Animal Person

AUGUST 26, 2009

Our most insidious institution -- as my talk in Miami in 10 days (August 29th) will explain! If you know anyone in Miami and vicinity who might enjoy an eye-opening evening among eye-opening evenings, let me know and I'll e-mail or mail you a flier to give them -- or will send it straight to them if you give me the information.

Meat 100

Meat Responsible Policies Miami Meat Industry 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2012

The first sighting was of an individual seen and photographed right off the pier at Boynton Inlet on December 9, 2012. Many state listers immediately chased it even though the bird was very mobile and did not offer good looks for most who tried.

Florida 211

Florida Cuba 2012 Bahamas 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

One of the perks about living in Miami is that plane tickets to the bird-rich Caribbean, Central, and South America are often cheaper than going to places like Arizona, Colorado, or California. Like magic, a dark bird flew into a tall tree right beside the road. I stuck my head out the window and looked up — and there it was!

Jamaica 177

Jamaica Puerto Rico 2013 Birds 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

If conditions are right, the Palm Beach Agricultural Area can be teaming with various shorebird species such as Spotted, Solitary, Upland, Buff-breasted, Least, Semipalmated, Western, and Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Black-necked Stilt.

Florida 249

Florida Miami Birds Falcons 249

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

A pair of Spot-breasted Orioles were a welcome sighting, having personally lead many clients to their life Spot-breasted Oriole in Miami for their ABA list but having never seen one in their original range. The experience of seeing a pair feeding and calling in the mountains of Honduras felt like a much more genuine birding experience to me.

Honduras 209

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

And when you think about it, that seems right. Turkey Vulture on Little Miami River – Kelly Riccetti, The Red and the Peanut. Large, hulking, and menacing, the Old World Vultures , who reach their greatest diversity in sub-Saharan Africa, had a reputation, maybe undeserved, for viciousness.

California Condor 177

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

Carlos Sanchez is an excellent birder, a Miami resident, and a polyglot. That’s right. Over twenty species of wood-warbler may be recorded in a single winter in Miami-Dade County, with several more species recorded regularly in Monroe and Broward. What does this mean for the visitor?

Florida 158

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2012

Autumn migration gets off to an inauspicious start in Miami-Dade with the appearance of a small selection of passerines at local migrant traps at mid-July. A correctly angled cold front combined with a sloppy, wet tropical system created the right conditions for a logjam. A visit to A.D. A fall Cape May Warbler, by Carlos Sanchez.

Miami 185

Miami Florida 2012 2011 185

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

On my recent short family vacation to Miami, I was granted a single day to get out and really bird like a madman. Can you believe that a New Yorker could travel all the way to Miami and not be treated to breakfast? Why bother with birds you can’t check off your list, right? He was right! We needed countable species!

Florida 115

Florida Miami Birds Owls 115

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

According to the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas, the first confirmed breeding record was in Miami in July of 1938. Certainly, Smooth-billed Anis have shown great adaptability in Latin America where they can often be seen in parking lots and unkempt grassy lots right in the middle of large cities from San Juan to Caracas.

Florida 185

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2018

We did however gain an extra night, at our expense in Miami, Florida, all of which was in the dark, so I could not even run out and put a couple of birds on a Florida State List. Carolyn was able to get us into the right area, but was afraid that we were so late in the day, it was not likely that we would be able to find this rare bird.

Bahamas 124

Bahamas Costa Rica Abandon Abandoning 124

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

In fact, several species in Miami-Dade are found exclusively in such habitats. Most visiting birders look at me in disbelief when I point them in the right direction for this range-restricted ABA species — away from good, mature forest habitat and towards the nearest fast food restaurant.

Miami 124

Miami Fast Food Florida Birds 124

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

from University of Miami in 1966 and has written over 75 scientific and popular papers and books, including Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide. Species accounts are sequential, one running right after the other. Dennis Paulson is a “real” zoologist; he received his Ph.D. More on this later.) This one is 2.5

United States 227

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2011

Like when Cleveland local Lebron James showed up in Miami and started playing basketball for the Heat. Wicked, right? So when a bird -- that was previously thought to be endemic to one country -- is discovered in another, patriotic birders from the former country may not want to believe it. Hat-tip to Stella.

Panama 201

Panama Costa Rica 2011 Cleveland 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

It takes only a single raindrop at the right place to render an electronic device completely useless. Wicked, right? I would NOT like to see old fashioned book field guides to vanish for a few simple reasons: It takes a whole lot of effort to render a field guide completely useless. Hat-tip to Stella.

Burkina Faso 155

Burkina Faso 2011 Birds Deer 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

Red-necked Grebe by Carlos Sanchez My Best Bird of the Year was a Red-necked Grebe discovered in an urban pond in Tallahassee which lingered long enough for me to go and see it — a full 17 hour round trip drive from Miami. And, the best thing was that it did not require tapes, just the right habitat and good ears and patience.

2012 144

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 144