The only population of Snail Kites in North America is in FL. There are 1,000 birds, up from 10 in 1965. They are listed on the federal & state endangered species lists. Snail Kites are extreme specialists. Armed with a strongly curved bill, purpose built for plucking meat from a shell, their diet is almost […]
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Storks are creatures of folklore. As North America’s only native stork, when Europeans arrived, wood storks assumed the role of baby delivery from White Storks. This celebrity status did not protect them. Populations plunged from 20,000 nesting pairs in the 1930s to less than 5,000 pairs by the 1970s. Almost all nesting in the Everglades […]
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This Sandhill Crane pair is raising their family in Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville, Florida. When Ann and I lived in Gainesville in 1977-78, the 125 acres that now comprise the park had been ‘murdered’. Sweetwater Branch was the recipient of treated and untreated wastewater from Gainesville’s sewage plant. It caught trash from overflows of […]
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I think it’s clear that I love conservation comeback stories. It’s maybe more accurate to say coming-back stories. There’s not many better than the Osprey’s. They were big time victims of the 1950-70s pesticide onslaught that took down many of our bird species, especially large raptors. DDT being the primary villain. Many local Osprey populations […]
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THEIR BEAKS CAN HOLD MORE THAN THEIR BELLIES CAN In fact, ~2.6 gallons of water along with the caught fish. After plunging up to 60 feet head first to take on this much water, Pelicans tilt their beaks, drain the water, and then throw their heads back and down goes the fish. When I was […]
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In the early 20th century, Bald Eagles were common across Georgia, especially along the coast. By the 1950s and 60s, however, they had become rare transients. In 1970 there was just one known nesting pair in all of Georgia. They were on remote St Catherine’s Island. They were not seen after 1970. Beginning in 1973 […]
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That’s what comes to my mind each time I see a Great Blue Heron fly, especially when coming in for a landing. They are truly gangly – 4.5 to 5.5 lbs, 3.5′ to 4.5′ tall, and with a 5.5′ to 6.5′ wingspan. Gangly and beautiful in a dinosaurs-are-still-with-us kind of way. They are a great […]
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