Want to see a Roseate Spoonbill poop? The bird lets fly at about the 2-second mark, then goes on to preen, search for crawdads or mussels and scare away moorhens who would rather not get spooned. It’s such a pleasure to watch our friend Pinko throughout the day. Pinko doesn’t wander aimlessly — he or …
Birdwatching
Saturday Afternoon Open Thread
Our friend Spoonie is back, so we’re officially in First Summer (there are something like three) here on the Withlacoochee. I’m still baking that birthday cake. There was an ingredient I forgot to set out to come to room temp, hence the delay. Sometimes I wonder how important the ingredient temperature really is. But Ina …
Bird Commutes (Open Thread)
In a recent thread, the topic of bird fly-bys came up, and I mentioned that we have a splendid view of a bird commute from approximately mid-January through March each year. During that time, flocks of White Ibises fly west along the river just after sunrise and east around sunset — thousands daily. We call …
The Tale of the Gagging Gull
Did I ever tell y’all about the time a seagull ruined a romantic picnic I staged on the shore of the Charles River in Boston? The dude I was trying to impress was my last boyfriend before I came back home to Florida and met my husband, to whom I’ve been married for almost 27 …
Keep on rollin’
We went for a boat ride Friday just before a cold front arrived: We hadn’t taken the jon boat out for a while because the water level in the river has been uncommonly low, about as low as I can remember. Old timers have seen worse; they recall a drought so severe that cattle from …
Squishable Wednesday Morning Open Thread
This isn’t a respite thread, but here’s some soothing content anyway: a Roseate Spoonbill and pair of Sandhill Cranes who recently visited our lagoon. I see spoonbills in that spot quite frequently (it’s a crawdad buffet), and I see cranes flying overhead or in fields a lot. But I’ve only seen cranes in river vegetation …
Squishable Wednesday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (162)
Sunday Afternoon Open Thread
I don’t think I’ve shared my crappy photo of Black Skimmers from my recent trip to the Florida Panhandle springs and beaches (aka, Flamingo Quest): Their upper mandible is much shorter than the lower one — perfect for scooping and a cool look too. Also, this “seedy underbelly of the avian world” is funny: Open …