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The Helpful Birder

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Where to Find Birds

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Featured Posts General Birding

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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  • Florida scrub jay
    Florida Birding Hotspots

    Cruickshank Sanctuary, Brevard County

    The Helen and Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary is located on Barnes Boulevard in Rockledge, Florida. It consists of 140 acres of pine flatwoods and scrub habitat. The biggest attraction at this location…

    May 13, 2020
  • King Rail, Viera Wetlands
    Florida Birding Hotspots

    Viera Wetlands, Brevard County, Florida

    Note: Viera Wetlands is currently COMPLETELY closed. It is expected to reopen in December of 2023 to walkers and bikers, but it’s not expected that cars will be allowed to drive…

    April 2, 2020
  • Florida Birding Hotspots

    Black Point Wildlife Drive, Brevard County

    If you want to bird in Florida, one of the best places you can choose is the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The land is owned by NASA, but operated by…

    April 2, 2020
  • Swallow-tailed kite in flight over Wildwood, Florida
    Bird Species Featured Posts

    Species Spotlight: Swallow-tailed Kites

    Every spring around March/April, Florida birders get really excited to see the first Swallow-tailed Kites come through. Because they migrate to South America, they aren’t here year-round. But when they are,…

    March 19, 2020
  • Northern Gannets at Bempton Cliffs, England
    Birding Travels

    My Whirlwind Tour of London, Birdfair, Norwich, and More

    My first trip to Europe last August was an absolute dream. My friend Rochelle asked if I would like to accompany her to Birdfair, the largest birding festival in the UK.…

    March 19, 2020
  • General Birding

    Why are Juvenile Birds So Difficult to ID?!?!

    Many species of birds have babies that look an awful lot like their parents. A young male cardinal is less red than an adult, but clearly a cardinal. Baby egrets are…

    March 19, 2020
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Lifer 370 / 541 is this Bewick’s Wren, who has suc Lifer 370 / 541 is this Bewick’s Wren, who has such a beautiful song! We saw this one on the trail that runs on the other side of the creek behind the Santa Rita lodge.

Lifer 368 / 539 (2nd and 3rd photo) was a Townsend’s Warbler. Not great shots, but I’m happy to have some photos of it.

Not shown: 369 / 540 Hutton’s Vireo - never saw it, but we heard them several times, again on the trail.
Lifer 366 (US) / 537 (World) for me is the Pine Si Lifer 366 (US) / 537 (World) for me is the Pine Siskin, and 367/ 538 is the Lesser Goldfinch. You’ll see some of both in these photos. The image at the water feature that has two different species shows the goldfinch on the left and the siskin on the right.
Lifer 365 (US) / 535 (World) is this adorable Brid Lifer 365 (US) / 535 (World) is this adorable Bridled Titmouse. There were tons, but they spent so much time eating that I don’t have many photos except gathered around a feeder. I did think these three were particularly cute, though!
Although not rare, I was very excited to get to se Although not rare, I was very excited to get to see the Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma wollweberi) in Arizona. Although not mentioned in the bird’s common name, it’s actually a scrub-jay, in the same genus as our Florida Scrub-jays. I noted a lot of similar behavior as well, some of which you can glean from the different micro-habitats in these photos.

Lifer 364 (US) / 535 (World)

#mexicanjay #santaritalodge #maderacanyon #arizonabirds
Lifer #363 (US) / #534 (World) is the Arizona Wood Lifer #363 (US) / #534 (World) is the Arizona Woodpecker. Apparently it is much less common than the Acorn Woodpecker I posted yesterday, but a regular visitor to Santa Rita Lodge in the Madera Canyon. I believe these photos are likely a male, a female, and a male again - based on the red (or lack thereof) on their heads.

BTW this lodge is an excellent place to visit even if you don't stay there. (Though I wish we had stayed there!) You can pull up, park, and sit in front of the feeders to take pictures, all at no cost - though donations are recommended! They have a little gift / coffee shop, and there is a hiking path that runs just on the other side of the creek. There are no restrooms on site, but there was one just back down the road, pretty close. (People warned me about how bad it was, but those people must have never experienced the Fellsmere Stick Marsh...these were fine IMO!)
The gorgeous Acorn Woodpecker is my life bird #362 The gorgeous Acorn Woodpecker is my life bird #362 (US) / 534 (World). There are several individuals shown. 

The last slide is lifer 360 / 531, Rivoli's Hummingbird. Not a great shot. It was really close and in the shadow.

I skipped a few lifers that I don't have good photos for:

361/532 Broad-billed Hummingbird
359/530 Green-tailed Towhee
358/529 Rufous-winged Sparrow
357/528 Gilded Flicker

I'm finally back to processing photos after a long break. Now I'm having to remind myself of the species I saw in Arizona, as it's been almost 3 months. Lots has transpired in the meantime, including a trip to London with my daughters for their college graduations. While there, even though it wasn't a birding trip at all, I actually got lifer #563 in Little Venice, the Common Pochard. Seems like an odd bird to have missed on my previous visits. Anyway, that's just a little life update :)
It’s baby season! The parents of these Northern Mo It’s baby season! The parents of these Northern Mockingbirds are running the ragged. They’re so cute though! (iPhone photo)
Life bird 356 (US) / 527 (World) was the unique Ph Life bird 356 (US) / 527 (World) was the unique Phainopepla. The white feathers in their wings aren’t apparent at rest but they show up so distinctively in flight. Please swipe to see an additional closer crop of this same image.

Not that anyone is keeping count, but I skipped a bird because the photo looks too much like the moth photo I posted yesterday. I’ll work it back in later 🤣

I hope everyone had a wonderful Earth Day! 🌎🌱🌳
A little bird break, here’s a hungry White-lined S A little bird break, here’s a hungry White-lined Sphinx Moth at the Desert Museum. It was so active!!!
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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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