Sandy Thoughts, Key Westerly Shots

I am now the proud owner of a decent Black-and-white Warbler picture. As far as I know Black-and-whites are completely unique in their nuthatchish lifestyle, but I wonder if there isn't an obscure Central or South American warbler that has the same act. Zachary Taylor State Park, Key West, FL.

With both the birding and nonbirding media squarely focused on Hurricane Sandy and associated storms, we here at BB&B feel it must be addressed. First and foremost, I hope all you Northeasterners, birders and nonbirders alike, weathered the storm successfully. It sounds like the storm-waifing was quite good...quite a few birds that were shifted about due to the "Frankenstorm" would be life birds for me. But, of course, lifer-envy is tempered by the significant loss of life and the vast destruction loss and destruction of property that occurred in multiple states.

I really wonder how long our elected deniers of climate change (whom, in my opinion, may as well believe the earth is flat) can publicly continue to stay the course of ignorance. Yes, it is politically expedient in some places to either deny or ignore global warming (as Sir David Attenborough recently noted), but climate scientists are increasingly able to put the pieces together about why the United States seems to be rocked with more and more extreme weather....the obvious answer is, you guessed it, climate change. Scientific American has a great article up on climate change and hurricanes, and why the magnitude of the Sandy Frankenstorm can be directly linked to the loss of Arctic sea ice. I do not doubt that the United States and other nations will act significantly on climate change, but I am fearful of what habitat (for wildlife and humanity) will have been destroyed or seriously altered by the time this happens. Lastly, I will make the obvious point that if this is something you think is important, you should be screaming from the rooftops (perhaps in a flooded neighborhood, where this is the best means of communicating) that no one in their right mind should be voting for Mitt or any Republican candidate in the upcoming election...as Mitt bluntly put it for all of us in the first presidential debate, "I'm not in this race to slow the rise of oceans or heal the planet."

But I digress. Here is another moderate-sized glut of Key West pics. Bird onward.

Great Crested Flycatcher. This bird has the typical big flesh-colored patch at the base of the bill, unlike the bird Christian nailed (with his eyes) in Santa Cruz County (CA) earlier this fall. Indigenous Park, Key West, FL.

Short-tailed Hawks (year bird) were surprisingly not hard to come by. All but one of them that I saw were dark-morphed individuals, which for South Florida are pretty unique looking...they have a very different shape than the only other dark Buteo that is likely to be found in the state (Broad-winged Hawk). Key West Botanical Gardens, Stock Island, FL.

Great White Herons were easy to find in the keys...hard to believe this white thing is the same species as Great Blue Heron. I like the big rusty patch that adds some character to this shot. Key West, FL.

Note the bluish face and heavy bill, good ways to tell these apart from Great Egrets.

The pale legs also set these apart from Great Egrets, although as you can see this bird must not have read the field guides before it came out of the egg.

This monstrosity is a very old Green Iguana. Once they reach a certain age they cease looking like something that is real. Zachary Taylor State Park.

This thing was pretty wild. It looks like a party. Uberblogger Nate Swick informs me it is a Roseate Skimmer. Key West Botanical Gardens.

My only Rose-breasted Grosbeak (year bird) of the trip. This bird acted less like a grosbeak and more like a Connecticut Warbler...a true master of the Skulk & Lurk. Indigenous Park.

Northern Waterthrush is a common bird in the keys, but it can still take some effort to get a good look at one. Finding them is easy though...they are loud and have a distinct call, and have a penchant for taunting birders from the mangroves. Photographed at Indigenous Park.

I took several dozen pictures of this bird at a high ISO, and only came out with a handful of usable pictures. Besides being a denizen of the shadows, the constant tail-bobbing didn't make things any easier. You win this round, waterthrush.

Believe it or not, I have actually taken pictures of humanoids from time to time. This is Booby Brittany on vacay.