Okay, no picture today but I just wanted to tell (brag to) everyone that I saw a Swallow-Tailed Kite! I was so shocked! I just saw this shadow flying above me and I looked up thinking it might be the hawk or a vulture. But I saw that tail and was like, "Wow!" I saw one years ago when I was hiking at my favorite preserve. I didn't know what it was but I thought, "Hey, that bird has a tail just like my Swallowtail butterflies." So that made it pretty easy to Google. And hey, that's one more bird I can identify!

Oh. lucky you! Aren't they the most outstanding birds? The first time I saw one I was shocked by the size, nothing prepares you for a wingspan like that. It will help preservation efforts if you report the sighting.
http://www.thecenterforbirdsof...

Wish I could have got all of the birds in this shot! Missing are some house finch, and something else that I couldn't identify.

The rest are a Lazuli Bunting, a Turkey, a Quail, a Brown Headed Cowbird, and three Goldfinch. Please excuse the fence. I have to keep it up to keep the dogs from eating all the seed.

Thanks for the link, Alice! I thought I remembered seeing that on Facebook from one of my environmental groups I'm friends with, and I meant to Google it, but I fell asleep first. Wore myself out at Selby yesterday. What's cool is that about two hours after I saw the Kite, I was driving back from McDonald's about three miles up the road, and I looked up and saw one soaring overhead. I assume it was probably the same one since Kite appearances around here are rare. I'm going to have to go read more about them and what they like.

Dang, Natalie! That's a lot, and a wide variety, of birds!

Nice group shot Natalie!!

The Baltimore Orioles are finally here!!



Brown Thrasher back on April 28th.

Claudia, I love that first picture! Looks like new neighbors, getting to know each other! The Brown Thrasher picture is great, too!

I think the Baltimore Orioles are actually in St. Pete. They beat the Rays tonight. Oh wait, this is the bird forum! Well, I have a couple of birds from today. A pair of Cardinals (and not the St. Louis variety). The male was hanging out in the USF Botanical Gardens plant shop. We perused together.



The female seemed to be checking out this brush pile.



I also saw a Blue Jay (not of the Toronto variety) but he was like, "Go away, human." And a White Ibis flew over me. They look a lot bigger when they're flying.

Nice pictures Melanie!

I'm enjoying everyone's photos! I have a few to upload but we've been out of town for a few days so I hope to get a chance to get them uploaded when we get home. Can someone begin a new thread for the month of May?

I just checked and no one has started a thread for the month of May yet, so I'm going to do that right now.

Okay, here's the new thread for May The thread "Backyard Birds-May 2015" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

I'd like to post a few shots from our trip. We like to visit state and county parks, as well as wildlife management areas and see so many birds. If I mis-ided feel free to tell me.
Egret preening

Least Bittern



wood stork rookery









Black necked stilt



ibis




sand hill crane

Wow, Great photos Ric! It ooks like you've been seeing some great birds on your vacation here in Florida. That's an especially beautiful shot of the preening Great Egret! I think the bird in your second photo is the Least Bittern. Those Black-necked Stilts are so pretty, I love their bright pink legs and feet. I used to see lots of White Ibis around our neighborhood and thought it was neat because the name our street is White Ibis Court. The Sandhill Cranes are such wonderful birds ... we spot them here in our county every once in awhile but I don't think they stay here year round because it gets too cold sometimes in winter. Once we move to Sebastian next summer I will see them more often because they are all over that area.

My sister and I spotted two wild turkeys when were walking a couple of days ago but of course I didn't have my camera with me! She says they've seen them in the neighborhood a few times. We also spotted a gator basking in the sun at the edge of the water in someone's backyard! My sister tells me that people feed the gators which of course is against the law. Last time we were there we walked over to a little dock area a few houses down and as soon as we got to the dock railing a small gator came swimming from across the water, right up to the dock. They've gotten accustomed to folks feeding them which is what makes them dangerous! Many people in the neighborhood have dogs which of course are not allowed off leash from the owners property but many homes seem to have those invisible fences which keeps your own pet on your property but does not keep other animals out! Our new house down there has an electric/invisible fence but we don't plan on using it. We will install a fence around the backyard for our dog. I worry about some of the small dogs I see in their yards and those gators in the water!!

Ric, is it tomorrow that you and Holly head back home to Pa.? I have a dermatology appointment tomorrow at 11:00 which hopefully won't take more than an hour but nothing else going on the rest of the day. If y'all are still in Daytona and want to meet up maybe we can have lunch.

I've got some photos of my backyard birds from last week and a few bird pictures since we've been here in Sebastian. We'll be heading home shortly so I hope to get my pictures uploaded some time this evening!

Lin, We ended up leaving a few days early, my Aunt was put in Hospice and I wanted to see her and be there for my Mom.
Talking about gators. We happened across a large gator right after it caught a very large bird I am thinking maybe an Anhinga. I've seen gators in the wild usually just laying there sunning themselves. Seeing this big guy drag his kill up onto the bank and start chowing down was really something to see.
This is not for the faint of heart. I did pick one of the least disturbing pics.


On a lighter side Roseate Spoonbills

I have a few more.
snowy egrets and glossy ibis



NOID yet




NOID yet




American coot




We saw quite a few sand hill cranes, they seemed to be everywhere in pairs.

Ric, your large NOID could be a Tricolored heron. Not for sure so best to wait for the bird experts around here.

Oh and here's the New Thread For May: The thread "Backyard Birds-May 2015" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

Holly, I'm so sorry to hear that your aunt had to go into hospice; it's understandable that you'd want to be there for your mom. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers at this difficult time.

Where were you when you got the awesome shot of that big gator with his catch? I bet that was a sight to see! Although Anhinga's and Cormorant's are not small birds, they are usually pretty fast getting airborne from the water but gators come up quietly from beneath to grab them so they don't have much of a chance when they are floating there in the water. We see ducks and cormorants in the water in Sebastian with the gators and I'm sure some of those birds have ended up becoming dinner. It's all part of nature ... I just don't like when I hear of a small dog being taken by a gator. Love the Spoonbills ... we usually see lots of them when we visit the refuge in Merritt Island.

Ric, great shots! I also see a couple of White Ibis in that first shot with the Glossy Ibis and Snowy Egrets. Your first NOID looks like a Green Heron: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g... and the second NOID looks to be the Tri-colored Heron: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

Lin, Aunt Emmy hasn't been well but not what we thought of as life threatening. She went in the hosp. a few days after we left for what we thought was a 3 day diuretics treatment. Turns out that her poorly working kidneys had stopped working. She didn't want to go on dialysis but decided to at least try it. It was just too much for her and after a couple of treatments she decided to come off the dialysis and let nature take it's course. She was a wonderful person lived life to the fullest. Very active in her church, community and family. Oldest of 6 sisters, in a very close family. When I was growing up she lived just a few houses away. Here children where my playmates. She died on Sat morning, Ric's overnight driving got me home to see her one last time and be there with my Mom.

The Gator pic was taken in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Black Point Wildlife Drive.
Moving on to the May Thread.