FINALLY!

A new bird species for 2026... the first since May.   And, the first life bird of 2026!  #595.

Sunday morning found me driving with grandson Henry 50 miles up US 1 to the famous 7 Mile Bridge in search of a Sabine's Gull that had been reported there the previous day.  Driving a long distance the day after a sighting in search of a single bird is always in 'iffy' proposition.  Is it still there or has it moved on?  Will it be in the same place?  What time?  And so on.

We arrived at the spot of the sighting and waited for about 20 minutes but the Sabine's Gull did not make an appearance.  A couple of other birders were there waiting as well.   So, we went across the bridge to fill up the tank at Marathon.  The $4.09 gas there is better than the $4.69 gas on Key West.  The nice thing about living on an island is that unless you go somewhere, a tank of gas easily lasts a month.

From there, we went to another spot near the bridge to search for the gull.  Henry decided it was a good day to pick up trash on the beach.  So, we filled a large Hefty bag and 25 gallon trash bag with bottles, cans, and all manner of debris in about 15 minutes.  In all, about 35 pounds of garbage.  We also managed to find a quarter, a 1970's era bottle and a nice hawk-wing conch shell.

Then it was back to the original spot for one more look as a report had come through that the gull had shown up.  And, sure enough it did.  So, while Henry swam fully clothed, I was able to get some decent shots of this relatively unassuming small gull. 

The Sabine's Gull is distinguished from other gulls by the white pattern on its back.  Sabine's gulls are typically well off-shore.  So, a getting a chance to see one from the beach was a treat.

The second image shows the Sabine's Gull on the right with a slightly larger Laughing Gull on the left.

Most folks are familiar with Great Blue Herons.  They are very common around ponds and lakes such as this one...

The Florida Keys has a different type of Great Blue Heron.  It used to be its own species but is now considered by the ornithology 'experts' to be the same as the Great Blue Heron.  It is known in these parts as a Great White Heron.  I know, I can't see the difference either.  This one was looking for lizards in the tree branches that were over-hanging the water.

As usual, the Short-billed Dowitchers, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones were busy feasting on bugs aplenty in the odiferous brown piles of sargassum piled high at the water's edge.

So, all in all a good morning.  As we head toward the end of 2026, we're starting to formulate plans for a big-time birding year in 2027.

I guess it has been awhile since my last post.  We spent a few days at Walt Disney World to celebrate Henry's 4th birthday.  Henry is a ringer on the Toy Story Spin once he gets his glasses on right-side-up.

 

OG spent a good portion of the day picking up trash.  The Disney employees found this activity to be much more acceptable than his previous visit.

In August, we celebrated his being potty-trained with ice cream cake.  OG is now working on his potty training at just 2 1/2 years old.  Henry and I also celebrated picking up our $200th dollar of the year on our bike ride walks around the neighborhood.

August brought household projects and a focused effort on the genealogy of both my family and Crystal's family.  I'm working on four books that begin with each of our grandparents.  I'm up to about 300 pages of documentation so far.  I now know more about Crystal's family than she does.  Ancestors killed in fist fights, hit by trains and all manor of activities that led to absolutely no wealth.  Yep, that's us.  Just a long, sordid history of farmers.

We completed our bi-annual sprint to Charlotte to visit the dentist.  The trip was quick because we had to get back to Florida so we could then fly to Pennsylvania.  I started the visit by telling my hygienist that I didn't feel like I had been getting my money's worth on the last few visits.  The cleanings have been quick and uneventful and the dentist keeps telling me I have the kind of teeth that puts people like him out of business.  

She was taken about by my statement and asked what was wrong.   I explained the quick cleanings and advised that before this visit I decided to have a Baby Ruth, a Snickers and half a bag of popcorn to give her something to do.  She laughed and the dentist, who overheard the conversation, exclaimed he like my way of thinking.   So, the visit resulted in another quick cleaning, a clean bill of health and no extra money for the dentist.  I told them next time I was going to add corn on the cob to my pre-visit menu.

We attended our first West Virginia Mountaineer football game in about 12 years.  The tickets were $95 each to see Coastal Carolina.  I remember when tickets were $6 to see real teams. The real reason for the trip was to see college friends I hadn't seen in 41 years.  We seemed to pick things up right where we left off.   Breakfast was highlighted by bagels from The Bronx, Jack Daniels, Bloody Mary's, lemon shots and Canadian Mist.  Yum.

The evening before the game, we gathered for dinner.  And for our entertainment, some yahoo ran over one of the landscaping rocks.  He finally took my advice and jacked the truck up so our group could help him get the rock out from under his truck.  Must have been a wayward Pitt fan.

We also did a small family reunion near Pittsburgh the next day.  And, we rounded out the week by doing genealogy research and cemetery visits across north central West Virginia and Southwest Pennsylvania.  The headstones of my great, great, great grandparents survived a recent bout of serious thunderstorm activity.  This large branch fell right between the two headstones.

Next week it's back to Daytona/Orlando area to do some errands and celebrate family birthdays.  I'm taking Henry to Walt Disney World one day.  He and I plan to have blue raspberry slushies, popcorn and ice cream sandwiches in between rides.

When will we get back to the birds?  I dunno.

To celebrate America's 250th Birthday, here are some red, white and blue birds from my photo work over the past few years.  Cheers!

Summer Tanager - Dauphin Island, Alabama

Snowy Egret - South Padre Island, Texas

California Scrub Jay - Monterey, California

Vermillion Flycatcher - Phoenix, Arizona

White Pelicans - Gilbert, Arizona

Blue Grosbeak - Charlotte, North Carolina

Northern Cardinal - McAllen, Texas

Trumpeter Swan - Crex Meadows, Wisconsin

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay - Grand Canyon, Arizona

Hepatic Tanager - Santa Rita Canyon, Arizona

White-tailed Kite - Brownsville, Texas

Mountain Bluebird - Lone Pine, California

Bald Eagle - Deland, Florida

I can't say that there is much going on here right now.  The summer heat has set in along with the summer rainy season.   You may have seen images of the street flooding in Key West last week.  Suffice it say, it wasn't so much the rain as it was the absence of routine drainage system maintenance by the city that caused much of the street flooding.

In addition to lots of pool time with the man cubs, I have been supporting Crystal's efforts to maintain our tropical fruit farm.  Mostly, I help by staying out of the way.

The key lime tree isn't producing like it did last year but, we are still getting enough limes to keep the Moscow mules flowing.

And, last week, we enjoyed our first homegrown pineapple.  Small but tasty!  We're waiting on more pineapples to ripen soon.

Speaking of waiting on things to ripen, our first bumper crop of bananas is coming.  When these are ready, we'll have more bananas than Magilla Gorilla.  (That reference may be too old for you, Judson.  And perhaps some other readers as well.  But, I guess that's nothing.  I had to introduce my daughter-in-law to Hee Haw the other day.)

Speaking of Hee Haw, I taught Henry the song, "Where, Where Are You Tonight."   He brought the house down, or rather the Key West Wells Fargo Bank down when he sang the song for the staff there a few days ago.  I have never seen such happy bankers.

Beyond that, I'm at page 56 on my Jolley Family History.  It has been fun learning how to restore, focus, colorize and enhance old photos, and to create completely original content for the book using AI.

We're back in Florida after a rainy but eventful trip to West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  

On our way to play the card game '500' with my cousin in Freedom, PA near Pittsburgh, we visited a few of my old haunts at WVU in Morgantown.  It happened to be our 39th wedding anniversary that day.  This picture was taken in 1985 shortly after we met...

And here we are 41 years later standing on the exact same spot.  I asked a young lady who happened by to take our picture.  After I explained why, she smiled and said we were 'cute.'  Sort of made me feel like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Between rain showers, we made a quick stop at Napier, WV post office which is dwarfed only by the light pole, the mailbox, the propane tank and the house next door.

In my wife's hometown of Buckhannon, WV, we stopped for donuts at the autobody repair and tire shop.

Yes, the donuts are super and only cost about $0.79 each.  Along with the chili dogs, they make those inevitable 2 and 3 hour waits for repairs a little easier.

Also near Buckhannon, we visited the site of one our first dates.  In 1985, it was hard to beat a seat on the flat rock to the left of the cascades at Falls Mill with a bucket of KFC and bottle of wine.  I know.  I know. But, it worked for me.

On our way south, we stopped at one of the most photographed places in West Virginia... the mill at Babcock State Park near Fayetteville, WV.  The mountain laurel bloom was just past peak.

The river was rolling after a week of rains.

On the birding front, we have observed 123 species during  the trip.  Still no new  life birds  for  the year.  The weather made photography a challenge because of poor lighting and somewhat quiet birds.  But, I did capture a few good shots including this Louisiana Waterthrush.

And this Scarlet Tanager.

The Eastern Bluebirds and House Wrens were busy in the gardens on my brother's farm.

And, I finally managed to get decent, not great, shots of the blueish Cerulean Warbler and the masked Kentucky Warbler during our outings.

This Acadian Flycatcher was one of the few posers this week.

Finally, during another stop at Falls Mill, a woman approached us and asked for a ride to her home about 30 miles away.  Somehow she and a family from inner-city Detroit had parked a short distance away and was stuck because they had driven to the falls without the vehicle's key fob.  According to her, this family had never seen a waterfall.  I'm not sure the 3 foot high Falls Mill falls is the best way to introduce someone to a waterfall but, to each his own.  So, we gave the woman a lift to her home, fulfilling our 'good Samaritan' quota for the day.  I still haven't figured out how an inner-city family from Detroit ends up at a small waterfall in the middle of West Virginia.  I'm sure they will be talking about their experience for many years.  

We are now looking forward to getting back to Key West on Sunday for some pool time with Henry and O.G.

We started our trip to West Virginia / Pennsylvania today.  While this isn't an official birding trip, we will hit a few spots along the way just because we can.   After defying death yet again on the Florida Turnpike around Miami, we stopped at birding hotspots Green Cay and Peaceful Waters near West Palm Beach to stretch our legs and take a look.

Most of the spring migration and nesting is done.  We did find a few Common Gallinules feeding their chicks in a soup of duck weed.

                                        

We also spotted our first Wood Duck of 2026.  It's the first time we have seen this species in Florida.

                                        

Also new for 2026 was this Black-necked Stilt...

                                        

... and a Gray-headed Swamphen.

                                        

Green Herons are everywhere at Green Cay.  I thought this one was going to hop on my hand.

                                        

Last week we took Henry to Walt Disney World for a few days.  His best new favorite rides are the Slinky Dog Rollercoaster, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Toy Story Mania where he quickly put on his game face in hopes of outscoring Grandma and Grandpa.

                                                     

Henry laughed off the 999 happy haunts at the Haunted Mansion.

                                                       

Tomorrow morning before we head north, my priority is a haircut.  It has been three months since my last visit to the barber and I'm starting to feel like I belong in a 1980's hair band.