Birding Everglades & The Keys-South Florida bird photography Part 1-Nearly eaten by Croc!

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

That's a beautiful place for birding. I've seen 214 species of birds on my life list.

[@SparkyStensaas]

That’s a great start! Every new bird is a treasure!

[@mwerner3194]

Great Video. Very nicely done!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks, Matt! You really helped me get a couple lifers :-)

[@tomaskoeck]

Awesome stuff Sparky

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Tomas! Hope your major project is going well

[@deethompson1882]

Hi,I just found your channel and subbed. I live in Florida,near the coast of central Florida. I photograph birds on my phone,and I was surprised how many on this video that I've never seen before here in my area.Mostly the same ones I've been seeing here and filming, until recently I photographed pair of Loggerhead Shrikes! I was so excited to get pics of a new species in my neighborhead! We have red shouldered hawks here too. I thought I got a pic of a falcon once,but I couldn't find it in my book,or Google.I guessed it was just a Cooper Hawk.Anyways,enjoyed your channel,and I'll look for part 2. :)

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much Dee! Your part of Florida is so crazy rich in species. Congrats on getting photos of Loggerhead Shrikes! That is a really cool bird that we don’t get here in Minnesota the summer.

[@francus7227]

I did most of my commenting on part two. I just wanted to post a comment and tap the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Many thanks Francus!

[@andrewlamberson539]

Great video, when I was younger I spent some time in the Keys chasing Tarpon, I wish now I would have paid more attention to the birds!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Well, I’m sure you had some great adventures fishing as well! Thanks, Andrew.

[@waldogarcia2605]

Nice video. Miami resident here, if you come down again Miami Springs has quite a number of different species of birds. My favorite bird is the Osprey and in the Flamingo part of Everglades National Park they have a nest where you shot the images of the crocodile, I don't know if they were there when you went. A little more northwest there is the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp that is really nice as well.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Waldo! Nice to hear from a Miami resident. I sure could’ve used more local intel for sure. I did not see osprey at Flamingo on this trip. Thanks for watching the video and part two will have my birding in the areas north and west of Miami.

[@SparkyStensaas]

PS I have been to Corkscrew Swamp multiple times and also love it! Just didn’t have time to get to the gulf coast on this trip. Thanks for watching the videos!

[@zephalu]

Beautiful area and birds in Florida and loved getting to see it without having to experience the humidity. Great video as usual.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Zephalu! I do not miss the humidity!

[@colettejungbluth2651]

Awesome, we did a lot of the same parks last February!!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Very cool Collette! You probably saw many of the same birds but had a few that weren’t around in summer.

[@shaunferguson8782]

Congrats on your 650th bird!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Shaun! I really haven’t done as much listing since I had kids and really gotten into photography so it’s kind of fun to add up my numbers again.

[@bethjohnson8287]

My sister and I are big time birders and really enjoy your videos😊 We are trying to plan a visit to the Sax Zim Bog this Nov/Dec!!!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Beth, best if you can wait until December. We don’t even open until Saturday, December 2. Of course, late December through early March is best but please come when you can!

[@bethjohnson8287]

@@SparkyStensaas Thank you for letting us know, happy birding😊

[@FollowThomas]

Florida Keys are great area to bird. Love the White-crowned Pigeons. I remember seeing lots of them in Key Deer National Refuge. Thanks for the video, enjoyed watching 👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

Exactly where I saw them, Thomas! Happy birding!

[@almeadows8277]

Another great video, Sparky, with a lot of nifty species, some I’ve seen, some I’ve photographed, and some I’d never heard of before. Well done.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks, Al! Nifty species is right! Always fun to get to a biome that is so different from our beloved North Woods.

[@RoseGrace100]

Great video. Love the beautiful pigeons.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you RoseGrace! The pigeons are cool!

[@waterbuck]

I sat at that exact same table in Brewer Park waiting for the parrots. Then all at once they came roaring in, hung out in the trees for a few minutes and then moved on. If you put the heat on in the car, as your getting out, and put your camera/bins/scope in front of the vents, to warm the lenses, they won't fog up in the high humidity.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for the comments waterbuck! I really do enjoy the parrots, parakeets, and macaws, even if they’re non-native. And thanks for the tip about the heat! Up here in northern Minnesota we usually have to worry about the opposite effect… Getting out of a warm car at 20 below zero :-)

[@paulcherry366]

Another good video Sparky. Congrats on 650. Not sure I could handle birding in Florida in the summer. Although it’s on its way to 98 degrees this afternoon at my house here in Minnesota 😀

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks, Paul! I won’t be birding again in Florida in summer anytime soon :-) Fortunately, the DULUTH area has avoided much of the big heat waves. East winds off the Lake have been our friend this summer.

[@shaunferguson8782]

That's funny when we visited the states we also used those 'cooler' bags to keep our food cold/fresh, they worked well. I think we may even still have them somewhere cos we brought them back to the UK with us.😆

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha! Yes, I think they would have worked much better if the temperatures had never gotten below 83°. I also brought mine home and I’ve been using them here as well.

[@shaunferguson8782]

Errrmmm we had ours in Death Valley in temps of 50C@@SparkyStensaas

[@SparkyStensaas]

@@shaunferguson8782 wow!!

[@piccadillypie]

Looks like a great trip. Awesome pics and footage. Thanks!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Kevin! It certainly looks more comfortable than it was. The heat was downright, oppressive, and miserable.

[@Pedro-nf2rr]

Hola: Gracias de nuevo por el video,ya sabes aprendiendo conductas y curiosidades que me sirven de mucho gracias a ti..😊

[@SparkyStensaas]

Gracias Pedro! I love sharing natural history!

[@terryroth2855]

Good one, Sparky. Some beautiful critters there you photographed. Myself, I would probably go there in the winter. Keep up making these great videos. Most enjoyable.👍👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Terry, April is really the best birding month but winter is very good for a lot of species as well. And a nice relief from Minnesota winter!

[@anndrake492]

I have so enjoyed your birding videos! Thanks.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Ann! More to come!

[@jvp139]

Great to revisit some of the places I went in 2019 - I really love US birding (being British) can't wait to come back!

[@SparkyStensaas]

That’s fantastic JVP! You’ll probably recognize some of the sites in part two as well :-)

[@jameslove1092]

Hi sparky. At least you got the tern as it's your tern to make the sandwich. Get it. Great videos. Best regards from James in Scotland.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha! Good one! Thanks for watching all the way over in Scotland, James!

[@173jaSon371]

Love those Halloween Pennants, super photogenic. I see a lot of those in my local swamps. Never heard of those tree snails! Pretty interesting. Nevermind the array of bird species I wasn't even aware were in America haha. And man, gotta be careful with those crocs!! They've made it this long on the planet by being resilient and highly intelligent creatures. It was likely stalking you for a long while and slowly getting closer. Probably a good thing those gentlemen warned you!

[@SparkyStensaas]

You are absolutely right about the crocodile! I kind of get shivers now just thinking about it. Especially stupid move on my part since I knew crocodiles were in the area. Glad you enjoyed the video and some info about the rare birds in South Florida. I agree with you about the Halloween penance as well! Thanks for watching. Part two coming soon.

[@colombiansRul3s]

bro went to Florida and instead of going to Publix he said "whole foods, fancy one"

[@SparkyStensaas]

I like both!

[@georgemiller2665]

Sparky - have you ever tried our home-grown 3M Ultrathon insect repellent? I've had very good luck with it in the BWCAW. Also, we used to live next to St Croix Bluffs Regional Park near Afton and you might want to consider an outing there if you haven't been yet. The location along the St Croix River just up from the Mississippi seemed to bring in quite a variety of birds.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for the insect repellent tip, George! I will definitely try it out. I have been to the St. River Valley, but not that specific park. I will check it out!

[@lesliemiller3628]

Come to Crystal River to see and swim with Manatees, We also have Skimmers, Limpkins and Kites, Eagles, Barred Owls, Pileated Woodpeckers along the rivers and shores.

[@SparkyStensaas]

I would love to do that!! It is now on my list :-) thanks for the recommendation Leslie!

[@TomReichner]

at 4:58 interesting that the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is missing a toe ... wonder what happened to cause that

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha! I hadn’t noticed that! Good catch Tom !