Zone-tailed Hawk
My Birding Big Year results as of February 2026
#269 species of birds.
23 new lifers including the pictured Zone-tailed Hawk.
Visited 23 counties in Texas and 2 counties in Florida.
#bird #birds #birding #usbirds #txbirds #texas #tx #flbirds #florida #fl #nature #wildlife #bigyear #lifer
Great blue heron standing on a dock that’s floating in he water. Ropes are loosely wound up on the ground near its feet
A great blue heron standing on the docks and scowling like the old grumpy fisherman he is.
#birds
#flbirds
#usbirds
Black skimmers flying over a floating dock. Cormorants, a gull, and a grackle sit on the dock below.
Black skimmers flying with palm trees in the background on a sunny day.
Black Skimmers flying together with a condo in the background on a sunny day
Kind of excited! Kept seeing what I thought were Terns at the nearby park. Had a hard time getting photos close enough for a better look, but they turned out to be Black Skimmers. Lifer 👏
#birds
#usbirds
#flbirds
Bright white ibis with blue eyes picking through acorns on the ground. The sun shines brightly on the bird and the ground and there are large rocks behind it.
A bright white ibis standing up and facing the viewers left. There are several large rocks behind the bird, and the viewer can see water from the lake behind the rocks.
It’s easy to take the Ibis for granted in Florida. I think they’re beautiful. 🪶
#ibis
#birds
#usbirds
#flbirds
Red bellied woodpecker with black and white patterned wings and a bright red stripe down the back of their head and neck. The bird is sitting on some moss and looking away from the camera toward a softly blurred background of green trees on a sunny day.
A red bellied woodpecker from below, facing left and sitting on a bed of dry moss against a softly blurred background of trees on a sunny day.
Pretty little red-bellied woodpecker near the lake. Lucky me that they made so much noise up above ☺️
#woodpeckers
#usbirds
#flbirds
#birds
Little Blue Heron standing on rocks hunting for lizards. This is on the St Joseph Sound on the Gulf of Mexico in Dunedin FL. Dunedin is in the Tampa Bay area of FL. The water here is very clear and this day the sky was very blue making the water look even more blue. This is a common place to Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, Snow Egrets, Great Blue Egrets and many other FL wading birds. The Sound is also full of Dolphins, Manatee, stingrays and other aquatic wildlife.
Dunedin FL
St Joseph Sound
Gulf of Mexico
Little Blue Heron hopping over the rocks searching for lizards
#🪶 #birds #blueskyphotography #birdsofbluesky #photo #photography #gulfofmexico #tampabay #flbirds #flwildlife #herons #dunedinfl #flwadingbirds
Grackle fishing in a shallow pool of water
Female crackle standing on the shore with ripples in the water
Grackle peering into a still, shallow pool of water
Three grackles on the edge of a shallow pool of water
Hanging out with the grackles close to home. 🪶
#birds #usbirds #flbirds
Female downy woodpecker peeking over a thin tree branch to look at the camera
Female downy woodpecker hiding her face behind a thin tree branch
A cute, shy little downy woodpecker peeking at me while I snapped her picture ☺️
#flbirds #usbirds #birds
Large Great Blue Heron standing in a tidal creek holding the fish he just caught. This photo was taken in Hammock Park in Dunedin FL. Dunedin is located in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida and sits on the St Joseph Sound which is in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Great Blue Herron
Successful catch
#🪶 #birds #birding #FLbirds #birdsofbluesky #wadingbirds #herons #blueskyphotography #photography #photos #nature #naturephotography #gulfofmexico #wildlife #wildlifepgotography #flwildlife #greatblueheron
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Tri Color Heron
Think this is my same
Buddy
Yesterday he was preening
#birds #🪶 #birding #blueskyphotography
#birdsofbluesky #herons #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #wadingbirds #flbirds #gulfofmexico #dunedinfl
#wildlife #nature #flwildlife
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Tri-Color Heron
Walked right up on it
He was totally unbothered
By my presence
#birds #🪶 #herons #blueskybirds #blueskyphotography #wildlife
#flwildlife #birding #wadingbirds #gulfofmexico #photos #nature #dunedinfl #flbirds
Bright Blue Tri-color Heron about to take flight from a shallow tidal creek in Hammock Park in Dunedin FL located on the St Joseph Sound on the Gulf of Mexico. This picture was taken in a very sunny day.
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Tri-Color Heron
Ready to fly
#birds #bird #🪶
#wadingbirds #blueskyphotography #birdsofbluesky #wildlife #herons #wildlifephotography
#nature #gulfofmexico #flbirds #floridawldlife #birdphotos #stjosephsound #dunedinfl #hammockpark #wildflorida
Large White Egret and Limpkin sharing space while fishing for lunch. This is in Hammock Park in Dunedin FL located on the Gulf of Mexico. The Limpkin is circled in red as it is very difficult to see because of his natural camouflage.
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Egret and Limpkin
Fishing for lunch
Limpkin circled in red
As it is hard to see
The Limpkin is holding
A small fish it had just
Caught
#birds #🪶
#egrets #blueskyphotography #birdsofbluesky #wadingbirds #photos #photography #Flbirds #florida #flparks #wildlife #flwildlife
Dunedin FL in Hammock Park. Limpkin wading in a tidal creek holding a small fish it just caught.
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Limpkin with
A small fish it
Had just caught
#birds #🪶 #birdsofbluesky
#blueskyphotography #birding #flbirds #wadingbirds #wildlife #floridabirds #floridawildlife #dunedinfl #photos #florida #wildflorida #floridaparks #gulfofmexico
Great Egret patiently posing for me in Dunedin FL on the St Joseph Sound on the Gulf of MEXICO
Dunedin FL
St Joseph Sound
Gulf of MEXICO
Great Egret
Kindly posed for me
#egrets #bird #🪶 #blueskyphotography #gulfofmexico #dunedinfl #birds #wildlife #flwildlife #waterbirds #wadingbirds #stjosephsound #birdsofbluesky #photos #flbirds #wildfl
Tri color Heron in the Tidal Creek at Hammock Park, in Dunedin FL. He is holding a small fish he had just caught in his bill.
Dunedin FL
Hammock Park
Tri-Color Heron
Hard to see but
There is a tiny fish
In his bill
#🪶 #heron #blueskyphotography #birds #wildlife #bird #wildlifephotography #photo #birding #flbirds #FLwildlife #wadingbirds
This guy was all by himself in the retaining pond when I was walking this week.
The Poetry Off the Shelf podcast episode with Catherine Barnett was about asking good questions.
What was he eating? Where were his friends? So many questions.
#poetry #poetrypodcast #flbirds
Our #BirdBuddy FINALLY captured something other than a Blue Jay 😭🙌🦜 #NandayParakeet #FLbirds
Blue Heron (juvenile) at Big Cypress National Preserve. Such effective camouflage plumage! #birds #FLbirds
Wood Storks are one of my favorite #birds. They look like old grandpas with so much character to their faces. What a story he might tell. #FLbirds #BigCypressNationalPreserve
