Natures' Fireworks

Around 11pm, Monday, the 25th

The last few days the skies has been giving us light shows....day and night.
I haven't been out birding this week due to the weather, it's rained 11 days straight now(I've only had a bicycle to get around, but yesterday I bought a used car, I should be able to go birding again).

Rainy season has started

I haven't been birding much the last week, except for from my room. We've been having rain/showers. When I go birding I take a backpack of birding and photographic gear which doesn't mix well with rain.
I have been biking around town though, an average of 20 miles a day. I will atleast be in shape when I go birding.
Rain in south Florida is different than the northeast. It can be raining buckets on one side of the road and be dry across the street or the sun can be shining while it is raining. As I'm typing this it is raining hard but the sun is shining in the yard, the makings of rainbows. We also get waterspouts this time of year. We are in a bad drought here, around 13 inches below what it should be.

Update: At about 9:55am there was a waterspout spotted 5 miles E of Surfside, between Miami and Hollywood moving NW.

My week at Cape May and WSB

It was a great week at Cape May. I was able to spend some time with the family, not as much as I would have like to. Sadly, I didn't go birding nearly as much as I wanted to. I did get to see lots of my birding friends from Cape May and around the country. I also meant some cool people from other areas of the country and one guy from the UK. He was on the team, 1000bird.com.
The The WSB was on May 9th from 00:00 to 23:59. WSB went great.
The weather held out, it only rained early morning and around 7pm, at least at the finish line at the West Cape May fire hall.
The cumulative species total was 269, that in 24 hour in NJ. there was about 77 competitive teams and about 15 non-competitive. the youth teams did really great!
The top youth teams:
Grades1-5 had 117 species.
Grades6-8 had 158 species.
Grades9-12 had 215 species.
I m hoping to get a team from south Florida to compete in the WSB next year. I think I would like to do Cape island which is south of the canal. The winning team for this category had a total of 151 species. A couple highlights of the WSB were Swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites. I didn't see the Swallow-tailed but did see the Mississippi, two in fact that flew over our heads nice and low.

Cape May - It's great to be back!!

I arrived in NJ yesterday afternoon at ACY. My daughter and her boyfriend picked me up, great to see them again. Then we drive south about 40 miles to Cape May for wing night at the C-view. After eating they drive me to my mom and sister in Del Haven, where I'm staying for the week. I wouldn't be able to this without the help of my family.
I'm getting ready to take the bus to Cape May Point, about a 20 minute ride.
The weather seems to be getting better, hopefully the rain will hold off while I'm walking/birding to/at the point.

A lifebird in the yard

While I was getting things ready for me week up at Cape May I looked out at a mango tree in the yard behind me and saw a bird fly to the top. At first I thought it was one of a few breeding mockingbirds in the area. Something looked different so I glassed the bird....Oh cool a flycatcher....now which one. Not a wood-pewee or a Phoebe. It's a Kingbird!..too dark and no white tail tip for a Eastern and no yellow for the others. It was a Gray Kingbird!!! I got my camara and walked near the back fence and started clicking away. the Kingbird than flew to a wire nearly overhaed, not great for photos but some nice looks.
This is a lifebird and ayardlist bird for me.

No warblers at West Lake Park & I'm heading for Cape May

I went birding at West Lake Park yesterday....Where are all the warblers? I walked the north line of brush and not one warbler. I only saw about 18 species - All the usual ones, except for a killdeer that was walking around by the dock. It sure isn't Cape May in the spring.
I will be going up to Cape May, NJ for a week, from the 6th to the 12th. I'll be helping out with the World Series of Birding(May 9th), our team is the Red-Eyed Vireos. I'm also going up for mother's day. If you don't know about the WSB check out the link 'World Series of Birding' on the right.