Our most spectacularly beautiful resident duck! The brilliant, iridescent crest, body color and markings are developed by the male during the breeding season (in fall) just to attract the female!  He also attracts hunters and is more visible to predators, so his colors are not kept year-round. After breeding, the Wood Duck male molts to become mostly dark…

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Smart Bird I have watched blue herons wade the shallows looking for prey for years.  However last month during a rainy day and an especially high tide I observed a blue heron foraging in a different way.   After landing on the pier, he walked to the end and hopped down onto the floating oyster cage.  Stepping across the…

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Flamingos in Florida! A recent scientific paper concluded that Flamingos have an ancient history in Florida and consistently inhabit Florida Bay, helping settle the question of whether they are native to Florida.  John J. Audubon never shot a Flamingo when he came to Florida in 1838, but he reported seeing many along Florida’s Atlantic coast, the…

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Brave and Courageous! Such a feisty tiny bird, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is!  Often in springtime, they defend their nesting territory, though they have been known to steal nesting material from other’s nests, perhaps causing a ruckus in the first place.  Here, the Gnatcatcher is not about to let the Prairie Warbler to take one step…

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