After 30 years, it doesn’t happen very often any more. But every now and then I get to see and photograph a new species of bird that I have never seen before. This is known as a “lifer” bird. Over the decades I have been leading birding trips and also conducting wildlife photography workshops and the participants of these events regularly see “lifer” species. Let me tell you, it is a thrill each and every time for them.
I think sharing in someone’s experience of a new life bird is one of the greatest joys of doing what I do. It is so much fun to see the emotions of seeing a uncommon or rare or rare bird. Sharing in the beauty of nature is a special gift.
So, last week, I was in Southwest Florida photographing some birds. I had met up with some photo/birding friends and was tooling around finding all sorts of wonderful birds. The weather was warm and sunny and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We had just finished photographing a White-eyed Vireo nest that was only 4 feet off the ground. The parents were busy feeding the newly hatched chicks and I was able to get some decent images that will be wonderful for a new book I am working on right now.
We had hiked a short distance looking for some Mangrove Cuckoos but were unsuccessful in finding any. By the way, the Mangrove Cuckoo is a crazy cool bird. I have seen this bird on a number of occasions so it wouldn’t have been a new bird for me but still it would have been an amazing to see if we had been successful.
We hiked out of the mangrove jungle and were just about to leave when we saw perched on a power line a White-crowned Pigeon (Columba leucocephala). Now before you go all snooty on me about a pigeon, hear me out. This is a Caribbean bird that inhabits places like the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica. In the US it is only found in the Florida Keys and only occasional into the very southern tip of mainland Florida in the Everglades. I was in SW Florida well away from this area so this makes this bird even more special.
Officially it is a very rare bird in Florida and is listed as a threatened species. Nowhere in its regular range is it doing very well. In the late 1800’s and throughout the 1900’s this bird was taken by the thousands for food while on the nesting grounds. This is doubly hard because it means that the babies don’t survive either and therefore the population dropped dramatically. By the way, this is a very similar story as the Passenger Pigeon. Millions were killed for food along with their babies on nesting grounds. This is what drove this bird into extinction.
I was able to slowly the approach the pigeon while taking multiple images. I was thrilled to see such a rare and unusual bird. The white crown on the bird stood out brightly against the blue sky. By the way, the white crown indicates it was an adult and the white tip on the bill was clearly visible giving us a positive ID.
The bird was undisturbed and sat for a while then flew over to a palm tree that was thick with fruit. This is one of the bird’s favorite foods. It also feeds on mangrove and fig fruit. There was a very tall fig tree filled with fruit just a few yards away. No wonder this bird was hanging around.
The entire event lasted just a few minutes and just like that I saw and photographed a “lifer” bird for me. And the funny thing is, I felt just like when I saw many of my other lifer birds. Perhaps this is why, after all these years, I am still excited about nature and all the critters. Until next time
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and also www.twitter.com. More information can be found at www.naturesmart.com.