I’ve always liked animals and the outdoors but I’ve also worked at a natural history museum for 30 years so I am VERY immersed in the natural world even while I sit at a desk all day.
iNaturalist
I enjoy contributing to iNaturalist, a site/app that anyone can use to take picture of things in nature that are verified by naturalists and scientists that can be used for research and data studies. My kids and I like to go hiking and add new things to my list, and it’s definitely something we love to do when we travel. If you want to see a lot of my best photos, my iNat observations page is basically my Instagram account.
Birdwatching
Even though I love learning about all sorts of flora & fauna, at heart I’m a bird nerd. My official life list is a birding journal with line drawings that I’ve been painting with watercolors. But hey, since this website is full of lists, why not my birds too? I’ve linked them if I happen to have a picture of them uploaded to iNaturalist.
Loons & Grebes
- Pied-billed Grebe
Pelicans & Allies
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- American White Pelican
- Brown Pelican
- Anhinga
- Double-crested Cormorant
Herons, Egrets & Bitterns
- American Bittern
- Black-crowned Night-Heron
- Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
- Green Heron
- Tricolored Heron
- Great Egret
- Little Blue Heron
- Reddish Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Great Blue Heron
Storkes, Ibises & Spoonbills
- Wood Stork
- Glossy Ibis
- White Ibis
- Roseate Spoonbill
Swans, Geese & Ducks
- Canada Goose
- Black-bellied Whistling Duck
- Mallard
- Mottled Duck
- Muscovy Duck
- Hooded Merganser
Vultures
Eagles, Kites & Hawks
- Osprey
- Mississippi Kite
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- Bald Eagle
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Red-shouldered Hawk
Falcons
- American Kestrel
Turkeys, Grouse & Partridges
- Wild Turkey
Limpkins, Rails, Gallinules & Coots
- Limpkin
- Common Gallinule
- American Coot
Cranes
- Sandhill Crane
- Whooping Crane
Shorebirds
- Piping Plover
- Wilson’s Plover
- Semipalmated Plover
- Killdeer
- American Oystercatcher
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sanderling
- Dunlin
- Least Sandpiper
Gulls, Terns & Skimmers
- Ring-billed Gull
- Sandwich Tern
- Royal Tern
- Forster’s Tern
- Black Skimmer
Pigeons & Doves
Parakeets & Parrots
- Black-hooded Parakeet
Owls
- Great Horned Owl
- Barred Owl
- Burrowing Owl
Swifts
- Chimney Swift
- White-throated Swift
Hummingbirds
Kingfishers
- Belted Kingfisher
Woodpeckers
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
Flycatchers
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Eastern Phoebe
- Great Crested Flycatcher
Shrikes
- Loggerhead Shrike
Vireos
- White-eyed Vireo
- Yellow-throated Vireo
- Blue-headed Vireo
- Red-eyed Vireo
Jays & Crows
- Blue Jay
- Western Scrub Jay
- Black-billed Magpie
- Common Raven
- American Crow
Swallows
- Barn Swallow
- Violet-green Swallow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Titmice & Chickadees
- Tufted Titmouse
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Carolina Chickadee
Nuthatches & Wrens
- Carolina Wren
- White-breasted Nuthatch
Kinglets & Gnatcatchers
Thrushes & Robins
Mimics & Thrashers
- Gray Catbird
- Northern Mockingbird
- Brown Thrasher
Pipits & Wagtails
- American Pipit
Waxwings
Warblers
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Northern Parula
- Cape May Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-throated Blue Warbler
- Yellow-throated Warbler
- Pine Warbler (breeding plumage)
- Palm Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Common Yellowthroat
- American Redstart
Tanagers
- Summer Tanager
Towhees, Sparrows & Juncos
- Eastern Towhee
- Chipping Sparrow
- Brewer’s Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
Cardinals & Buntings
- Northern Cardinal
- Painted Bunting
Blackbirds
- Western Meadowlark
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Boat-tailed Grackle
- Brewer’s Blackbird
- Brown-headed Cowbird
Finches
Old World Sparrows
