By Mic McCarty, Field Trip Coordinator Dear Tampa Audubon members and bird enthusiasts,  We are thrilled to announce a limited number of free subscriptions for our volunteers to Birds of the World, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s premier online resource that has taken flight to become the leading authoritative source for everything avian! 🌍🐦 Your Ultimate Guide to Birds At Birds of the World, Cornell has gathered and meticulously curated basic and in-depth scientific infor

By Mic McCarty, Field Trip Coordinator  Pileated Woodpecker photographed by Mic McCarty. Woodpeckers play an essential role in forest ecosystems as nature’s excavators, earning their reputation as a keystone family. By chiseling out cavities in trees, woodpeckers create critical nesting sites not only for themselves, but also for numerous other bird species and small mammals. These abandoned cavities are often reused by owls, bluebirds, squirrels, and other wildlife, greatly

Photo of Downy Woodpecker by Mic McCarty. “The Downy Woodpecker” From Bird Stories from Burroughs , Gutenberg Project release date July 12, 2008, eBook #26046, Copyright 1871   Downy came and dwelt with me,  Taught me hermit lore; Drilled his cell in oaken tree  Near my cabin door.   Architect of his own home   In the forest dim, Carving its inverted dome   In a dozy limb.   Carved it deep and shaped it true   With his little bill; Took no thought about the view,   Whether da

View our photo gallery above. Photos of Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse and visitors by Lynn Mitchell. All others by Jonathan Hoiles. Story by Lynn Mitchell, Tampa Audubon Member and Volunteer Tampa Audubon and Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation recently partnered to help prevent birds from getting injured or killed when they fly into the large windows at the nature center at Lettuce Lake Park. The county installed dotted window film at the Joel Jackson Nature Center,