Again, hearkening back to my Big Year, there was yet another rare bird chase in my future. That is, if the bird in question stayed put in Florida while I conducted interviews in Nashville. Throughout the week I kept checking eBird and the male Western Spindalis kept showing up in a park near Fort Lauderdale. The penultimate bird of my 2012 Big Year was a female Western Spindalis in Key West Botanical Gardens. This year a male showed up in Markham Park just outside of Fort Lauderdale and I was determined to see it, and get a photo. Rare female birds are nice, but if you want great plumage, for the most part, you have to get the males.
It wasn't long after I got to the spot where this rare visitor from the Bahamas had been seen, that one of the birders already present, got his eyes on it. For the next half an hour or so it showed itself and eventually came out in the open for all the photographers present to get a nice photo.
Along with the Western Spindles, frequenting the same trees, were two or three Spot-breasted Orioles, one of which is pictured below:
During my week in Florida I enjoyed a large variety of interesting birds. Of particular interest was the White Ibis equivalent of the "push-mi--pullyu" from Dr Dolittle, along the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
Just a small part of 4 larger rafts of more than 1000 American Coots at Merritt Island Wildlife Drive
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
Florida Scrub Jay, Merritt Island NWR Scrub Trail
White-winged Parakeet, Across from Ocean Bank on Le Jeune Rd in Miami
It wasn't long after I got to the spot where this rare visitor from the Bahamas had been seen, that one of the birders already present, got his eyes on it. For the next half an hour or so it showed itself and eventually came out in the open for all the photographers present to get a nice photo.
Along with the Western Spindles, frequenting the same trees, were two or three Spot-breasted Orioles, one of which is pictured below:
During my week in Florida I enjoyed a large variety of interesting birds. Of particular interest was the White Ibis equivalent of the "push-mi--pullyu" from Dr Dolittle, along the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
Just a small part of 4 larger rafts of more than 1000 American Coots at Merritt Island Wildlife Drive
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
Florida Scrub Jay, Merritt Island NWR Scrub Trail
White-winged Parakeet, Across from Ocean Bank on Le Jeune Rd in Miami
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