Laura Goggin Photography

American White Pelicans on parade

2026-05-07T00:00:00.001-04:00

A quick Tompkins Square hawk update: We have 3 chicks! I'll have more details next week.

Until then, it's only early May, but I'm declaring my Bird of the Year to be the American White Pelican. I've had a lot of quality time with them this year and have loved every minute of it. The result is a gazillion photos, so here are a few until the next installment.

I previously posted about what a pelican can do with its giant bill here, here, and here.

See how long their primary feathers are.

This gaggle of pelicans fixate on a Double-Crested Cormorant who scopes the area for fish. Both species take advantage of each other while fishing. I observed cormorants scavenging after the pelicans, as well as the pelicans following the cormorants to try and steal their catch.

I saw similar behavior with this Great Egret who took advantage of the pelicans as they corralled fish into a corner of this lake. The egret would quickly nab any fish that got pushed into its path.

Once the pelicans scooped up all the fish from the back end of the lake, they'd retreat and stage the whole maneuver all over again.

The thing that fascinates me about these guys is how they move so synchronously, and silently.

There were 100+ pelicans present on this day, but you wouldn't know it if you kept your eyes closed. For such huge birds, the only noise they made was splashing when they landed in the water or tussled over food.

These photos don't convey the sheer size of these birds. Their wingspan is almost twice as wide as I am tall, and they have the second-largest average wingspan of any North American bird, after the California Condor.

There's something so serene about watching these pelicans float around in the water. I found watching them to be a great way to de-stress.

They always seem to be facing the same direction.

Being so big, taking off from the water is a big production. The pelicans need a long runway and a lot of strength to achieve liftoff.

As I said, I have a gazillion White Pelican photos, so there will be more posts. And I haven't even finished processing photos of Brown Pelicans, so I look forward to sharing those as well.

Enchanted by Wood Storks

2026-05-05T00:00:00.001-04:00

When the opportunity to hang out with Wood Storks comes along, I take it. Look at this beauty!

I hear people say they're ugly, but I think Wood Storks are beautiful. And they're really cool to watch. This group spent an afternoon by the side of a lake preening and enjoying the sun.

This one kept a close eye on me.

These birds are nearly as tall as me, so I can't help but be impressed with their presence.

I caught this stork flying with a fish (carp?) in its bill.

This is a different individual without a fish.

In flight, these birds are stunning with their long bill and legs, and huge black and white wings.

At sunset, I watched several storks drop in to spend the night. It's nice to know they're out there, silently watching over the wetlands.

Hatch time for Tompkins Square hawks

2026-04-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

Some good news: the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks had a hatch last week and there are at least two chicks. It's still too early to get a good look, but I managed to get a glimpse of little white fuzzy heads earlier this week.

The photos below were taken from a very long distance with a telephoto, and have been severely cropped.

If you get out your magnifying glass, you can see two white fuzzy heads peeking above the edge of the nest directly under mom Amelia's face.

They are slightly more clear in this image.

A day later, one of the heads is more visible as Amelia feeds the chicks.

Photo quality is not good because I was so far away and the sky was dark, but I'll take what I can get.

Over the next couple of weeks, we should be able to confirm how many hatchlings there are.

Meanwhile, here are some recent photos of hawk parents Amelia and Charlie as they awaited the arrival of their hatchlings.

Amelia:

Amelia on the roof of the Christodora:

Amelia on the church cross at Avenue A & 10th Street:

Amelia flying back into the park:

Charlie in the park:

Swooping towards me like Christo used to do:

Charlie on a sunny afternoon:

Carrying some leftover rat dinner through the park:

Charlie landing on the church cross on Avenue A & 10th Street:

Relaxing...

More to come...

Pelican-Duckling nightmare - Part 2

2026-04-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Following my previous post where I showed White Pelicans terrorizing a Muscovy Duck family, I have photos from another encounter which took place in the same lake a couple of days later.

By this time, I'd discovered there were at least two mother Muscovy Ducks with around ten ducklings apiece. One afternoon, I found one of these families on the side of the lake furthest from the pelicans. As I tried to count the ducklings, a solitary pelican made a beeline towards us from the other side of the lake.

I saw the pelican coming and said out loud, "You better be a good pelican!"

Then this happened.

It's hard to see, but there is a dark brown duckling just in front of the pelican's bill.

Here's a better look at it:

Noooo!

I kept talking to the pelican, telling it to Stop it! and Bad pelican!

Like the previous incident, the pelican held the duckling in the end of its bill and toyed with it, but never tossed it back down its throat.

The pelican seemed to be aware that I was watching it and that I didn't like what it was doing. It kept looking at me, whereas the pelicans that previously tormented the duckling never paid any attention to the people screaming on the sidelines.

The giant pelican followed the tiny duckling around. I almost thought maybe this was a friendly act, but the screaming of the duckling assured me it was terrified.

The pelican kind of creeped me out with the way it kept looking at me.

What does it want?

Although the pelican did not appear to be aggressive or menacing, the experience was just too much for the tiny duckling.

I mean, I would be screaming and trying to escape this scenario as well.

The pelican was definitely interested in the duckling, staying close on its tail as the poor little guy tried to swim away.

At this point, I was wondering if the pelican was just doing this to see what I would do about it.

As before, there came a point when the pelican decided to just stop what it was doing and move away. The duckling was left to find its way back to its mom who had fled the scene as soon as it started.

I felt bad for the little guy and tried to point it in the direction of its mother. By this time, a couple of other people had also noticed what was happening and made attempts to reunite the family. The duckling took shelter in a clump of vegetation.

I found the behavior of the pelicans really fascinating and asked other people in the area if they'd ever seen them go after ducks before. No one I spoke to had observed this previously, and I'm still trying to find answers.

I spent nearly a month at this lake and when I arrived, there were about 300 pelicans. By the time I had to leave, their number had dwindled to 20-30. A few days later, the pelicans had all migrated north, leaving the ducks to swim freely in their lake.

Pelican-Duckling nightmare - Part 1

2026-04-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

In a previous post, I alluded to American White Pelicans demonstrating some interesting/horrifying behavior. The sequence of photos below shows what happened on an otherwise calm afternoon at the local lake. Some images are upsetting, but everyone came out ok in the end.

It started when I saw a mother Muscovy Duck swimming with her ducklings. To my surprise, she came very close to several pelicans who were foraging in the same corner of the lake. In the photo below, you can see that one of the pelicans has noticed the ducks and is approaching from the upper right.

Several observers watched in horror as the pelican tried to scoop up the ducklings with its huge bill.

Nooooo!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And there was nothing I could do but shriek.

The ducklings panicked and huddled close together, but they couldn't swim away fast enough.

Meanwhile, Mom took refuge in some plants and watched the pelican try to snatch her kids. There wasn't really anything she could do to defend them.

Once one pelican finds something, all the others have to come check it out.

At one point, the duckling tried to make an escape...

But it was quickly scooped up by another pelican. All together, there were about 20 pelicans in that area and they had the ducks cornered.

By this time, observers on the edge of the lake were screaming. Everyone had spent the last several weeks enjoying the pelicans and watching them calmly float around the lake. Now they appeared to be monsters.

Each pelican had its turn taking the duckling into its mouth.

Aaaaa!

We really thought we were witnessing a horrible death.

I can only imagine what was running through the duckling's mind at this moment.

Then, without warning, the pelicans just...stopped. The little duckling quickly paddled away to its family who were hiding in some vegetation.

What was interesting about this incident was the pelicans never tried to toss the duckling back down their throats. They kept it in the tips of their bills, which made me think they were more curious about the duckling and not into eating it.

After that trauma, you would think the mother duck would lead all her ducklings away from the scary pelicans, but no! She kept hanging around close to them, so of course another pelican came along to check them out.

Here we go again.

A cormorant came over to see what all the fuss was about.

Finally, mother duck took off with her brood. I kept trying to count them all to make sure she ended with the same number of ducklings she had in the first place. No one was missing.

People who saw this were shocked and shaken, but we were all glad (and puzzled) to see the pelicans let the duckling go free. I wondered why they didn't eat the baby duck. I mean, they could, so why not? A local birder speculated that it was unusually early for ducklings (February) and, as the pelicans usually migrate away from the lake at this time of year, it's possible they've never encountered the baby ducks in this location before and were just curious about them. I really don't know.

This turned out not to be an isolated event, as I saw it happen again a couple of days later. I'll post those photos when I'm done processing them.

Early-season birds

2026-04-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Here are a few highlights of early spring season birds seen along the East Coast.

Green Heron:

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher:

Black-Necked Stilt:

Sitting on its nest:

Loggerhead Shrike:

Purple Martins:

Eastern Phoebe:

Great Egret:

Pileated Woodpecker:

Black-Bellied Plover:

Semipalmated Plover:

Sanderlings and a Dunlin:

Sanderling:

Willets:

Cattle Egret:

Black Skimmers:

Hooded Warbler:

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks:

Quick Tompkins Square hawk update

2026-04-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

The update is...there isn't much to say at this time about the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, which is a good thing. No drama is exactly what we want at this time as Amelia and Charlie brood their eggs.

It's a quiet time while Amelia spends most of her time in the nest, watching the trees bloom around her. On Monday, I caught her standing up preening. This is the best view I've had of her as she is mostly hidden when she's lying down.

These photos were taken from a block away with a telephoto. In person, the nest is very hard to see, and once the tree is fully leafed, I don't know if there will be a view at all.

Activity should pick up in the next few weeks when the eggs hatch. We won't be able to see anything, but we'll know something has happened when Charlie starts delivering food to the nest.

Until then, here are some recent photos of the hawks spending time in and around the park.

Amelia:

Charlie enjoys some dinner while Amelia stands by:

Amelia takes off:

Charlie, just after he caught a rat in one of the park gardens:

A view of his lovely tail:

It's hard to see, but the rat is in his left talon.

Charlie scopes out pigeons from a roof on Avenue A:

Taking off:

Amelia perches on the church cross on Avenue A & 10th Street:

I've said it many times, but I think Amelia is really a beautiful hawk. Fingers crossed these two have a successful breeding season.

Pelicans demonstrate the dangers of littering

2026-04-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

I spent most of this last February hanging out with a flock of American White Pelicans in Florida. They are migratory and spend their winters down south where the water doesn't freeze. A flock of about 300 took up residence at a lake in a residential area where they fascinated and thrilled the locals, who look forward to their arrival each season.

White Pelicans are scoop-feeders, moving around the water as a group and shoveling up whatever is in the water. Unfortunately, this includes trash.

The pelican in the photo above holds a plastic sauce container in its bill. When I saw this, I panicked, worried the pelican would swallow it. The container is the right size to go down the bird's gullet, but thankfully, the pelican just toyed with the container before discarding it.

I didn't notice this at the time, only realizing later when I was checking photos, but the pelican below has a hole in its pouch. The hole doesn't look that big, but can definitely interfere with the pelican's ability to swallow. I don't know what caused the tear, and hope it wasn't the result of human carelessness.

Suddenly, there was some drama when several pelicans began tussling over something.

They got so excited, as two pelicans played tug-o-war with the object, two others chomped the head of one of them. I'm not sure what the expected outcome of this was, but it was amusing to watch.

Arrrggg!

The object turned out to be a plastic shopping bag and I was horrified to see one of the pelicans try to swallow it.

The whole gang tried to grab the bag, which became submerged in the water.

Then it was revealed...the plastic bag contained a fish. No wonder they were trying to eat it.

My heart sank seeing this. It's likely the fish swam into the bag and died, then the pelicans found it and thought it was easy food.

This photo shows the pelican's mouth wide open and you can see how small the opening to the throat is, but the pelican is really trying to swallow the bag.

Again, I was thankful the pelican failed to swallow the trash, but it was really upsetting to see the attempt.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, another pelican caught a fish.

I noticed some commotion and thought the pelicans were going after the plastic bag again, but this time, it turned out to be a plastic McDonald's cup.

I never knew a pelican could resemble a Calla Lily.

This photo shows the crazy pelican bill. The top part is narrow and straight while the bottom is flexible.

Noooo!

This experience with the pelicans stressed me out as there was nothing I could do to stop them from eating the garbage they found in the water. This lake is maintained, but it seems you can't 100% prevent people from tossing their trash. At one end of the lake, there is a floating barrier to prevent garbage that might come out of a drainage pipe from going further into the lake. But these are curious birds and they flocked to that particular area because that's also where the fish were hiding.

I caught these pelicans doing something even more horrifying/interesting, which will be revealed in an upcoming post.

Midweek Ospreys

2026-04-08T00:00:00.001-04:00

Ospreys are making their way north from their southern wintering grounds and I've seen a few in our area over the last several days. They are often seen soaring overhead as they hunt for fish, and are one of my favorite raptors to photograph because they often check out the camera.

This one carries a giant stick back to its nest.

Another one carries smaller nesting material.

Here is an example of an Osprey hovering just before it dives into the water.

Giving me a stern look...

I love watching them soar with their long lanky wings.

This one was taking a break from nest-building near a beach.

In happy Osprey news, Iris, one of the oldest known Opsreys in the world, returned to her nest in Montana on April 6th. I eagerly await her arrival each year, and am overjoyed that she is with us for another season. She's around 30 years old and you can tune in to her activities on Cornell's Hellgate Osprey cam.

A few early springtime birds

2026-04-06T00:00:00.001-04:00

Flowers and trees are blooming, and it's really starting to feel like Spring. Bird migration has begun and you can follow along by checking out the Birdcast migration tool.

One sure sign of Spring is when American Woodcocks show up in Bryant Park, NYC. This year, it seems they are getting a lot of attention as people from all over are flocking to see them.

The attention is well-deserved. Just look at this guy!

The photos below are from some early spring birding trips I took. As spring bird migration picks up, we should start to see some new characters in our region.

Eastern Meadowlark:

Painted Bunting (male):

Pileated Woodpecker (female):

Northern Cardinal (male):

Rufous Hummingbird:

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher:

Brown Thrasher:

Common Loon transitioning into breeding plumage:

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron:

Downy Woodpecker (female):

More to come.

Friday Pelicans

2026-04-03T00:00:00.001-04:00

Today feels like a pelican kind of day.

I spent some time this last February hanging out with Brown Pelicans on the Gulf Coast. They're fascinating and watching them go about their day was a great way to de-stress.

They're so cool when they dive. I'll do a dedicated diving post at some point in the future. Every evening, they gathered in one particular area to go fishing.

I think one thing I love about pelicans is they're so big. Their wingspan is around 7 feet.

I watched a pair gathering nesting material from post-storm debris on some rocks.

They flew their sticks to an island nearby where many pelicans, egrets, and herons were also busy building nests.

This one found some nice greenery.

This is an immature pelican toying with a cluster of leaves among a group of adults.

Here comes the squadron, on their way to their roosting island at sunset.

The photos above all show Brown Pelicans. I also spent a lot of time with American White Pelicans, which I will be posting about soon.

Soaring birds

2026-04-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

I can never pass up photographing a soaring bird. With their wings stretched out, you get an almost complete view of them, and can see feather details that are hidden when they are perched or on the ground. Below are some recent highlights of some of these high-fliers.

Roseate Spoonbills led by a White Ibis:

Magnificent Frigatebird (female):

Great Egret:

Anhinga (female):

Male:

Little Blue Heron (adult):

Juvenile:

Snowy Egret:

Black Vulture:

Tricolored Heron:

Sandhill Cranes:

Swallow-Tailed Kite:

Checking in on the Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks

2026-03-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

I caught up with Charlie, the resident male Red-Tailed Hawk of Tompkins Square Park, when I stopped by earlier today. He was perched on the cross of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.

He stayed up there a few minutes before taking off and flying into the park.

Once inside the park, he perched above a flock of pigeons that was feeding on the ground and watched them for a while.

Apparently he wasn't interested in catching any of them, and he flew back to the roof of the church.

He then surprised me by dropping down to a ledge...

...where he proceeded to start plucking a pigeon he had apparently stashed up there.

After eating his fill, Charlie once again took off and headed back into the park.

Over a couple of hours, Charlie gave Amelia several breaks from the nest so she could fly around and stretch her wings. She never stayed out for long, but they were both very active. Charlie brought some sticks to the nest and stayed in close proximity.

This is Amelia perched on the edge of the nest a few days ago.

The hawk pair appears to be doing well. More to come.

Anhinga, ready for his close-up

2026-03-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

Anhingas are some of my favorite birds, and I spent some time this last winter visiting them down south where they live.

Look at this guy all decked out in his spectacular breeding plumage!

This flirty male has it all going on.

Anhingas are not waterproof, so they often sit in the sun with their wings out to dry off. I've never seen one looking so punkish, though.

Although they're not waterproof, Anhingas still have an oil gland at the base of their tail that they use when grooming.

So pretty.

Females have a lighter head and neck.

This is another male doing a snakey dance on a railing.

This individual remained on the railing as I spent time photographing other things. He seemed to be waiting for an audience.

This is a typical sighting of an Anhinga perched along the shore of a lake.

And this is what you see when they're hunting in the water: just a needle-tipped serpentine head.

I've posted photos of this sculpture before, but I really love it and have to photograph it every time I see it. It's the work of Paul Eppling and is perched along the lake shore of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg, Florida. Boyd Hill is home to many of the sculptor's artworks.

Birds of a feather...

Tompkins Square hawks have one last fling before full-time brooding

2026-03-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks, Amelia and Charlie, are officially into their brooding season. Amelia is spending most of her time in the nest, and Charlie can be seen giving her periodic breaks throughout out the day.

Below, the pair perch in a tree. Amelia looms over Charlie.

Charlie enjoying some late afternoon sun:

Amelia:

Amelia looking fluffy:

This instance was probably the last time I'll be seeing the pair mate this season.

The whole sequence took about five seconds.

Amelia and Charlie:

Amelia:

Charlie perched on the nest just before evening:

When they're in the nest, it's very difficult to see the hawks. When the tree blooms, it might become impossible. But, we will be able to see them as they take turns incubating and taking meals.

For the best up-close look at what goes on in a hawk nest, check out Cornell University's live cam featuring Big Red and Arthur. Big Red laid her first egg of the season on Monday, so tune in to see her lay her full clutch, which is most likely to be three.

Revisiting Florida Scrub-Jays

2026-03-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Last year, I took a trip to Florida to meet Florida-Scrub Jays. This last February, when NYC was experiencing endless snow and cold, I took another trip to hang out with these little blue characters.

I went to a park where I had seen some before and, sure enough, they showed up to check us out.

All of the adults are banded and known to biologists. The jays live in family groups and this one appeared to be composed of five or six individuals.

Two of them came to the ground to go on a foraging expedition.

One came back up with some seed pods in its mouth.

After making sure no one was watching, this jay took the seeds to the ground and buried them for later.

Florida Scrub-Jays are endemic to Florida and are listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act, meaning they are likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future.

The 2025 State of the Birds report lists Florida Scrub-Jay as a Red Alert Tipping Point species, meaning that it has lost more than 50% of its population in the past 50 years, has a perilously low population, and has shown steep declining trends. This is due primarily to habitat loss (human development).

Learn more about these wonderful birds and how to help them at the Florida Wildlife Federation's website.

Bald Eagles tussle over a fish

2026-03-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

In February, I visited a spot I like for viewing Bald Eagles and, sure enough, there were a couple of immature birds battling over a fish.

The two eagles chased each other around and displayed some incredible acrobatics in the air.

I'm not sure what type of fish the eagle has, but it appears to be yellow.

The second eagle tried to grab the fish, but the first eagle hung on tight.

Things got a little heated...

The second eagle kept diving at the first eagle.

Oh noes!

The eagles continued to go at it after the fish fell.

As they were distracted, a bunch of vultures moved in on the dropped fish. I was too far away to get good photos of the vultures, but I caught the eagles flying off, perhaps to do more fishing.

Last year, I had a close encounter with some immature Bald Eagles playing around in the same area. I had set out to find different birds, but the eagles stole the show and really made my day.

Brooding Time for Tompkins Square Hawks

2026-03-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

It's egg-brooding time for our Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks, Amelia and Charlie. This means Amelia will be spending the bulk of the next several weeks hunkered down in their nest. Charlie will hunt for food an provide meals for both of them. He will take over nest duty several times a day to give Amelia a break to eat and get some exercise.

Below is Amelia on the left and Charlie on the right. Note the difference in their size - Amelia is an impressively large hawk.

The hawks have been putting on some mating displays for the last couple of weeks and will continue to do so until the last egg is laid. Below are some mating highlights from the last week or so.

Atop St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A:

In a honey locust tree on the east side of the park:

This is a new spot...on top of what ever that thing is way up near the roof of the Christodora building on Avenue B. Penthouse residents may have had a good view of this encounter.

I was two seconds late for this, but caught the hawks just after mating on Most Holy Redeemer on E 3rd Street. This photo was taken from within Tompkins Square, five blocks away. Amelia is on the left and Charlie is on the right.

Amelia looking out from the nest:

The best bet for seeing hawk action during brooding time is watching Charlie hunt in the park and deliver food to Amelia. They seem to like taking their meals in the tree in the middle of the central lawn, so that's a good place to look for them.

Wintering Ospreys

2026-03-11T00:00:00.001-04:00

When the cold set in here in NYC, I took some time to travel south and visit some Ospreys who are spending their winters in warmer environments.

This is a relaxed, recently-fed, and content Osprey.

I watched this one take in the sun for a while, then embark on a fishing expedition.

But, someone else had taken the favorite fishing spot!

Excuse me!

The second Osprey refused to budge out of its spot, and the first one kept flying.

After the fist one passed by, the second Osprey decided to give chase.

Eventually, it flew up to a perch to dry off after being in the water.

Another Osprey in the same area flew around with what looks like a partial fish.

The Osprey flew the food behind a tree where it dropped it off with its mate who was working on a nest.

I had to leave for the day, but it was great seeing the Ospreys chase each other around in the air and in the water. Not a bad way to spend the winter...

2026: Year of the Horse

2026-03-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was Super Saturday in Chinatown, one of my favorite events of the year. The streets were closed to traffic while firecrackers, confetti, drummers, performers and revelers filled the streets to welcome the Year of the Horse. I really enjoyed the festivities this year and some photo highlights are below.

The amount of confetti was...astonishing. A glorious mess that I will be picking out of my hair for years to come.

There were times I had to just embrace the cellphone era. I hope someone got a good video...

Offerings for the monster Nian:

The finale of one performance included this dragon.

The dragon and crowd were eventually swallowed up by firecracker smoke. I wanted to take some video to capture the deafening sound, but the crowd was so tight, I couldn't move my arms, LOL.

Let's hope the Year of the Horse brings us some good luck.

See more photos of the event on my Flickr page.

See previous Lunar New Year posts here.

Tompkins Square hawks getting ready for nesting season

2026-03-04T14:13:00.000-05:00

It's March, which means spring is almost here and another hawk nesting season begins. Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Charlie and Amelia, have been busy preparing for another brood. Below are some recent pics.

Charlie on the cross of St Brigid's church on Avenue B:

He takes off and heads into the park.

This is Amelia taking off from the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A.

She's looking good.

Charlie flies in from the left to help Amelia arrange sticks in their nest. When spring kicks in and the tree gets leaves, their nest will be nearly invisible.

Amelia and Charlie perched on Avenue A early one evening:

For information about the previous nesting years, check out my Tompkins Square Hawk Archive page.

2026 Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 4

2026-02-27T00:00:00.001-05:00

In this final post on the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest, we feature the star of the show, an African Black (Verreaux's) Eagle named Ka.

Falconer Steve Hoddy, founder and director of Earthquest, showed off the 10-month old eagle in her juvenile plumage. When she molts into her adult plumage, she will be all black.

The largest bird in the show, she wowed the crow with her wingspan.

Up close, you can see how beautiful her color patterns are.

The photos don't do her plumage justice as the sun was really bright. In person, her coloring was even more saturated and vibrant.

At one point, Ka went, er, spread-eagle to soak up the sun.

Check out those looong legs!

Thanks to everyone at Earthquest and the volunteers at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve who worked so hard and brought a lot of joy to so many people.

2026 Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 3

2026-02-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

In Part 3 of my Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest series, we spotlight Arrow, a Harris's Hawk.

These hawks are always spectacular and a favorite at raptor shows.

Look at that beautiful tail.

I've never seen a Harris's Hawk in the wild, so that is on my bucket list.

Thanks to falconer Steve Hoddy, founder and director of Earthquest, for sharing his birds and teaching the audience about the importance of environmental conservation.

I could have spent the entire day watching Arrow fly around and dazzle the crowd, but there was one more raptor who ended up being the star of the show. Stay tuned for Part 4.

2026 Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 2

2026-02-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

Continuing from Part 1 of photos from this year's annual Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest, below are highlights from the flying demonstrations. Falconer Steve Hoddy, founder and director of Earthquest, brought several of his birds to show their flying skills and teach about environmental conservation.

This is Horton, a Great Horned Owl.

And this is Gila, an Aplomado Falcon, now endangered in the US.

She thrilled the crowd with her fast loops and swoops.

The wire hanging from her feet is a transmitter so she can be tracked in case she decides to go off on an adventure of her own.

Next up: More flying demonstrations in Part 3.

2026 Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 1

2026-02-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of attending the annual Raptor Fest at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in Florida earlier this month. It's a fundraising event to help them maintain the preserve and to care for the many birds they have in their care. All of the resident raptors are captive due to injuries or imprinting on humans, and cannot survive on their own.

Up first is this cute little Screech Owl.

Here is an example of red-morph and gray-morph Screech Owls. It was really difficult to capture these two looking in the same direction at the same time.

This Barred Owl drew a lot of attention with her beautiful dark eyes.

There were a few Swallow-Tailed Kites in attendance, including this adult.

This is an adult Mississippi Kite.

This is my first time seeing a juvenile Mississippi Kite, which was really striking in person.

An annual favorite is this leucistic adult male Red-Tailed Hawk. I've posted photos of him before, but had to share more again as he's so unique.

Upcoming: Part 2