WILD THINGS: 2 STEPS UP AND 1 STEP BACK
A Peregrine falcon is not an off-the-shelf bird. There are very few places in the world where you can decide you want to see a Peregrine falcon,...
WILD THINGS: HAWKWATCHING & THE VAGARIES OF SMALL TALK WITH STRANGERS
It had been a few weeks of visiting with family and friends up in the northlands, but it was time to head home, though maybe not directly....
WILD THINGS: ANIS, SEAGRAPES & PLANS FOR THE END TIMES
Mark Whiteside texted me Saturday afternoon that he’d seen a pair of smooth-billed anis at Fort Zachary Taylor.
Anis are pretty common in the Caribbean and South America,...
WILD THINGS: BENT ON BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS
My initial notion of Arthur Cleveland Bent was one of those nebbishy little guys who spent most of their lives indoors, looking at birds and their parts...
WILD THINGS: RIDIN’ OUT THE STORM
I drove some equipment up to the Florida Keys Hawkwatch site at Curry Hammock State Park in Marathon the other day. It was officially the first day...
WILD THINGS: CLAPPER RAILS: WHAT THE KEK?
I was up on No Name Key the other day, trying to find a reported rarity, when I heard it – the telltale kek.
I had my camera...
WILD THINGS: KEY WEST WILDLIFE COLUMN
Science cannot always explain what a bird is up to.
This came to mind the other day when I walked down the nature trail next to the 1800...
WILD THINGS: ‘GRADY GRITS’ AND THE PERSISTENCE OF VISION
It had been a long, crazy week, and I spent most of Sunday on the couch. For a while I watched men ride bicycles up Alpine passes,...
WILD THINGS COLUMN: BLACK-NECKED STILTS OF THE KEYS
I can’t get over the length of black-necked stilts’ legs. They’re incredibly long in proportion to their body – hence the name. Your average black-necked stilt stands...
WILD THINGS COLUMN: BIRDS AND PICTURES
It is hard to think about composition when taking a picture of a bird. So many elements are out of your control – foremost being the bird.
A...
