This bird, the Short-eared Owl (Caribbean race), as David Sibley says on 
page 273 of his guide, "is a rare visitor from the West Indies to Florida, 
mainly Apr-Jul."  Not a bird one can see very often and for some of us, 
probably never.  It fills a special niche and this photo taken in 1997 is 
appreciated for filling this special place in the photographic compilation 
of Florida birds.  Thank you, Brad.

At this point, where we have around 90 species in our archives and our 
website, it is beginning to look like a real start, close to 20% of all of 
the recognized species seen in Florida (see the Official Checklist of 
Florida Birds in the Records section of the FOS website at 
http://www.fosbirds.org/).  It is true we could quickly add to that number 
by including the most common birds, and eventually we will do that, but the 
more rare birds, as a rule, have stolen the show since I started compiling 
Florida birds last year.

So many of you have participated in sending your photos, I must say again 
-- thank you to all of you who have sent photos and who will send them in 
the future.  Not one of us could do it alone, so it is a great joint 
effort, that will, I am sure, keep growing.

This is a rather slow time for birders looking for excitement, and it is 
good to have photos of those birds we would all like to see during this 
period.

© for this photo is, of course, owned by Brad Bergstrom


Barbara Passmore
Listowner, FLORIDABIRDS-L