Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     Following up on my self-published book, Birds of Island Beach State Park in 2023, I am proud to announce that Birds of Ocean County, NJ is now available.  Birds of Ocean County is an account summary of all the bird species that have occurred in there.   eBird lists 404 species of wild origin for the county with one provisional for 405.  Using eBird records, bird banding records, historical ornithology periodicals and bird records committee reports I have found 421 bird species and another 15 species not of wild origin through 2024. Front and back covers.   © S. Weiss The paperback book is 264 pages with an account of each species.  The accounts are each accompanied by a representative photograph and a colored distribution map.  The birds are presented in the most recent eBird taxonomy and divided into family groups.   The book is fully sourced and referenced.  It includes an Introduction, Table of Contents, Reference p...

     One of the things I like about visiting Disney World is staying at its resorts.  The ease of using the Disney-provided transportation from your resort to any of its parks is a major plus.  But I also like the habitats within and around the resorts.  I often head out early, while my family is still stirring or preparing for the day, and before the heat of the day takes hold, to walk around the resort in search of indigenous wildlife.  I’ll often do the same at night before going to bed.  I always hope to find something new, and our most recent trip did not disappoint. Left, feral pig, or Eurasian wild pig.  Right, nine-banded armadillo.    © S. Weiss We stayed at Coronado Springs, which has become our preferred destination.  Over the years I have built up quite a list of Disney wildlife.  In the last 20 or so years I have encountered such wildlife as alligators , feral pigs and armadillos .  I have 30 bird specie...

     Monday was our last full day in Orlando.  My wife and daughter again headed out early to park hop Disney World.  I used the day for more wildlife viewing.  I chose to head over to Mead Botanical Gardens, about a 45-minute drive from our resort.  The locale is an eBird hotspot for Orange County, but I was not expecting a large bird checklist.  It was another hot day in central Florida, and I didn’t arrive there until mid-morning.  This place, unlike Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, is only for walking but has some areas that one can get cover from the sun. I spent close to three hours walking the grounds before a typical mid-summer Florida rain shower ended my day there.  I was actually finishing up when the rain started anyway.  I did not find any new birds for my life, year or Florida lists.  I only tallied 20 bird species for the day, but that was okay with me.  The gardens are an interesting place to walk around, and I...

     For the July Fourth weekend I travelled to Orlando, FL with my wife and eldest daughter.  My daughter is a Disney World junkie, and we have travelled there the past few summers.  On Saturday, my wife and daughter started out early park-hopping.  They released me of any obligation to spend the day at the parks and allowed me to go do what I like to do - walk around looking for birds and other creatures. I drove up to Lake Apopka to visit the wildlife drive there.  I have been there a few times, and it is a nice eight- or nine-mile drive through central Florida's natural habitat.  On a good day in the right season, one can leave there with an eBird list of 70 or more bird species.  I knew going in at mid-morning on a sweltering hot day that I wasn’t going to reach that number.  Since eBird recently began allowing inclusion of photos of other animals observed to your checklist, that has added a new adventure to my birding.  I h...