Two critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have migrated to the Southeast USA. Please remember to call the hotline if you think you may be seeing a whale. Your call may be the one thing that prevents a vessel (boat) strike. 🐳Whale Hotline: 888-97-WHALE (888-979-4253) #narw #rightwhale

Collared Aracari throwing down what is likely a Cecropia fruiting spike. Panama, August 2025 #bird #birds #birding #nature #learningeveryday #collaredaracari #aracari #wildlife #cecropia #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #photography #birdphotography #panama

There are so many beautiful birds to see in the world! This is a gorgeous thick-billed euphonia from the jungles of Panama. #bird #birds #thickbilledeuphonia #euphonia #euphonialaniirostris #beautiful #birding #wildlife #nature #photography #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #panama

It's odd that even an authoritarian like Trump would want to destroy US science, but there we have it. It is hard to see any other rationale for this random act of chaos. www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

It's #SeaTurtleWeek, perfect timing, as thousands of sea turtles are nearshore waiting to crawl onto the beach to nest. We also have numerous sightings of mating green sea turtles, and that's what these photos show. Please pay attention while boating! #seaturtle #wildlife #nature #photography

Did you know? Ghost crabs are to the sand as worms are to the soil! Ghost crabs consume sea turtle eggs and hatchlings. However, this is a good thing and their existence on our beaches is vital for sea turtle nesting. #seaturtle #seaturtleweek #wildlife #Photography #conservation #research #crabs

Please help stop Trump from gutting the Endangered Species Act! Here is how simple it is to make a public comment to attempt to keep the Endangered Species Act intact! Link to comment: www.regulations.gov/document/FWS... Comment period ends May 19th #esa #endangeredspecies #endangeredsoeciesact

I rose out of bed a little bit later than usual this morning, just after sunrise. I pulled the blinds back, looked down onto the beach, and saw a leatherback sea turtle's beautiful and mesmerizing tracks. #leatherbackseaturtle #seaturtle #seaturtles #seaturtlenest #seaturtleconservation

Both fluffer heads finally came out of the nest and posed nicely. Barred Owlets Shot March 26, 2025, in Viera, Florida #owlets #barredowl #barredowls #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #floridabirding #birdingflorida #birdsofinstagram

That duck don't quack! This is a Black-bellied Whistling Duck. Instead of quacking, they whistle! It's a fairly high-pitched whistle; you might hear them before seeing them like many birds. Viera, Florida, March 2025 #bird #birds #birding #photography #wildlife #nature #blackbelliedwhistlingduck

Today, I had a few lucky moments with a Barred Owl family! Here, one of the parents is bringing the owlet, a juicy pig frog. #barredowl #owl #owlet #bird #birds #birding #vierawetlands #wildlife #nature #strix #varia #photography #wildlife_captures #wildlifephotography #birdnerd #naturephotography

A rare to visit Florida bird, the Snow Goose! This is a white morph, but they also have a blue or dark morph. They nest in the Arctic and migrate south during the winter. Only a few make it to Florida, and this is one of them. #bird #birds #birding #photography #wildlife #nature #snowgoose

Look at the green, and you may find the purple. There are many beautiful colors found in the swamp! Purple Gallinule Orlando Wetlands March 11th, 2025 #bird #birds #birding #gobirding #wildlife #nature #photography #wildlifephotography #purplegallinule

We had our first sea turtle nest in our survey area! Of course, it was a Leatherback. I can never get enough of seeing Leatherback tracks/nests, as they are almost always a perfect example of art found in nature. Sometimes, a very obvious Fibonacci sequence is visible. #seaturtle #seaturtles #nature

Swallow-tailed Kites are showing up in Florida. I had six give me some good looks. Shot on February 27th, 2025 in Indian River County Florida. #bird #birds #birding #wildlife #swallowtailedkite #swallowtailedkites #wildlifephotography #nature #naturephotography #elanoides #forficatus

Crested Caracara at Viera Wetlands on February 18th, 2025. I was finishing up a decent morning of birding and waking to my truck when I got nice and lucky with this pair that flew past. #bird #birds #birding #wildlife #nature #photography #wildlifephotography #sonya1ii #crestedcaracara #caracara

A rogue pair of endangered right whales on a girls trip? www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

This is one of two humpback whales that have been hanging out in the Melbourne Beach and Vero Beach FL area this week. It is crucial to their survival that you call in any potential sightings. 1-888-979-4253 (888-97-WHALE), Channel 16 or whalelert app #goslowwhalesbelow #whale #whales #humpback

Black skimmers resting at golden hour. Indialantic, Florida January 2025 Sony A1ii & 600mm #bird #birds #birds_adored #birdsofinstagram #birds_captures #birding #birdingphotography #birdfreaks #birdlovers #blackskimmer #rynchopsniger

During the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Pelagic tour, I saw great birds, but the highlight was meeting Greg Miller, the inspiration behind The Big Year. He is an excellent birder and a very nice man. Jack Black seemed to portray the real man very well. #bird #birding #thebigyear #scbwf

Life bird 442 & rare bird for Florida alert! This is a Glaucous Gull and its normal range is the high Arctic. It had been hanging in Port Canaveral Florida this week. #bird #birds #birding #glaucousgull #photography #nature #gobirding

One of my favorite recent photos is of the grey ghost! Otherwise known as a male Northern Harrier. He was slowly and silently hunting just above the vegetation, looking and listening with his owl-shaped face. #bird #birds #birding #photography #wildlife #nature #northernharrier #sonya1ii

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) My Life Bird 440 January 2nd, 2025 in Brevard County FL While this bird typically eats insects, this one was enjoying some invasive Brazilian pepper tree berries. #bird #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #scissortailedflycatcher

Two of only 70 reproductive females remaining on earth! They are North Atlantic right whales and potential mothers. Let’s keep them safe while in Florida by slowing our boats down and keeping a lookout. No dorsal = easy to hit. Stuart, FL 01-12-2025 #NARW #northatlanticrightwhale #whale #whales

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) Such a gorgeous and fun bird to watch. The feeding behavior is featured here and it’s a tiny fraction of what looks like a scizophrenic person running around. #bird #birds #birding #reddishegret #Egretta #rufescens #photography #wildlife #nature #beautiful #egret

This is a Common Goldeneye and has an obvious gold-colored iris, which is most likely where the common name came from. The white cheek patch says it is a male. #bird #birds #birding #birdphotography #birdlovers #birdfreaks #commongoldeneye #nature #wildlife #photography #ilovephotography #rarebird

It was a dark & dreary day on Christmas Eve 2024. The birding did not disappoint though as this Great Horned Owl was species number 72 for the day! Merrit Island, Florida #bird #birds #birdphotography #birding #birdnerd #nature #naturephotography #owl #wildlife #photography #wildlifephotography

It was cold almost everywhere today, except in the swamp where it is heating up. Great Egret with breeding plumage. December 21, 2024 Viera Wetlands FL #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #aigrette #breedingplumage #wildlife #wildlifeonearth #nature #naturephotography #wildlifephotography

Gouda Morning Indialantic, FL #goodmorning #goodmorningpost #goodmorningworld #sunrise #foggysunrise

A male humpback whale set a record by swimming more than 8,000 miles from South America to Africa and traversing at least three oceans — most likely in search of a mate, researchers said.

Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) Rocklands Bird Sanctuary Jamaica, November 2024 #bird #birds #birding #bananaquit #jamaicabirding #Coereba #flaveola #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Vermillion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) It's a gorgeous bird and super fun to see. However, more abundant and repeated visits of Central and South American birds are likely showing us one of the results of climate change: tropicalization. #bird #birds #birding #tropicalization #climatechange

Great White Heron aka Great Blue Heron (White Form) December 2024 in Big Pine Key, FL #greatwhiteheron #whiteheron #greatblueheron #whiteform #whitemorph #bird #birds #birding #birdphotography #birdingphotography #birdlovers #birdfreaks #birdnerd #nature #wildlife #florida #floridabirding

Tropical Kingbird I waited until golden hour, and as the sun set, I started getting the FOMO feeling. I didn’t want just another perched bird photo, and after about 7-8 minutes of digesting a nice fat bug, I got my chance. #bird #birding #birds #birdnerd #wildlife #nature #photography

Whalevolution

The Ring-billed Gulls are back in Florida for the winter. They are overlooked often, but if you look close, they are gorgeous! So, please zoom in! #ringbilledgull #gull #Larus #delawarensis #bird #birds #birding #naturalart #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #photography #naturephotography

Some of the cool art on the #vikingmars cruise ship. #art #vikingcruises #myvikingstory

Life Bird 427 Jamaican Mango (Anthracothorax mango) A gorgeous little hummingbird!! #hummingbird #bird #birds #jamaicanmango #jamaica #lifebird #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography #gobirding #birdnerd #birdsarentreal

Do not touch these. These are blue sea dragons; sea slugs that float upside down on the ocean’s surface. They eat deadly Portuguese man-o-war & steal their stinging cells. Their bodies are covered in the weapons of their vanquished prey. If you touch them you will be stung by a man-o-war ghost. 🧪🌿

We all have that one friend that drinks too much! This Bananaquit couldn’t quit hitting the bottle! #Bananaquit #bird #birds #birding #jamaica #rocklandsbirdsanctuary #birdingjamaica #Coereba #flaveola #myvikingstory #myvikingjourney

Life Bird #314 This is a Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). They can migrate 14,000 miles from North America’s Pacific Northwest (including Alaska), all the way down to Southern South America. They alter their diet from small mammals to insects. #SwainsonsHawk #bird #birds #Buteoswainsoni #birding

Life Bird #427 Red-billed Streamertail, the national bird of Jamaica. AKA, the doctor bird because the long tail feathers appear to drape behind like a doctor’s lab coat. #redbilledstreamertail #doctorbird #bird #birding #birds #rocklandsbirdsanctuary #vikingcruises #myvikingjourney #myvikingstory

Black & White Warbler enjoying the beautiful fall Florida weather. #blackandwhitewarbler #warbler #bird #birds #birding #gorgeousweather #warblers

Life Bird #426 Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima) Shot while in exploring Gatun Lake within the Panama Canal. #Daptrius #chimachima #bird #birds #yellowheadedcaracara #caracara #gatunlake #panamacanal #vikingcruise #myvikingstory #vikingmars #panama #birding #birdnerd #birdsoftheworld

Rufous-tailed hummingbird at the Central Park in Limon, Costa Rica. During normal flying and hovering, they flap their wings 50–60 times per second. During a courtship ritual, they can increase this to 200 wingbeats per second. Quite amazing! #bird #birding #birds #wildlife #nature #photography

Masked Booby, photographed in the Caribbean Sea while cruising through tropical Storm Sara. #bird #birding #maskedbooby #sula #sulidae #pelagicbirding #pelagic #Caribbeansea

Cruising through Tropical Storm Sara, of course I am still birding, plastic birding!! #bird #birding #pelagicbirding #tropicalstormsara

Atlantic flyingfish increase swim speed to about 19mph and use those large pectoral fins to catch air currents to provide lift. They can glide about 10-40 over the ocean. #pelagic #pelagicbirding #bird #birding #flyingfish #atlanticflyingfish #myvikingstory #myvikingjourney #viking #vikingmars

iPhone photography #shotoniphone #cinematicmode

What to distract yourself from the election with sharks? Hammerheads’ unique shape is extra surface area for the shark electrosense, and you’ll see them sweeping their head across the sand like a metal detector. The edges also allow for very sharp turns. www.americanscientist.org/article/subt...