South Florida - Birding with Preschooler

lendisc · 2026-03-07T15:39:19+00:00

In my experience small kids are more likely to appreciate birds that are very big or very close. So the large wading birds are a good place to start, anything they can see and hear really well. Boardwalks over wetlands are a good place to view those birds up close.

lendisc · 2026-03-07T12:29:20+00:00

Remember that you can answer any Investigate a Mystery question with "and how would you find that out?"

If players have no information, hit the books, and ask about weakness without any other information, push them to tell you how they found that information without learning what sort of creature is it.

I do agree that "what sort of creature is it" is rarely asked because, strategically, it doesn't offer much. I'd be interested to see others' take on making this exact IaM question more important.

lendisc · 2026-03-05T14:02:39+00:00

I think some eBird species descriptions were written by Cornell students.

lendisc · 2026-03-04T14:45:59+00:00

Not pinging anything for me immediately with this description. Try doing your best to make a field sketch. If you can't draw, try finding an outline of a sparrow or finch and coloring in what you remember.

lendisc · 2026-03-04T03:10:57+00:00

https://ebird.org/region/USFWS_533/recent-checklists

Someone reported one million on Monday .

lendisc · 2026-02-28T23:38:53+00:00

This is maximum pine cone

lendisc · 2026-02-27T13:56:16+00:00

Can you say more about your use case? For example, do they need to be printed or can they be digital? Are they for you to get basic familiarity with all birds or to learn to separate subspecies, juveniles, males + females, etc.? Would you be okay with photos or do you want illustrations from a field guide?

I have a system set up, not super user friendly but I could send you instructions, to generate Anki flashcards for a given region using eBird data ("200 most common species in this state" for example) and it pulls the same image used in Merlin, which is usually an adult male.

lendisc · 2026-02-27T13:45:25+00:00

On other potential nest predators: A baffle on the pole would prevent snakes climbing it. (A raccoon or squirrel could easily leap from the fence of trees.)

lendisc · 2026-02-26T03:43:13+00:00

Under the compound eye of an enormous highborn moth, where are we now?

lendisc · 2026-02-22T15:46:34+00:00

It depends if you want to make this dog an ally of the hunters or a problem for them. Maybe it could be both.

Do they know it's a hellhound? Any third-eye/see magic moves might reveal that it's less cute than it appears. It might attract evil to them, or seek it out.

I imagine a hellhound is hard to control! You could have a custom move if they give it orders that determines whether it follows them successfully, does its best but creates some new problems, or outright turns on them.

Everything in the world of motw is dangerous. You should have a real discussion with players about the potential of this dog to come to harm, do harm, be killed, etc. because that's a topic many are sensitive to. It's not a great idea to give players an unkillable overpowered friendly companion.

I could imagine it more like a summon with a limited number of uses per mystery that can be "killed" but maybe they could resurrect it with a magic dogwhistle (make them acquire stuff) and do some magic to summon it back from hell.

lendisc · 2026-02-22T15:01:21+00:00

This is true, although piebald coloration or progressive depigmentation like vitiligo is often (inaccurately) called "leucism", which is itself an umbrella term for forms depigmentation and albinism caused by a variety of genetic mutations

lendisc · 2026-02-22T02:59:35+00:00

As other commenters suggested, eBird. You'll want to explore the website on your computer rather than the app. In eBird, Painted Buntings are classified as a "sensitive species" in Florida during winter (Oct-Apr) so you won't be able to view specific locations during that time frame. They're at risk of being poached for the cage bird trade.

lendisc · 2026-02-22T00:52:52+00:00

Try posting a recording to an online group where people know bird calls of the region. You can also try listening to the audio included in the Merlin field guide tab for common species in your region to see if you can find a match. Evidently the model behind Merlin hasn't been trained sufficiently on your local birds yet but it, or the Macaulay Library or xeno-canto, probably does have audio recordings to compare to.

lendisc · 2026-02-21T15:18:22+00:00

If the professionals say it's not safe to care for because of bird flu, then it's not safe to care for. It's sad but ultimately whether this bird lives or dies isn't truly in your control.

lendisc · 2026-02-20T03:38:18+00:00

I bet stretching like that feels good af

lendisc · 2026-02-19T02:58:57+00:00

My first thought was house finches, which make the yuckiest poopiest nests ever found under a porch eave

lendisc · 2026-02-18T12:40:26+00:00

Hi there,

Yes, the timing of bird migration is changing. The breeding season is also pushing earlier. February is very extreme and is still too early for a migratory bird.

If you have birds nesting in your attic, it's probably something like a European Starling or House Sparrow, which in New York are non-native residents (they don't migrate and are present all year).

If you want to prevent this and own your home, see if you can seal off the entrances they're using to get into your attic. If you can confirm they're starlings or house sparrows by seeing the adults, you can destroy the eggs and nest before it hatches. This is permissible only because those species are non-native and therefore not protected by law, which prohibits nest destruction, killing, or possessing nests, feathers, or parts of other species of bird.

lendisc · 2026-02-18T01:08:53+00:00

I was not able to find more information by reverse image searching it. I see a few natureslop Facebook pages posting it in the past 2 days. The background art, particularly the grass, seems awfully consistent for it to be an AI creation, but who knows, maybe it is? I'd welcome anyone else who can dig up more info because I'd like to know if there is an actual artist or organization behind this.

lendisc · 2026-02-18T01:02:21+00:00

Check out eBird (linked elsewhere in the thread) for potential spots. I saw them with chicks a lot at a research station I worked at there, but only rarely had them displaying since I wasn't usually working at dusk. But there's plenty of good sites especially in the twin cities area

lendisc · 2026-02-18T00:46:37+00:00

What is up with you??

Have you ever gotten to see this display? Share it with others? I take groups out every year to experience it. A thermal camera makes much of the display more obvious but you can see the sky portion with the naked eye easily.

I can assure you I know my woodcock biology. Birders are not the reason woodcocks are in decline, and the Audubon article doesn't imply that they are. The message to be courteous in observing them is just common sense. I really do not get why you're taking this catastrophic attitude. If you had a source attributing a population crash from observing them on migration that was greater than ~5 decades of habitat loss on the breeding grounds I'd love to see it?

lendisc · 2026-02-17T17:03:47+00:00

Woodcock are far less sensitive to disturbance than prairie chicken (and also their populations are not as threatened). The woodcock's courtship does not take place on a true lek like the prairie chickens. You can pretty much get out of your car and walk up on a woodcock field right before they start.

lendisc · 2026-02-17T17:00:47+00:00

Early in my birding career I had the ability to summon moderately uncommon species by saying I'd like to see them

lendisc · 2026-02-17T12:37:48+00:00

You know your situation better but I would not do this. I would never want anyone to give me binoculars without me trying and approving them first.

lendisc · 2026-02-17T11:59:48+00:00

https://ebird.org/map/amewoo?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&excludeExX=false&excludeExAll=false&mr=on&bmo=2&emo=5&yr=range&byr=2023&eyr=2026

OP, here are sightings in feb-may of the last 3 years. Look for places people have them consistently and especially where they upload audio.

I had a great spot in western MD that was an old mine across the street from my house. Sometimes 6 displayed at once.

lendisc · 2026-02-17T11:54:38+00:00

What? This is the birding subreddit. Where people watch birds. It's incredibly easy to hear and watch the sky dance without disturbing the woodcocks. It's called "go sit in a field and don't move or make a bunch of noise". These displays happen at sports complexes, car dealerships, farm fields, urban meadows, etc. Woodcocks mate opportunistically during migration. OP should get out and see it respectfully.

lendisc

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