January 18, 2026

I am an Eastern Phoebe

I'm known to eat wasps, ticks and milipedes

I'll eat butterflies

And spiders and flys

And sometimes even small fruits and seeds.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmore Unit

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/lifehistory

Photo and text © 2026 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

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January 11, 2023

I am an Eastern Phoebe

I'm monogamous and a creature of habit

I'll reuse a nest site every year

Which I always renovate, though nothing elaborate. 

A new coat of mud, leaves and grass right over the old

And we're ready to raise young and cohabit.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sayornis_phoebe/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 25, 2022

I am known as an Eastern Phoebe

I'm known to share nests with Barn Swallows

I migrate and come back, and reuse the same nest

And the Swallows use my nest for the season that follows.

Location: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/overview

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

January 15, 2022

I am an Eastern Phoebe

I am a small passerine

When it rains I tend to stay hunkered down

So I don't need gaberdine. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/id
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passerine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaberdine

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 10, 2021

I am a medium-sized fly catcher

Known as an Eastern Phoebe

My habit of building nests under bridges

Has earned me the nickname "bridge peewee".

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sayornis_phoebe/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

January 16, 2021

I am an Eastern Phoebe, 

Taking a nap on this twig

I prefer to be alone even during mating season

Other birds company's not something I dig.

Location: Titusville, Blackpoint Wildlife Drive

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/overview

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 30, 2020

Location: Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Fellsmere

I am an Eastern Phoebe
Cornell describes me as "plump"
They also say, I have a "large, flat head"
They make me sound like a hideous chump!

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - Eastern Phoebe

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson