograph in nature is a bird in flight. It’s a technique that takes both study and practice. If you’d like to improve your bird in…

    February 7, 2022
  • judging the size of a bird
    General Birding

    Why the Size of a Bird is Such a Difficult Field Indicator

    One useful way to identify a bird is by size. Everyone knows an eagle is bigger than a sparrow, a mallard duck bigger than a cardinal. In fact, it’s a great…

    January 12, 2022
  • Where to find birds
    Featured Posts General Birding

    Where to Find Birds

    Birds are everywhere, right? That’s totally true, except when you’re armed with your field guide, a pair of binoculars, a packed lunch, and a camera. Then they’re nowhere to be found.…

    January 6, 2022
  • Eastern bluebird, Flagler County, Florida
    Featured Posts General Birding

    Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

    For beginning birders, the easiest way to identify a bird is by color. Northern Cardinals are red, American Goldfinches are yellow, Eastern Bluebirds are blue. (After all, that’s why they’re called…

    January 6, 2022
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susanpetracco

Susan Petracco
In honor of St. Patrick, I decided to post two gre In honor of St. Patrick, I decided to post two green creatures today. This is a female-type painted bunting, commonly called a "greenie". It could be a female, but young males look exactly the same until they start to get their signature rainbow colors. Swipe to see a male from the same day.

#paintedbunting #stpatricksday #saintpatrick #HappyStPatricksDay # StPatsDay #PaddyAllDay #LetsPaddy #Shamrock #GreenOOTD #Leprechaun #LeprechaunDoAttitude #birdfreaks #love #vogelfotografie #birdwatchers #natgeo #birdlover #planetbirds #birdwatcher #birdingphotography #wild #birdphoto #instabird #naturelover #eye  #natgeoyourshot #canonphotography #birdsphotography #greenbirds #buntings
One more for St. Patty's Day, this time an invert. One more for St. Patty's Day, this time an invert. This green lynx spider was warming up on a rayless sunflower when friends and I went to find the aragos skipper butterflies in October of 2021. 

#HappyStPatricksDay
#StPatsDay
#PaddyAllDay
#LetsPaddy
#Shamrock
#GreenOOTD
#Leprechaun
#LeprechaunDoAttitude
#spider
#macro
#nature
#spiders
#arachnid
#spidersofinstagram 
#naturephotography 
#macrophotography
#arachnids
#arachnidsofinstagram
#spidersoftheworld
This Slaty-tailed Trogon is related to the bird in This Slaty-tailed Trogon is related to the bird in my last post. It was exciting to see both, but this one was tough; it was at eye-level but deep in the shadows. I'm really thrilled with how it turned out!

#costarica
#costaricabirds
#trogon
#slatytailedtrogon
#birdsofcostarica
#eye_for_earth
#eye_spy_birds
#feather_perfection
#global4nature
#igbirds
#inspire_nature_now
#instabirds
#kings_birds
#majestic_wildlife_
#nature_worldwide_birds
#natureaddict
#naturegrampixels
#natureshooters
#nb_nature_brilliance
#nuts_about_birds
#nuts_about_nature
#nuts_about_wildlife
#photooftheday
#planetbirds
#raw_birds
#total_birds
#wildlife_inspired
#world_bestanimal
#your_best_birds
I had a trogon - any trogon - on my target list fo I had a trogon - any trogon - on my target list for Costa Rica. I knew we wouldn't see the Resplendent Quetzal, because we weren't going to the right region for it. (That's most people's top CR bird, in case you don't know.) This gartered trogon is a close relative. He just stands out from the crowd, doesn't he? From the blue-tinged black to the yellow breast and prominent eyering, not to mention his black-and-white striped tail...he's amazing! He was also very cooperative, so although he was high in a tree, he stayed still and posed for us for a long time.

#costarica
#costaricabirds
#allmightybirds
#anythingfeathered
#best_birds_of_world
#bestbirdpix
#bestbirds
#bestbirdshot
#bestbirdsofinstagram
#bird_brilliance
#bird_watchers_daily
#birdextreme
#birdextremefeatures
#birdfreaks
#birding
#birdingphotography
#birdnerds
#birdphotographyworld
#birds_adored
#birds_captures
#birds_nature
#birds_of_ig
#birdsandblooms
#birdselite
#dailybirdpicks
#eye_spy_birds
#feather_perfection
#igbirds
#instabirds
#kings_birds
100% without a doubt, this is the coolest bird I'v 100% without a doubt, this is the coolest bird I've ever photographed. This is a common potoo on its nest. When the young one hatches, it will sit on top of this post along with the parent.
 
It looks super zen, right?!
 
Taken between Quepos and Esquipulas in Costa Rica. Thank you to Berny Sanchez, our super guide!
Is this the coolest blackbird you've ever seen, or Is this the coolest blackbird you've ever seen, or what? Commonly called an oropendola, the full name is Montezuma oropendola. They build these amazing nests that hang from trees like a pendulum. And the colors of the bird's face and tail are really striking. It's hard to believe they are in the blackbird family (Icteridae) and not something more exotic.

I thought I was done birding for our trip. We drove an hour back north on our last day to drop off our rental car. The company owner told us to meet him at Cafe Bohio (@cafebohio) and the driver who would take us back to San Jose. I carried my camera into the shop to get coffee, and the barista asked me what I liked to photograph. When I told him birds, he took me over to the front door and pointed across the street and there these were! One more lifer...and a really delicious sandwich and cup of coffee as well. 

#oropendola
#costaricabirds
#costaricabirding
#costarica
#canonusa
#dailybirdpicks
#eye_for_earth
#eye_spy_birds
#feather_perfection
#global4nature
#igbirds
#inspire_nature_now
#instabirds
#kings_birds
#majestic_wildlife_
#nature_worldwide_birds
#natureaddict
#naturegrampixels
#natureshooters
#nb_nature_brilliance
#nuts_about_birds
#nuts_about_nature
#nuts_about_wildlife
#photooftheday
#planetbirds
#raw_birds
#total_birds
#wildlife_inspired
#world_bestanimal
#your_best_birds
This Black-striped sparrow has such interesting co This Black-striped sparrow has such interesting colors and markers. It's one of the most striking sparrows I've ever seen.

#costarica
#costaricabirds
#costaricabirding
#blackstripedsparrow
#birds_of_north_america
#birdsandblooms
#birdselite
#canon_photos
#canonglobal
#canonusa
#dailybirdpicks
#eye_for_earth
#eye_spy_birds
#feather_perfection
#global4nature
#igbirds
#inspire_nature_now
#instabirds
#kings_birds
#majestic_wildlife_
#nature_worldwide_birds
#natureaddict
#naturegrampixels
#natureshooters
#nb_nature_brilliance
#nuts_about_birds
#nuts_about_nature
#nuts_about_wildlife
#photooftheday
#planetbirds
The Clay-colored Thrush is the national bird of Co The Clay-colored Thrush is the national bird of Costa Rica. Seems weird, why not the Resplended Quetzel? Maybe because this bird is much more ubiquitous. He's much more plain but beautiful in his own right. Plus, who needs to be colorful when you're surrounding by plants that have this much beauty?

#costarica
#costaricabirds
#costaricabirding
#claycoloredthrush
#canonusa
#dailybirdpicks
#eye_for_earth
#eye_spy_birds
#feather_perfection
#global4nature
#igbirds
#inspire_nature_now
#instabirds
#kings_birds
#majestic_wildlife_
#nature_worldwide_birds
#natureaddict
#naturegrampixels
#natureshooters
#nb_nature_brilliance
#nuts_about_birds
#nuts_about_nature
#nuts_about_wildlife
#photooftheday
#planetbirds
#raw_birds
#total_birds
#wildlife_inspired
#world_bestanimal
#your_best_birds
This is a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, which we saw This is a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, which we saw at Esquipulas Rainforest (@esquipulasrainforest), a wonderful camping/glamping facility. While birdwatching we enjoyed their delicious coffee, and later, the best breakfast I've ever eaten in my life. And the birds were amazing! Thank you to our guide Berny Sanchez for this experience.

More to come from this location!

#hummingbirds 
#costarica
#costaricabirds
#costaricahummingbirds
#_epic_wildlife
#1newpicaday
#allmightybirds
#animalfanatics
#anythingfeathered
#bb_of_ig
#best_birds_of_world
#bestbirdpix
#bestbirds
#bestbirdshot
#bestbirdsofinstagram
#bestofthesunshinestate
#bird_brilliance
#bird_watchers_daily
#birdextreme
#birdextremefeatures
#birdfreak
#birding
#birdingphotography
#birdnerds
#birdphotographyworld
#birds_adored
#birds_bees_flowers_n_trees
#birds_captures
#birds_nature
#birds_of_ig
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Red-cockaded woodpecker foraging for food in the woods at St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge in Wakulla, Florida (not far from Tallahassee)
Red cockaded woodpecker
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Recent Posts

  • Birding St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in January
  • My Favorite Bird Photography Gear
  • How to Photograph Birds in Flight
  • Why the Size of a Bird is Such a Difficult Field Indicator
  • Where to Find Birds

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