The Little Nuthatch

Here are a few photos from a kayak out to the Indian River, where there is a small protected island for nesting birds. This time it was busy with Brown Pelicans. I didn't see any babies yet, but lots of nests.    

And more baby bird action! A trip to the Gatorland bird rookery offered a lot of looks at nesting Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Anhingas, and Wood Storks. Many are nesting right off the boardwalk and are easy to watch interacting.    

Yep, Sandhill Crane families are everywhere right now. This family was out at Orlando Wetlands last month...

Finished my latest field guide painting for North American birds. This one is Raptors (not dinosaurs) such as Hawks, Falcons, Vultures, Kites, and Eagles. 28 birds are included: American Kestrel Bald Eagle Black Vultlure Broad-winged Hawk Cooper's Hawk Crested Caracara Ferruginous Hawk Golden Eagle Gyrfalcon Harris's Hawk Merlin Mississippi Kite Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Osprey Peregrine Falcon Prairie Falcon Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk Short-tailed Hawk Snail Kite Swainson's Hawk Swallow-tailed Kite Turkey Vulture White-tailed Kite Zone-tailed Hawk Prints available at Etsy and Handmade at Amazon.

Chuck's-wills-widow are birds commonly heard around here, but they're elusive and rarely seen. So this was a dream come true for me... a Chuck-will's-widow nest! My aunt had found the bird in my grandparents woods and told me it flushed when you entered the area. So I came around, and there was the bird- which in itself the adults are super awesome to see! When it flushed, I didn't see a nest, but checked with my binoculars- and sure enough- a nest with chicks! You can't even see them without the binoculars because they blend in so well. They look...