This page lists some of the birds and other animals Tom watches and videos in his backyard. Great resource to reference after bird watching (birding) to help identify species by sight, sound, habitat and mannerisms.

You can click on the links below for a small pop-up window to appear that describes the animal listed. If you click on the picture in the pop-up, it opens to a full sized page with a more complete description, and most birds include a sound sample button above the photo on the left. Clicking on the picture again shows an enlarged photograph.

Water Birds

These are all found in or above the water and on shore, usually fishing. Even the bald eagle dives in for a good catch.

• Anhinga
• Bald Eagle
• Belted Kingfisher
• Black Skimmer
• Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
• Brown Pelican
• Canada Goose
• Cattle Egret
• Chuck-will's-widow (voice similar to Whip-poor-will)
• Clapper Rail
• Common Moorhen
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (first spotted 3/28/06)
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Green Heron
• Laughing Gull
• Lessor Scaup
• Limpkin (video)

• Little Blue Heron
• Mallard
• Mottled Duck
• Northern Pintail (first spotted 3/18/04)
• Osprey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Redhead (first spotted 1/9/05)
• Roseate Spoonbill (video)

• Royal Tern
• Snow Goose
• Snowy Egret
• Spotted Sandpiper (nonbreeding image)
• Swallow-tailed Kite (first spotted 6/27/08)
• Tricolored Heron (Formerly called Louisiana Heron; similar to Little Blue Heron)
• Turkey Vulture
• White Ibis
• Wood Duck (first spotted 3/22/05)
• Wood Stork
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Mammals

• Armadillo
• Bat
• Dolphin
• Manatee
• Mink
• Opossum
• Otter
• Rabbit
• Racoon
• Squirrel

Reptiles & Amphibians

• Alligator
• Frog
• Lizard
• Racer Snake
• Ringneck Snake
• Turtle
• Water Snake

Other Sea Creatures

• Blue Crab
• Cownose Ray
• Dall's Acorn Barnacle
• Horseshoe Crab
• Mud Fiddler Crab
• Round Stingray

Animal Trivia

Many more pages of facts about animals.

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It should be mentioned that most of Tom's backyard is a saltwater tidal creek that leads into Tampa Bay, then on into the Gulf of Mexico. So his backyard is land for 20 feet from the house to the tide water, then 100 feet of open water about 10 feet deep, then a 50 acre marsh reserved as a bird sanctuary. That is how he gets so many water birds, dolphins and manatees roaming around his property.

The herons, egrets and storks love to come begging for food at Tom's back door whenever they see him in the kitchen. And the manatees love to come by after a heavy rain to gorge on all the plants (like lily pads) that get washed into the creek from its tributaries.

Also spotted walking through Tom's backyard was an Indian Blue Peacock with a six foot train and his harem of four peahens. They migrate here every year (not known where from).

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