August 8 – BOTD – Smooth-Billed Ani

Here is my entry for Granny Shot It’s  Bird of the Day (BOTD) challenge.

Smooth-Billed Ani at Little Talbot State Park, Jacksonville, FL

The Smooth-Billed Ani is a member of the cuckoo family. It is a resident from southern Floridathe Bahamas, the Caribbean, parts of Central America, south to western EcuadorBrazil, and northern Argentina. How it made its way to North Florida is a true mystery & was rare bird for around these parts. This bird hung out at the park for weeks at the end of 2018 & beginning of 2019. We went back several times just to catch a glimpse one more time. We were able to see it 4 times in 4 separate trips before we didn’t see it any longer. This was a life bird for us and we were able to put it on our ebird.org count for both years.

4 Comments on “August 8 – BOTD – Smooth-Billed Ani

  1. Wow! That’s amazing! I would love to see a rare bird in the wild. We usually see only the same ones except at the zoo or aquarium.

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    • We try to get to places where rare birds are seen, but it is rare. We had the snowy owl at Little Talbot a few years ago & there were photographer from everywhere, including out of the country that showed up. Even though they can go north & see them. The thing was, it was the first time in 50 years. Owl hung out for about 3 weeks. We were able to see it, but didn’t really have the lens for a portfolio.

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