PAYNES PRAIRIE PRESERVE STATE PARK SNAIL KITES

Male Snail Kite

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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SOME GOOD CONSERVATION NEWS: WOOD STORKS HAVE RECOVERED. ARE BEING DELISTED UNDER ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Wood Stork Eating Crustacean

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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HAPPY EARTH DAY: A STORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL RECLAMATION & REDEMPTION

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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A COMING-BACK STORY: OSPREYS

Close Up Of Osprey Soaring In Blue Sky Over Southeast Georgia Coastline

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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WONDERFUL BIRDS THE PELICANS,

Brown Pelicans Sunrise Silhouette

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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GEORGIA’S BALD EAGLES: A COMEBACK STORY IN PROGRESS

Adult Bald Eagle Over Tallulah River In North Georgia

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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AWKWARDLY GRACEFUL

Great Blue Heron In Awkwardly Graceful Flight

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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