B i r d i n g
	Collier County Audubon Society
	Birding checklists Download a detailed CHECKLIST of Collier County birds. Get lists for selected Collier County spots, other Florida counties, state, and North America Local birding spots Discover some of the best Collier County birding spots. Bird Brains quiz How well do you know birds and their habits? Try our July bird trivia question ... and try previous months' questions and answers too. Frequently asked bird questions Find out what to do, what to feed them, how to discourage them, where they go, why they do that, and more. Birding miscellany Coastal Waterbirds Interim Report (July-September, 2007) Kinesis in shorebird bills Read short articles on avian habits and oddities, and human opinions about the topics. Read some of Ted's summer observations. Hurricane Wilma & Coastal Waterbirds: more questions than answers. Bald Eagle nest locator. Click on "Florida County" and then in Criteria 1, select "County," "Is Equal To," type in "Collier," and click the "Submit" button.	Report rare bird sightings The other day I got an email reporting a Golden Eagle sighting in Naples and asking whether this was possible. I replied (after looking it up) that it was possible but unusual. This pointed out that we need a link to let folks know if they have a rarity and how to report it. The Florida Ornithological Society's Records Committee is the only Florida entity that addresses rare bird sightings. Use the FOS links below to check the updated Florida Checklist and find out if the species is or is not rare. The Review List should be looked at to see if the species needs to be reported. If sending a photo (best idea, if possible) check the photo gallery for ideas. It is not necessary to have a perfect photo but be careful how much the photo is "Photoshopped" as important information can be lost. Do not be disappointed if the record is not accepted; I have submitted two records and both were rejected; this is all in the fun of the game. --Ted Below State review list (for reference) Guidelines for reporting Form for reporting Birding links Online birding guides ranging from the birding areas in Florida to Arthur Cleveland Bent's Life Histories of American Birds. Learn how to create a bird-friendly backyard More links to birding information

Bird news

Ted's 2006 Summer Observations:

• July 21: Summer's Over

 

Ted's 2005 Summer Observations:

• June 7 : morphing Great Blue/White Herons
• June 22: summer White Pelican
• August 31: a first for Collier County-- Buff-breasted Sandpiper (right)

 

Ted's 2004 Summer Observations:

• July 1: Willets are back, some in breeding colors
• July 5: Kingfishers are back at Corkscrew
• July 12: A Kingfisher on Marco, plus many Sandwich Terns
• July 14: Piping Plovers and breeding-plumed Western Sandpiper & Short-billed Dowitcher
• July 21: Gray Kingbirds ready to go
• July 28: More Sandwich Terns and a Long-billed Curlew

 

 

Bird notes

Kinesis in shorebird bills: Kinesis (Greek for movement)

In some (maybe all) long billed shorebirds the birds are able to open, close and sense with the tip of the bill. This allows them to probe in mud, sand, water etc. and not only feel pray but grasp it without opening the whole bill and ingesting goop.

An example of this flexibility is shown in the photo at the right: a Short-billed Dowitcher, for some reason (social display ??), is seen with what appears to be extreme Kinesis. I have verified this in three shorebird species; Willet, Western Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher.

Ted Below

 

Birding miscellany

Accidental (Birds are highly mobile; some get lost and provide new records for an area, including Collier County.)

Are Birds Free? (Even out in the hinterlands of Collier County birds are getting kicked around by man)

Coastal Waterbirds & A Mystery Booby (Fall migrations can bring some unusual and confusing species)

Common Names (What is in a name? Everything, when you want to understand what is being written or talked about.)

Eurasian Collared Dove Nesting Preferences (Here's a possible reason why they are more prolific than natives)

Hurricane Visitor (Hurricane Charley brings a new species to Southwest Florida)

Second Chance (Least Terns take advantage of a second chance to raise their young, away from people)

Seeing or Watching? (Don't twitch -- watch! Some of the best shows in town are free)

White Feathers (Most adult Little Blue Herons are all blue, but a very strangely colored one occurred in Collier County)

Steve Carbol's birding pages

from the Audugram: Swainson's Thrush ~

Backyard birding resources

Bird feeding and other backyard ideas (from Cornell University's Project FeederWatch)

Creating a bird-friendly backyard (from National Birdfeeding Society)

 

For additional links to birding information, please visit the LINKS page.

Online birding guides

Important Birding Areas in Florida

A2Z4Birders Online Guide

Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds by Arthur Cleveland Bent

Additional bird checklists

more Collier County lists -- for specific areas

Big Cypress National Preserve

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (most commonly observed wildlife including birds, mammals, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians)

Eagle Lakes Community Park

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

Sand Dollar Island (off Tigertail Beach on Marco Island)

 

other Florida county lists

Alachua County ~ Big Bend area ~ Pinellas County ~ Polk County ~ Sarasota County ~ Volusia County

 

Florida state lists

Florida Ornithological Society (F.O.S.)

lists for National Wildlife Refuges in Florida

 

North America list

American Birding Association (A.B.A.)

 

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These pages contain links to both public agency sites and private commercial sites. The Collier County Audubon Society does not endorse any of the sites listed nor has the material on these sites been verified for accuracy.

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since May 10, 2004