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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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    General Birding

    My Favorite Facebook Birding Resources

    I have found Facebook to be an invaluable resource for increasing my birding skills. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite resources on Facebook in the hopes that…

    March 19, 2020
  • My Bird Species Bucket List
    General Birding

    My Birding Bucket List

    When I went to Bird Fair in England in August of 2019, one of the speakers I heard was Dominic Couzens, a British birder and author. He gave a presentation about…

    March 19, 2020
  • Backyard Birding General Birding

    How to Attract Painted Buntings to Your Yard

    Painted buntings are one of my favorite birds. They’re so colorful and active. Because painted buntings in Florida they only show up for a few months during winter, they’re also sometime…

    March 19, 2020
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thehelpfulbirder

A majestic elk for this mammal Monday - 13 points? A majestic elk for this mammal Monday - 13 points? I’m not sure how you count them. This guy was huge and he kept everyone in check. Humans included. 

#mammalmonday #elkcountry #ruttingseason
A few of my favorite things! #caterpillars #puffi A few of my favorite things!

#caterpillars #puffins #butterflies #flycatcher
My first encounter with an Arctic Tern in Iceland My first encounter with an Arctic Tern in Iceland - or anywhere for that matter #lifer They’re very common all around the island, and aggressively defend their nesting grounds. I’ll post a story about that too. These birds migrate further than any other species in the world: 44,000 to 50,000 miles (70,000 to 80,000 km) round trip!

#arctictern #icelandbirds #tern #seabirds
I’ll just be gone an hour, no more… back in a jiff I’ll just be gone an hour, no more… back in a jiffy…

Florida Scrub Jay

#birding #birdhumor #floridascrubjay #backsoon #floridabirding
I loved seeing Razorbills for the first time while I loved seeing Razorbills for the first time while in Iceland. Please swipe for a second image showing the complete photo, which looks like the Razorbill is a lead singer and the three Common Murres are his backup.
Redshanks calling while in flight (photo 1) and pe Redshanks calling while in flight (photo 1) and perched (photo 2). I think this might be the most common bird species in Iceland. If not in sheer numbers like the puffins, then at least in the frequency of places we saw them.

#redshank #iceland #icelandbirds #icelandwildlife #birdingphotography
I’ve now discovered firsthand what people mean whe I’ve now discovered firsthand what people mean when they say to use scientific names rather than common ones. In Iceland, I saw a lot of what we in North America call Common Murre, shown here in the first photo nesting on cliffs visible from the ferry as we approached Heimaey. The scientific name is Uria aalge, and elsewhere the common name is Common Guillemot.

The second photo is very distant, but this is a Black Guillemot. This common name is the same in Europe and North America. Cepphus grylle is the scientific name.

While related, these are two species who share a similar habitat but belong to in different genera. Now, try birding in Iceland where the people around you speak a different language - in the specific case I experienced it was French - and you’re trying to figure out which one you’re looking at and talking about.

Lesson learned: study ahead, bring a real guide book, or learn French. 😜

#icelandbirding #heimaey #commonmurre #guillemot #icelandphotography
Graylag Goose, scroll to the second photo for two Graylag Goose, scroll to the second photo for two goslings. The third photo is the famous Almannagjá Gorge in Þingvellir National Park in Iceland. These birds were nearby, after we walked past these rocks.

#graylaggoose #iceland #icelandbirds #thingvellir #þingvellir
I was so excited to find this mama Eared Grebe wit I was so excited to find this mama Eared Grebe with two babies tucked into her wings. And then lo and behold, the dad shows up too!

We get Eared Grebes occasionally in Florida, but in winter the plumage is much different. Still pretty but not this dramatic.

I was not prepared to shoot video, so please forgive the shakiness (it was handheld) and the need to rotate your phone.

#earedgrebe #iceland #myvatn #icelandbirding
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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

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  • Florida Birds of Prey
  • Birding St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in January

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