When I visited the Orlando Wetlands on the first day of 2023, I didn’t know that spur-of-the-moment trip would launch me into a new hobby.
But seeing all the different birds at the Wetlands that sunny and gorgeous New Year’s Day got me to start paying closer attention the the feathered folks who had been around me all the time. And also to start learning how to photograph them.
At the end of 365 days, I had taken pictures of 160 different species of birds from 17 different locations in three states and three countries. (The list of my first-year birds is at the bottom of this post, or you can visit my Bird Catalog here.)
So, here is my 2023 year of birding in review.
First bird photographed: Roseate Spoonbill
This Roseate Spoonbill was the first bird I photographed at the Orlando Wetlands on Jan. 1, 2023, when my wife and I visited the park to check out the new Cypress Boardwalk.
The new overwater path made the park very popular with birders and visitors in 2023.
Last bird photographed: Canada Goose
I went to North Carolina during the week between Christmas and New Year’s to see family, and we stayed at Lake Junaluska.
Turns out it was a fantastic place for winter birding, and I added at least five new birds to my catalog there.
Craziest thing I photographed while looking for birds
Swans, ducks and a farmer’s market are things you would expect to see when walking around Lake Eola in Orlando. Seeing a black bear in a tree in the heart of a busy downtown area is not what you would expect to see.
But there he was – a young, lost black bear in a tree. It took several days for the bear to finally leave the park and head off on his own – hopefully to a more appropriate and safe destination.
Most unexpected birds I photographed
I stopped by Lake Davis in downtown Orlando on the way home from work in early December, hoping to see some ducks. Instead I was treated to an aerial ballet between Bald Eagles – an adult and a juvenile – over the lake as the sun was setting.
I thought at the time it was a territorial dispute, with the adult male not happy that the younger female eagle had invaded its space. But after learning more about Bald Eagles, I think this could have been a courtship ritual between the two big birds.
Maybe there will be some little Eaglets around the lake later this year?
Rarest bird photographed: Wilson’s Warbler
While heading to work one day in October, I stopped by Mead Gardens in Winter Park to see if there might be some migrating birds visiting. I found a lost tourist.
It was all thanks to three other birders I came across who said a rare Wilson’s Warbler had been spotted in the park and they were looking for it. Less than five minutes later, I was joining them in shooting photographs of this unusual yellow bird with its black cap.
This bird wasn’t supposed to be in Central Florida. Wilson’s Warblers spend non-breeding time in Mexico and Panama, then winter in California or along the Gulf Coast – but they usually are never found in Florida.
Honorable mention for American Flamingos I photographed (not very well) in the Indian River.
Biggest bird surprises in my yard: Cedar Waxwings and Black-and-White Warbler
A flock – a big flock – of Cedar Waxwings paid a visit to my front yard in March while migrating through the area. There were more than 50 hanging out in a tree in the yard. After a brief rest, they all flew off. But at least I got some pictures of them.
The other most surprising visitor was one who made a return visit: a Black-and-White Warbler. It was shortly after I learned this cool black-and-white little bird existed that I first spotted one in my backyard. Weeks later, on Thanksgiving, I had a return visit. I was truly thankful that day.
Onward to 2024
I am hoping to get to at least 200 species of birds photographed by the end of 2024. I’ve already had a great start to birding this year with some visits to Lake Apopka, Merritt Island and Joe Overstreet Road in Kissimmee. More on those trips soon.
Thanks for visiting my website or liking my photos on Facebook.
List of birds I photographed in 2023
Here’s the list. You can see them all in Roger’s Bird Catalog
- American Avocet
- American Bittern
- American Coot
- American Crow
- American Flamingo
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Oystercatcher
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- American White Pelican
- American Wigeon
- Anhinga
- Australian Black Swan
- Bald Eagle
- Bananaquit
- Barn Swallow
- Barred Owl
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black Vulture
- Black-bellied Plover
- Black-bellied Whistling Duck
- Black-crowned Night Heron
- Black-Necked Stilt
- Black-necked Swan
- Black Tern
- Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-Winged Teal
- Boat-Tailed Grackle
- Brown-Headed Nuthatch
- Brown Pelican
- Brown Thasher
- Canada Goose
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Caspian Tern
- Cattle Egret
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chinese Goose
- Common Grackle
- Common Gallinule
- Common Ground Dove
- Common Yellowthroat
- Crested Caracara
- Domestic Goose
- Double-Crested Cormorant
- Downey Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Eastern Phoebe
- Eastern Towhee
- Egyptian Goose
- European Starling
- Florida Scrub Jay
- Fulvous Whistling Duck
- Glossy Ibis
- Gray Catbird
- Gray-headed Swamphen
- Gray Kingbird
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Green Heron
- Harrier
- Hermit Thrush
- Herring Gull
- Hooded Merganser
- House Finch
- House Sparrow
- House Wren
- Killdeer
- Laughing Gull
- Least Bittern
- Least Flycatcher
- Least Sandpiper
- Least Tern
- Lesser Scaup
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Limpkin
- Little Blue Heron
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Mallard
- Marsh Wren
- Merlin
- Mottled Duck
- Mourning Dove
- Muscovy Duck
- Nanday Parakeet
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Northern Parula
- Northern Shoveler
- Osprey
- Osprey (Bahams)
- Painted Bunting
- Palm Warbler
- Peafowl
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pie-billed Grebe
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Warbler
- Prairie Warbler
- Purple Gallinule
- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Reddish Egret
- Red-Shouldered Hawk
- Red-Winged Blackbird
- Ring-billed Gull
- Ring-necked Duck
- Rock Pigeon
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Royal Mute Swan
- Royal Tern
- Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
- Ruddy Duck
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sanderling
- Sandhill Crane
- Savannah Sparrow
- Semi-palmated Plover
- Snowy Egret
- Snowy Plover
- Song Sparrow
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- Swamp Sparrow
- Swamp Wren
- Tree Swallow
- Tricolored Heron
- Trumpeter Swan
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-breaster Nuthatch
- White-eyed Vireo
- White Ibis
- White Pekin
- Whooper Swan
- Wild Turkey
- Willet
- Wilson’s Plover
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Wood Duck
- Wood Stork
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron
- Yellow-Rumped Warbler
- Yellowp-throated Vireo
- Yellow-Throated Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Zenaida Doves
