A Birder's Life for Me

February is coming to an end and the YTD species count stands at 260.   Some quick birding around Miami last weekend yielded several exotic species including the impressive Blue and Yellow Macaws.

And the comical Common Myna, which is becoming easier and easier to spot from Miami to Key West.  

Saturday was a rare day where I got to engage in three hobbies in the same day.  After the early morning birding, we stopped by the South Florida political button show and added a few buttons to my collection including these pins which are now the oldest in my collection, dating to the 1892 election.  Two gold stars if you can name them.

And, after an interesting lunch at Captain Charlies we spent a couple of hours doing some shelling at MacArthur Beach.   Interesting because it's a small place and it was overrun with hoity-toity old folks who all thought they should have a table upon request.  And, because a girl of about 11 or 12 was using the restaurant windows and door to vogue as if it was she who invented the self-absorbed pastime.  And, of course, the parents sat clueless at their table inside the restaurant unaware of the performance.

Finally, these Sanderlings appear to be waiting for their migratory buddies to begin showing up in March.  After picking up 180 species in January and 80 in February, we'll see if we can make it to 25 in March ahead of what should be big numbers in April (Texas), May (Arizona), and June (California).