
Feral populations of parakeets thrive in Florida. These Mitred Parakeets are natives of South America but have successfully found a home here.
Fairchild Botanical Gardens, on the outskirts of Miami, provides a butterfly and bird friendly environment which attracts a good variety of species to the various flowering plants. I enjoyed capturing these hummingbirds in the dappled shade of a tall shrubbery, the sunlight highlights the bird nicely against the lush shadowy green background. Alternatively catching the irridescent purple of a male hummingbird in a shaft of sunlight makes a nice picture. The feathers are not pigmented so the radiant colours only show when the sunlight reflects at a certain angle. ![]() The Gardens provide a lovely setting for photographing butterflies as well as birds. Here the Monarch is feeding on a flower which complements its glorious colouring. Feral populations of parakeets thrive in Florida. These Mitred Parakeets are natives of South America but have successfully found a home here. And here's another shot of a beautiful male Northern Cardinal sitting on a palm frond, an idyllic scene from the tropics. And now I'll go and have another marguerita to round off a perfect day.
4 Comments
Jackie Allison
31/7/2015 13:32:42
Hello - Great web site and fabulous photography! The hummingbird male that you listed as a Calliope Hummingbird taken at the Fairchild Botanical Gardens, on the outskirts of Miami Florida, is actually a male Costa's Hummingbird which is a very rare hummingbird for Florida! Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a great web site with identification photos and a range map for the Costa's Hummingbird: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Costas_Hummingbird/id
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31/7/2015 17:05:37
Thank you for this information Jackie. I know almost nothing about hummingbirds & did my ID from a Florida Birds field guide. I now think though that they must have been introduced into the very large botanical enclosure and were not therefore wild birds.
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Nina Harris
30/8/2018 10:14:54
I stumbled upon this blog because I was trying to find out where in Spain I could see hummingbirds. We are travelling across the north and dipping into Portugal - till 8th September (are they seasonal?). Your photography is stunning. Is every image on this page yours? (I see scores as I scroll down on my phone) I look forward to enjoying them on a larger screen when I get home.
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30/8/2018 12:05:18
Hallo Nina, thank you for your kind comment, all the photos are taken by me. Hummingbirds only live in the Americas so they cannot be seen in Europe. However there are many colourful and fascinating birds in Spain and Portugal, Bee-eaters, Hoopoes, Rollers, Golden Orioles and many others, the problem for inexperienced observers is knowing where and when to look and how to get close. If you are very keen you could try hiring a local guide for a day or checking out the "Birdingpal" website to see if there's anyone willing to show you the local birdlife. Good luck. Stephen
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AuthorRetired seafarer living in Frigiliana, a white village in Malaga Province in southern Spain. Married to Elena. Keen bird and wildlife watchers. Archives
November 2022
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