#NotesFromTheRiver – Introduction to Central Florida Yard Birds – The Northern Cardinal

/ Marcia Meara

Today’s #NotesFromTheRiver post is uploaded and ready to go. Hope some of you will enjoy checking it out and passing it along. THANKS!

Go here to read:  #NotesFromTheRiver – Northern Cardinal

22 thoughts on “#NotesFromTheRiver – Introduction to Central Florida Yard Birds – The Northern Cardinal”

    • One of our brightest, though I have a few more that might surprise you. I’ll be introducing them every other post or two as the weeks roll by. Glad you enjoyed “meeting” him, and thanks for letting me know! 🙂

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        • Raptors are ALWAYS exciting, and ospreys are quite visible here in Florida, too. They were seriously threatened by DDT a few decades ago, but have made a wonderful comeback. We saw a nest with chicks next to the river the last time I was out on the eco tour. How lovely that you have them close by and can enjoy them, too.

          My 5-year old grandson went on that last tour with me, and he told Doug, who leads the tour, that he knew something “special” about ospreys. He said they can cut the glare from the water when they are fishing. (He learned this on a nature show for kids that he watches all the time). Neither Doug nor I knew about it, so I looked it up, and sure enough. They have special little feathers above their eyes which act like visors to shade them from the surface glare. Needless to say, I was very proud of Kaelen for remembering this. 😀

          I’ll be doing a post on eagles and ospreys in coming weeks, so stay tuned! 🙂

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            • The things you learn from KIDS, eh? 😀 I may focus on them individually, depending on how long the post gets. I’ve realized that keeping them a bit shorter than I used to is MUCH easier for me, plus I think there are some people who prefer not to get too bogged down with super long ones. With that in mind, I may break the raptors into three posts: eagles, ospreys, and all the rest. Next week will be another wader, though. I think you’ll like it. Hopefully. 😀

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    • And back atcha, Viv! 🙂 Btw, my parents lived for years on Sanibel Island, one of the premiere birding spots in the country, and they didn’t bird at all. I had to SHOW them what was out there, and then suddenly, all they wanted to do was bird. If you invited them to visit, you had to bribe them with an unusual bird in your area that they really needed to come see. 😯 😀

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        • Oooh, I’ve never even SEEN a great gray owl! We birders have Life Lists. This is an important thing to us, and we diligently record every new bird we spot, adding the date and time of when we saw our first one. (Some of us keep Yard Lists, too, wherein we do the same thing for the first time we spot a new bird in our yards. We are a strange bunch! 😀 ) MY Life List is LACKING a great gray owl! I don’t even have a framed PHOTO of one. *sniff*

          😀 😀 😀

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    • Thanks, Staci! Glad you enjoyed it. I find that when you take a closer look, there are things to be learned about even the most commonly seen birds. But yes, sometimes you see parents with fledged young at a feeder, still poking seeds down their throats, and you can easily tell the difference by the color. Now if you want to see something that bears no resemblance to the adult cardinals, you need to take a look at the HATCHLINGS. Eeeep. Faces only a mama cardinal could love! 😀

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    • Glad you enjoyed the post, Deb! I’ve had a lifelong love affair with nature, and was a full-time volunteer with what was then the Florida Audubon Society for several years, plus did volunteer work as a docent at the Central Florida Zoo. I’ve spent years canoeing our rivers (and often leading canoe trips for Audubon and for exchange students), and I’ve hiked or birded many a mile in our woods and swamps, and in other states. Plus, I used to read a ton of books on wildlife from all around the world. I would have to have absorbed some information after all of that, especially of our local wildlife. 😀 Plus, I had very good friends who were pros in the field, including ornithologists and others. Boy, did I learn a lot from them, too.

      Having said all of that, the best thing about it is that no matter how much you absorb, there’s still MORE to learn. I LOVE that. Learning something new every day keeps you young, you know. And it makes me happy, too. 😀 This Wednesday’s #Notes post will be about another favorite wading bird of mine, so I hope you’ll tune in. You may or may not be familiar with this bird, but I think you’ll enjoy meeting him. If nothing else, the photos are great. 😀

      And thanks for reblogging about the reviews. I have a couple more coming up on Tuesday. Might even throw one of my own in there, as well. 😀

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      • Ya, I figured you had a lot of experience by your in-depth articles. Looking forward to learning more. 🙂 Maybe I should throw up a review too, lol. What do I need to send you along with the review – cover, blurb, bio? 🙂 xx

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        • I’m just glad I have an opportunity to share some of the wonderful things I’ve seen and learned over the years. Doing a whole series of PowerPoint presentations on Central Florida’s Fabulous Wildlife now, too. LOVE that! So much fun to meet folks who enjoy finding out about Florida’s many treasures. 😀

          Yes, send me your review, blurb, bio, Buy Links, cover photo, and author photo. That should about do it. I’m only scheduling one or two each week, so they stay “in the spotlight” all day, and tomorrow is set, but I think I can get you up next Tuesday. At any rate, for EVERYONE who sends reviews to me, I’ll schedule as I can. (Will probably have to do an updated post on this soon.)

          Thanks, Deb!

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