South Florida is a terrific place for birds, this time of the year. Here's an incomplete list of birds I spotted there - there are tons more that I have been unable to identify. For completeness sake, I've also included the ones I've seen in Illinois. I've tried grouping similar or related birds together in this list.
Credits to en.wikipedia.org, www.whatbird.com and www.allaboutbirds.org, all three of which I used extensively.
Credits to en.wikipedia.org, www.whatbird.com and www.allaboutbirds.org, all three of which I used extensively.
- Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata
- Mottled Duck, Anas fulvigula
- Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
- Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
- Great Egret, Ardea alba
- Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
- Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea
- Great Blue Heron, Ardea Herodias
- Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor
- White Ibis, Eudocimus albus
- Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
- Anhinga, Anhinga anhinga
- American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
- Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis
- Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
- Sanderling, Calidris alba
- Common Tern, Sterna hirundo
- Royal Tern, Thalasseus maxima
- Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
- Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger
- Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
- Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus
- Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
- Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus – IL
- Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
- American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
- Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
- White-winged dove, Zenaida asiatica
- Rock Pigeon, Columba livia - IL , FL
- Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
- Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
- Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
- Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major
- Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
- Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius
- Canada goose, Branta Canadensis - IL
- American Robin, Turdus migratorius
- Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
- Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum
- Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis – IL
- Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
- American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos - IL, FL
- Monk Parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus
- Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea
- House sparrow, Passer domesticus - IL, FL
White Ibis - Boca Raton, FL |
Brown Pelican - on the way to Key West, FL |
Royal Terns - Key West, FL |
Sadly enough I didn't have a camera in Boca Raton, where I spotted most of the birds on this list. The decent ones were shot with Varun's camera. The most exciting ones for me were the Great Blue Heron, which is probably the largest bird I've ever seen, and the Belted Kingfisher. The Skimmers at Key West I was quite excited to see - freakishly heavy bills! What the hell, they were all pretty amazing!