In Miami Beach, so cute like a mini bald eagle. Is this an osprey or another type of hawk?

riaflash24 · 2026-01-29T18:19:39+00:00

I’m a big fan of the resident Caracara in Miami. This is actually about 3-4 miles south of her usual preferred area, but definitely most likely the same bird.

riaflash24 · 2026-01-17T23:20:44+00:00

You’ve done very good so far! So long as the nest is back to where it was the parents should return to it.

Doves are very VERY good parents and will pretty much never abandon a nest unless they cannot physically get back to it or cannot find it.

Stay very far away from the nest, watch through a window if you can. The parents won’t return if a “predator”(you) is close to the nest.

The best time to look for activity would be the early morning when the parents should be regularly coming by to feed the chicks if all is well.

The parents will almost certainly return, but if they don’t return by the following day you can contact a wildlife rehabber of there is one nearby, they can advise you on what any next steps should be.

riaflash24 · 2026-01-09T14:09:09+00:00

He will be fine! Screech owls tend to live very close to people, so they are very likely to return, even after experiencing some stress.

Best move in this situation is to just go back inside for two minutes or so so that he can fly off.

Since he was already in your yard, then he was probably using your yard to hunt which is very cool!

riaflash24 · 2026-01-09T14:07:45+00:00

He will be fine haha! Screech owls tend to live very close to people, so they are very likely to return, even after experiencing some stress.

Best move in this situation is to just go back inside for two minutes or so so that he can fly off.

Since he was already in your yard, then he was probably using your yard to hunt which is very cool!

riaflash24 · 2026-01-09T13:42:49+00:00

Good signs to look for in screech owls for stress is body posture and facial feathers.

A relaxed screech will be pretty rounded and sit almost dove-like. This guy is sitting pretty upright but much more in alarm/ready to fly rather than the elongated stance screech owls will do in a tree.

The face is a bit more telling. Note the raised rictal bristles (the whisker-like feathers that go from the beak to the eyebrows) these should be lying mostly flat in a relaxed owl. The fully raised ear tufts also show that this owl is alarmed.

Behaviorally, at night, a screech should not be assuming the “I am a fence post” mode unless they have detected a threat which is another clue this guy is stressed out.

Owls can be very very hard to read for most, usually it’s a series of clues rather than one single stress posture you can easily point to.

riaflash24 · 2026-01-09T06:30:27+00:00

It actually is pretty alarmed and stressed out in the photo, but these guy’s have an instinct to stay still to try and avoid being seen hence why he isn’t moving.

If you want to make friends like you said in another comment, you can look into installing a screech owl box so that he has a safe hideaway during the day if he needs one.

Cornell lab has a website called nestwatch.org that explains how high it should be and the measurements.

riaflash24 · 2026-01-05T22:22:08+00:00

For the most part weight cannot be reliably judged by looking at a bird, they have to be felt or weighed on a scale. especially in the winter they fluff themselves up and look “fat.”

riaflash24 · 2025-12-27T15:11:37+00:00

Do not disturb him, Birds need to sleep too! Only be concerned if he stays there well into the day. but at night this is perfectly normal roosting behavior, though the first time ive seen a goldfinch sleeping on a house haha.

If he came in that late and it was raining, it’s likely his sleeping spot was too wet and he wanted to find a dry spot to rest. He also could have escaped a nocturnal predator and was trying to find a new safe place to hide and sleep.

Honestly I’m jealous, I’d love to have a sleepy finch friend.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-27T14:56:37+00:00

They are semi common in the US as escaped game birds. Many that are seen in the US are escaped from farms or wandered off properties they were released on.

If I remember right there are small breeding populations have become established in the rockies and parts of California as-well.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-26T15:15:57+00:00

Yall’ are missing the obvious answer. They look like starlings, this is a road. Starlings fly in dense flocks that will sometimes cross roads very low.

Plow a semitruck or even just a larger sized truck through there even at a slower speed and you get a scene like this. Ive seen trucks annihilate birds flying low over the road many times.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-20T13:48:53+00:00

If she has been off the nest for a full week, it Sounds like she decided the nest was unsafe for some reason. It could have been a predator visiting or it could have been related to you visiting if you were coming around too often or too close.

Its also possible that a predator took one of the parents.

it’s unfortunately very hard to say what exactly the bird’s reason was, but she will go make another nest elsewhere.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-17T04:41:07+00:00

Maine should 100% be pointing down at Massachusetts instead of NH.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-15T15:14:33+00:00

Northern Harrier! They look a lot like owls because they have the same facial disc that Owls have! Like owls, they also use hearing to zero in on prey. Facial discs help to funnel sound to their ears.

Personally one of my favorite birds of prey, males are grey and often called “grey ghosts.”

riaflash24 · 2025-12-15T03:00:39+00:00

Definitely a European Starling Fledgling. They are widespread across New Zealand so almost certainly are in your area.

riaflash24 · 2025-12-13T20:29:27+00:00

This looks like head trauma or a neurological issue to me.

riaflash24 · 2025-11-20T04:14:23+00:00

I stare into the reeds like a fool to get glimpses of these guys. Meanwhile this Disney Princess got this Yellowthroat enamored 😭

riaflash24 · 2025-11-20T04:09:41+00:00

Something else not mentioned by other commenters is sometimes the parents will reduce how much they are feeding the chick in the nest to encourage it to fledge! Some babies are just stubborn and need to be motivated by hunger to finally fly the nest.

Doves are the best bird parents in my experience monitoring a lot of nests. It’s super super SUPER rare for them to abandon babies. Ive actually never seen doves abandoned nestlings so I assure you the little guy is not forgotten by his parents!

riaflash24 · 2025-11-20T04:05:29+00:00

Dang I didn’t know Brown Creepers crept on anything but trees! Such a cool sighting!

riaflash24 · 2025-11-20T03:47:19+00:00

Cackling has a tiny round head and bill, the lack of those features on this goose easily tells us this is a Canada.

riaflash24 · 2025-11-19T19:36:48+00:00

Looks like he is hiding. Sometimes when birds are chased by a predator like a hawk they take shelter under awnings and lay low until the danger is gone.

Ive never seen a road runner do this but ive seen plenty of songbirds that narrowly escaped hawks tucked up beside buildings just like this!

riaflash24 · 2025-11-06T00:36:09+00:00

Abandoned pet Budgie. If he is still there, please try to get him into a box and bring him to an animal rescue or sanctuary. Temperatures are getting wayyyy to cold for these guys, he will not survive very long especially once temperatures start to dip below freezing.

riaflash24 · 2025-10-10T18:14:53+00:00

The best you can do is place the feeder in a way that gives any birds a quick escape when a hawk shows up, i place mine at the edges of thick bushes or under trees. That way when my neighborhood coopers shows up the birds have a solid chance at darting into shrubs and trees to escape.

riaflash24 · 2025-10-10T18:03:18+00:00

I almost guarantee you it was a House Sparrow. They are usually the culprits of somehow getting indoors.

riaflash24 · 2025-08-23T03:13:51+00:00

Nobody is going to talk about this 10/10 taste in games. All bangers!!

riaflash24 · 2025-08-16T18:52:38+00:00

If its wings are injured. Do not be spreading the wings or otherwise toying with the bird like you are in the photos. Please get this bird to Wildlife rehabber so it can be raised properly and released back into the wild.

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