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Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Brevard Community College, Titusville Campus 1311 North U.S. Highway 1, Titusville January 23 - 28, 2008 -- Titusville, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
Space Coast Limpkin
Photo: by Mike Frieberg, Nikon Sport Optics Birding Market SpecialistCentral Florida is a place that I have just discovered since I entered my twenties. With as much traveling as I've done in my life until now, I am completely flabbergasted that I have not visited earlier in my life. One beautiful factoid about this majestic area is that the birds are showy! Destinations like Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Kissimmee are a photographer's and birder's dream venture and Central Florida has no shortage of these types of birding venues. There are many species of birds that can be seen here, easily, that are difficult to find elsewhere.
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set advanced standardsThe Limpkin is a bird that I've wanted to see since I was a child. With the entire United States population residing in Florida and a small portion of Georgia, a separate trip was called for to find these elusive denizens of the swamps of the Sunshine State. Capitalizing on the privilege of an invitation to the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival a few years back, I came to Central Florida and I haven't missed an opportunity to return every year. Spectacular birds like this never get old!
John Moran's Journal of Light:
A Photographer's Search for the Soul of FloridaIt's been said that to be rooted is perhaps the most deeply felt, and yet least understood need of the human soul.
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Wide range of superior traditional opticsFlorida, of course, is a place that knows well the rootless soul. Ours is a world-famous peninsula; a great, big siren in the sun whose considerable allure attracts a ceaseless stream of transplants. Some take the time to get to know the subtle and sensuous side of Florida. Many don't, and there's a price to be paid for this disconnect. You can no more love a place you don't know any more than you can love a person you don't know.
The Joy of Birding
By Jeff BoutonMost people are drawn to birding because of a fascination with wild wonders that surround us on a daily basis. Very often, an individual can cite a precise incident or event that turned them from a curious observer to a full fledged birder! For me, a Snowy Owl within a mile of my childhood home sparked an insatiable curiosity that lasts to this day. As I stood transfixed, staring at the mythical white owl of cigar box fame, I instantly knew I'd discovered something more than just an owl on a frozen pond!
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Opens unsuspected glimpses
into natureI've heard others suggest that people bird because it is easy and inexpensive. After all, you only need a pair of binoculars and a book, right?!?.… These people are generally not birders, or have barely scratched the surface and are still in serious denial, as nothing could be further from the truth in reality.
How Much Can One Bird Weigh?
Jeffrey A. GordonFrom a purely physical standpoint, most birds don't weigh much. A robin weighs a few ounces, and a hummingbird weighs a few grams. Even a Bald Eagle only weighs about 10 pounds. But despite their low weight, individual birds can have a huge impact on our lives.
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lifestyle productsRoger Tory Peterson, the great artist, author, naturalist, and conservationist, traced his interest in birds to a brief encounter he had with a lone Northern Flicker. That flicker, placed on a scale, might register 5 ounces. Yet that one bird was the catalyst for a life that changed the lives of millions, both human and avian. That's a powerful flicker.
Birds on the Wind: The Miracle of Migration
By Kevin T. KarlsonMigration of wild birds is arguably one of the most exciting and awe-inspiring spectacles in the world today. Anyone fortunate enough to witness a protracted movement of 100,000 seabirds in a single November day near Cape May NJ, or stand in awe under 400,000 Broad-winged Hawks in one day in Veracruz, Mexico, will attest to an indescribable emotion that touches the core of our very being.
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ecological partnerStanding silent with eyes skyward and mouths agape while deafening calls of countless Snow Geese or other flocking birds fly past may well rekindle primal feelings that our ancestors experienced thousands of years ago, as these familiar migrants continue to warmer winter locations. I have personally felt unexplained emptiness in late fall after realizing that migration has subsided, and birds that I have been enjoying for months have left me behind to undertake dangerous journeys to wild, unknown locations.
Field Notes: An Odd Form of Self-help Therapy
By John AcornDo you keep field notes? Life lists, local lists, year lists, winter lists, or yard lists? My own records date back to 1974, but I've never been one for listing. I prefer a sort of detailed personal journal. Recently, while reading through my 2000-plus pages of field notes, and reconstructing my life lists in the process, I discovered some wonderful things. First, I now know how many species of birds I have seen. I'm going to keep the number to myself-it is large enough to qualify me as a serious birding addict, but not so big as to set any records.
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Working to preserve earth's diversity
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