outdoor photography

Great Kiskadee Tres Regalos Condos Everytime I go to Mexico I love seeing Great Kiskadees. They're beautiful birds, and they're always calling, it seems, so you always know they're around. But there are other species of flycatchers that look very much like them. The Social Flycatcher has a smaller bill and a slightly different facial pattern. I've seen those in Mexico a lot too. Boat-billed Flycatchers have much larger bills, and I saw my first in Costa Rica this past May (I've been wanting to do a post like this for some time, but I've wanted to wait until I actually saw a Boat-billed Flycatcher. And there's one more I can add here, the Gray-capped Flycatcher. This flycatcher has a grayer head, so it's a bit easier to separate from the others, but still, they look pretty similar. Boat-billed Flycatcher Tres Regalos Condos Social Flycatcher Tres Regalos Condos Gray-capped Flycatcher Carara National Park Interestingly, only the ...

Orange-fronted Parakeet Yesterday I returned from my service project in Acapulco, Mexico. We were working with an orphanage there, and my time was pretty filled up with that.  However, in the mornings I was able to walk along the streets around the campus and see what birds I could find.  I found four new life birds on the trip: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Audubon's Oriole, and Rufous-naped Wren. Great Kiskadee Flycatchers are everywhere there. You can't hardly walk outside without seeing/hearing Social Flycatchers, Great Kiskadees and Tropical Kingbirds. I've taken lots of pictures of these birds, but I never tire of taking more. Great Kiskadee Social Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Tropical Kingbird The Rufous-naped Wren was the one lifer I was able to photograph. It's not the best photo in the world, but I'll take it for now. Rufous-naped Wren Other common birds in the area were Ruddy-ground Dove, Gray-brea...

Great Kiskadee I'm in Acapulco, Mexico right now, not on a birding trip or vacation, though.  I'm working with an orphanage here in town.  Every morning, though, I get a chance to see what may be flying around the campus. Here's a photo from this morning.  I'll post more later, but this is as much as I have time for now.

Russet-crowned Motmot I spent last week in Acapulco, Mexico.  I wasn't there for birding.  I was there with a small group of people that were working in an orphanage.  I barely went anywhere outside the orphanage, but I did walk the streets nearby in the mornings, and once in the afternoon, just to see what I might find.  Overall, I spent about 30 minutes a day looking around the orphanage.  I was not disappointed, and I came home with several life birds, and I also found a few birds that I wouldn't normally find in Florida. By far, the bird I most enjoyed finding was a Russet-crowned Motmot, which was sitting on some wires and posed nicely for photos. I was also excited to see three species of flycatchers: Tropical Kingbirds were very common, Great Kiskadees were nesting on the orphanage property, and I also found a couple Social Flycatchers in the street just outside the orphanage property. These flycatchers could be heard all day long. Tropical Kingb...

Yellow-billed Kite? I woke up this morning and looked out my bedroom window.  Look what was greeting me!  I haven't been able to figure out what this bird is for sure, but I think it's a Yellow-billed Kite!  These birds aren't even supposed to occur in the U.S! Great Kiskadee Then on my way out the door, I looked out at the mountains near my house, and I saw an amazing sight.  A Great Kiskadee was perched looking at me!  Unbelievable! These birds are not supposed to be in Florida.  They are supposed to be in Mexico and the southwest U.S! Speckled Pigeon Then I drove to work and on the roof of my building was a Speckled Pigeon! These belong in Africa! Something strange is happening here today, and I can't figure it out.  Three extreme rarities in one day!