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Jeff Bouton

@jeff_bouton

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Bird & Nature nut working for Kowa Sporting Optics @kowasportingopticsus

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How to make new friends at a birding festival. Pull out your scope at a popular, crowded hotspot on day one of the fest and excitedly announce, “oh sh**!!! I’ve got a Sabine’s Gull out here…” and then proceed to share scope views of the distant rarity! Many folks enjoyed a lifer by the time I had to go open my booth. The bird was a long way off shore feeding in rips, but I was at least able to get identifiable images of this rare adult gull species! #kowascoping taken in Cape May, New Jersey by @jeff_bouton

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a day ago

October 10th was the Global Big Day, International Migratory Bird Day, & most importantly, the Day of the Peregrine (Dia de Los Peregrinos) at @curryhammockofficial in the Florida Keys. 10/10 is the statistical peak of the fabled migration at this “Peregrine Falcon Capital of the World” and they tallied an amazing 415 Peregrines migrating by during the celebration.

Unfortunately, I was double booked so couldn’t stay on for the epic 651 Peregrine flight they enjoyed on 10/11, but I got a preview of what was in store when I counted 85 Peregrines perched on the radio towers as I drove off the Keys Saturday evening. This video shows 28 adults perched on a single tower and the next one had 31! This is a predictable world class spectacle seen each October in the keys but these past two days have been top tier shows. #vismig #peregrinefalcon #falcon #migration #worldclass taken in Florida Keys by @jeff_bouton

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6 days ago

Hey peeps in Florida, consider joining us in the Florida Keys this weekend for the Peregrine Days Migration Celebration @curryhammockofficial State Park in Marathon, FL. There will be informational displays, educational programs, and free bird walks led by professional birders and park interpretive staff. October 10th is the statistical peak of the world’s largest Peregrine Falcon migration over the middle Keys & it also coincides with the 2026 Global Big Day so we will be searching for as many birds as we can for our lists! On hand assisting with bird finding and education will be the @floridakeyshawkwatch counters, staff from the Hawk Migration Association, @ravenbirdingapparel, @kowasportingopticsus and Florida State Parks. Come join the event and let the birding professionals help you locate & identify even more than the Merlin Birding App can! ;) The day promises loads of fun and a whole lot of birds (in most years thousands of birds of prey migrate over on this peak weekend. Limited loaner binoculars will be available for walks as well. taken in Curry Hammock State Park by @jeff_bouton

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10 days ago

So Y’ALL know I can’t leave it like that, right?!?…. There will be no sleep unless I find one more bird! Going owling, BRB! 😝 by @jeff_bouton

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12 days ago

Local migration has been nearly non-existent in my home county, so I decided to make a roadtrip south to search for a Red-necked Phalarope that has been reliably seen over the past 5 days. The 1.5 hour drive passed quickly enough and I arrived and quickly found the confiding little bird for great views and watched some fun behaviors including paddling around and feeding (see invertebrate captured in photo one), then at one point it craned its head to the side spying a migrant raptor overhead and laying as flat and still as possible after (photos 3 & 4 respectively). I didn’t see the raptor in question as I was busily digiscoping but there had been both a Cooper’s Hawk & a Peregrine Falcon I’d seen moments before. This was my 586th #digiscoped bird species for 2026 (and counting). All photos were captured with iPhone through the Kowa #PROMINAR TSN-66A spotting scope. #kowascoping #phalarope #rarebird taken in Sanibel Island Florida by @jeff_bouton

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14 days ago

Can we all just agree that Anhingas are just a bit different?!?… ;) fun digiscoping subject this AM. #kowascoping by @jeff_bouton

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15 days ago

I see a lot of folks are posting owl pics for “spooky season”. I don’t actually find owls all that spooky, but hey, WHOO am I to buck the trend?… Here are 9 owl species I’ve digiscoped thus far in 2026 here in the US. I need to make a concerted effort to find a few more soon! In order of appearance from top left,Eastern Screech-Owl 1/2/26, Barred Owl 1/3/26, Great Horned Owl 1/5/26, Burrowing Owl 1/10/26, Western Screech-Owl 2/15/26, Elf Owl 3/15/26, Whiskered Screech-Owl 3/15/26, Northern Pygmy-Owl 3/20/26, Northern Saw-whet Owl 5/11/26. All #digiscoped through Kowa #PROMINAR spotting scopes with iPhone & #phoneskope adapter. #kowascoping #owl by @jeff_bouton

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16 days ago

No personal records being set in 2026 but Acadian Flycatcher this AM became my 585th bird species digiscoped this year! (# 428 in the US). Makes me wonder where that total would be if I a family emergency didn’t force me to skip the San Diego Bird Fest or if I didn’t miss 2 days birding at the Southeast Arizona Bird Fest this year. My all time record in the US is 503 in a single year so that likely would have been topped. Not a stellar image but an image all the same despite intense backlighting. #kowascoping taken in Port Charlotte, Florida by @jeff_bouton

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16 days ago

As always on January 1st, my buddies and I did a big day in our home county here in SW Florida kicking off the county year list with 142 bird species. On that day I’m not digiscoping because it slows us down & the idea is to FIND as many birds as possible. BUT on January 2nd the scope was out and I finished the day with 64 digiscoped year birds within a few mile radius of home! I’d captured 114 birds through the spotting scope with my iPhone by the end of 1/7/26 and had digiscoped 232 bird species by the end of the month. Here’s a bunch of the birds I picked up on that first lovely day of digiscoping on 1/2/26. #kowascoping taken in Port Charlotte, Florida by @jeff_bouton

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17 days ago

Three different exposure on the Harvest Moon. #kowascoping with Kowa PROMINAR spotting scope & iPhone. #moon #luna #lunar #celestialbody taken in Charlotte County by @jeff_bouton

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21 days ago

Why is this Yellow-throated Warbler picking at my millet feeder?!?… I honestly don’t know but maybe thisodd behavior is related to #FloridaBird syndrome! #kowascoping taken in Charlotte County by @jeff_bouton

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21 days ago

In a WHOLLY unprecedented situation a total of 3 individual Piratic Flycatchers were seen in the US yesterday! Usually found in Central & South America this rare tropical flycatcher had only been seen maybe 15x in the US prior to this. On April 14, 2024 two individuals were seen in Florida in Key West and in St. Petersburg with (presumably) a third being found outside of Houston, TX 2 weeks later.

This is the first time 3 have been seen concurrently in the US though the first was found on 9/17/26 just west of Phoenix Arizona and was still present yesterday. The second was discovered at Stalker Lake SWA near Weld, Colorado on 9/19 and was still present yesterday as well. Then a new bird was discovered at Sawgrass Lake Park near St. Petersburg, FL questioning now is with three confirmed individual birds, who’s going to find the next one in the ABA area?!?… @americanbirdingassociation by @jeff_bouton

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a month ago