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The Helpful Birder

Featured Posts General Birding

Where to Find Birds

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Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

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How Nature Reuses Its Resources

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Species Spotlight: Swallow-tailed Kites

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  • Birding Travels

    Birding in Grand Cayman

    Post coming soon……

    April 1, 2025
  • Backyard Bird Feeding Station Ideas
    Backyard Birding

    Backyard Bird Feeding Station Ideas

    Watching birds visit your backyard can be a source of joy and wonder. If you’re a homeowner who loves the company of these feathered friends, creating a welcoming bird feeding station…

    September 28, 2023
  • green birds in Florida
    General Birding

    18 Beautiful Green Birds in Florida (With Photos!)

    Let’s delve into the enchanting world of green birds in Florida! As avid birders know, Florida is a paradise for bird enthusiasts, offering a diverse range of species. Among them, green…

    September 27, 2023
  • Bird Species

    Florida Birds of Prey

    Florida, a state renowned for its stunning landscapes and abundant biodiversity, plays host to a remarkable array of birds of prey. These majestic avian predators, often referred to as raptors, have…

    September 11, 2023
  • 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
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This White Wagtail is a species I had seen in othe This White Wagtail is a species I had seen in other European countries, but they’re awfully cute and usually deserving of a snap or two. What I really liked about this sighting in Iceland is the moss it’s foraging in. Moss is prevalent in Iceland, often on top of lava rocks. It can be very delicate and slow-growing, so people are advised not to walk on the moss or otherwise disturb it. (That’s one of many reasons that stacking stones is discouraged.)

It’s ok to walk on their moss if you’re a bird, though!

#whitewagtail #icelandbirds #thingvellir #þingvellir #þingvellirnationalpark
Peek-a-boo 🫣🐧🧡 Atlantic Puffin in the rain. Heima Peek-a-boo 🫣🐧🧡

Atlantic Puffin in the rain. Heimaey, Westman Islands, Iceland.

#atlanticpuffin #iceland #puffin #westmanislands #heimaey
Basic human needs: 1. water 2. oxygen 3. more puff Basic human needs:
1. water
2. oxygen
3. more puffins than I can count, on a cliff overlooking the sea
Having a little fun with these adorable seals! I b Having a little fun with these adorable seals! I believe they are both harbour seals (aka common seals), one of two species that pups in Iceland. According to the Icelandic Seal Center, there are four other species that are frequent visitors.

The only place we saw seals on our 13 day trip was at Ytri Tunga Seal Beach on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula north of Reykjavik. It was rainy and incredibly windy, so I was really happy to get a few photos of them resting on the rocks.

#iceland #seals #sealspotting #icelandseals
I’m really excited to finally get to see a Great B I’m really excited to finally get to see a Great Blue Heron (white morph) yesterday! And a bonus for getting to see it in action when it caught this fish. 

I drove two hours to find it, but once there it was an easy spot. Thank you to the friend who told me its whereabouts. (I don’t want to share their name or the location publicly so that I protect it.)

This subspecies is normally found in the Florida Keys and sometimes in southern mainland Florida. It’s sometimes called a Great White Heron, and is easily mistaken as a Great Egret. However, the egret would be smaller and have a completely yellow bill.

Hope you enjoy! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

#greatwhiteheron #greatblueheron #floridabirds
These two Atlantic Puffins are exhibiting a behavi These two Atlantic Puffins are exhibiting a behavior called “billing”. It’s thought to strengthen a pair bond throughout the breeding season, particularly when they return from sea and it’s time to get reacquainted.

If you turn up your volume you’ll hear the clacks made by their beaks making contact.

Bonus: the buzzing sound near the end of the video is the winnowing sound of a Common Snipe, a prominent species throughout Iceland. 

#puffinsofinstagram #atlanticpuffins #icelandbirds #seabirds #puffins
A series of Black-tailed Godwits in the rain. We s A series of Black-tailed Godwits in the rain. We saw this species in a couple of places so I do have some photos of individuals that look less bedraggled. In addition to the rain this particular afternoon, the wind was gusting about 35mph, so I didn’t stay out very long!

When I birded extensively in England I learned that these are nicknamed “blackwits”, and the Bar-tailed Godwits are called “barwits”. There are no barwits in Iceland, though, so they likely just call them either godwits or something entirely unpronounceable!

#icelandbirds #birdingiceland #vik #blacktailedgodwit #godwit
It’s been months since I posted a mammal, but this It’s been months since I posted a mammal, but this one is worth the change-up! It’s a reindeer we saw near Hoffell, Iceland. I love that the antlers are still covered in velvet this time of year.
Snuggle bugs! Atlantic Puffins in Iceland. #hafna Snuggle bugs! Atlantic Puffins in Iceland.

#hafnarhólmi #icelandpuffins #puffinsofinstagram #icelandbirds #atlanticpuffin
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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 in Grand Cayman
  • Backyard Bird Feeding Station Ideas
  • 18 Beautiful Green Birds in Florida (With Photos!)
  • Florida Birds of Prey
  • Birding St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in January

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