Birding

Tag

First bluebird chick of the season hatches at Hammock Bay

Great news for spring! Naturalist Joe Wyatt was checking the bluebird boxes March 10, and found the first hatched chick. Attached is a photo of the first of many this season. Joe Wyatt, naturalist at Hammock Bay in Freeport, has been running a bluebird breeding program to increase the numbers of these beautiful indigenous birds. The success has been quite good. In 2008, the program recorded 317 bluebird fledglings, which resulted in a success rate of 77.78%....

A beautiful early morning view

Local couple enjoy a special treat as they drink their morning coffee Mike and Angela Ragsdale enjoyed a pleasant surprise in their backyard on Jan. 10. As they sipped their sunrise coffee, a bald eagle swooped in over the Bay and landed on a pine tree branch in their yard. “He sat there for 30-40 minutes, obviously looking for some breakfast,” Mike said. Mike and Angela live on the Choctawhatchee Bay in Santa Rosa Beach....

Local naturalist achieves success with bluebird breeding program

2008 season brings 317 bluebird fledglings Joe Wyatt, naturalist at Hammock Bay in Freeport, has been running a bluebird breeding program to increase the numbers of these beautiful indigenous birds. The success has been quite good. In 2008, the program recorded 317 bluebird fledglings, which resulted in a success rate of 77.78%. The program also resulted in 10 Carolina Chickadee fledglings, and 3 Brown-headed Nuthatch fledglings. Joe is looking for Hammock Bay resident volunteers to help with the 2009 program....

Watch for Great Florida Birding Trail signs in the Panhandle

New signs installed in the Panhandle area of trails The 2,000-mile Great Florida Birding Trail reaches another milestone with the installation of the Panhandle section road signs this month. Signs will mark each of the designated sites along the trail. The Great Florida Birding Trail is a conservation program initiated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in response to the rapidly expanding sport of bird watching.  More than 485 exceptional sites throughout Florida have been chosen based...