Costa Rica bound

Emily and I are heading to Costa Rica for a fun-filled week!  We will be staying at the Arenal Observatory Lodge and hope to do some birding, some waterfall swimming, and some hiking.  

Baby Pine Snake

Green Cay has a new education snake.  We traded in our very large Pine Snake for a smaller more docile Florida Pine Snake.  So far our little guy has hissed a bit but overall seems pretty acclimated.  We'll be phasing him into some education programs in the near future.  Welcome to your new home little buddy. 

Education Birds

The Crossley ID Guide Blog Tour continues today with a great post about Raptors as Education Ambassadors.  I am lucky enough at my nature center to have two education raptors.  In case you haven't met my little friends I thought I would share a few recent photos.

Bobby Falco is an American Kestrel and has been in captivity for over 12 years.  The first ten years was spent at Okeeheelee Nature Center and for the past 2 years he has been with me at Green Cay Nature Center.  He's a high strung, active bird but handles really well.  Unfortunately his feet are not in the best of shape and he doesn't have full flight so he became an education bird.  Now he delights visitors and school children at the nature center.

Our newest education bird is Olliver Jr.  For those that know, Oliver One died this past year at the vet's office.  It's taken a little while but we have a replacement.  He's new at being handled on the glove and so far is doing okay but doesn't have complete trust in his new human companions.  I hope to have Ollie Jr. out on display at the nature center in the coming months.  Until then he will continue to train with staff and volunteers until he settles down.  Olliver Two has partial flight but couldn't be released.  We're happy to have him as part of our education team.



Middle School Trip to the Everglades

Back in December I took a few 8th graders camping in Everglades National Park.  These urban Miami kids often don't take advantage of the diverse ecosystem in their backyards.  We set out with 4 kids, their teacher, and me as the chauffeur of the mini-van and the naturalist.

First stop was Anhinga Trail where the vultures were everywhere.  Some may not be fans but I really enjoy vultures.  I find them a fascinating lot of birds and this is a great place to see them up-close.  Just watch out when they start their hissing.

We transversed the national park with stops along the way.  We played a few games, checked out some of the wildlife, and finally ended our journey at Flamingo campground to set up our homes for the night.  We were greeted by the resident Osprey.

The middle schoolers lost interest in being outdoors when the mosquitos came to play and I don't blame them because they were pretty intense.  Fortunately, a VERY friendly Red-shouldered Hawk came to visit the campsite and provided the group with some great hunting tips.  We watched the hawk catch lizards literally feet away.  It was a great experience for the students and one I enjoyed as well.

We may not have converted any Miami kids into nature lovers and yes, that photo is from our departure day where you would think they would be accustomed to wildlife, but we did provide some real South Florida experiences.  When I leave South Florida, I will miss Everglades National Park.  I love the birding, the camping opportunities, and the unknown.  Every time I visit this park something provides me with one of those awe moments.  I may not love South Florida with the traffic and urban sprawl but I love the Everglades, the birds, and the teaching opportunitites.

The Crossley ID Blog Tour

Don't forget the blog tour for the new Crossley ID Guide: Raptors.  Also there's still a chance to win an autographed copy of one of Crossley's books.  Scroll down to the bottom of yesterday's post to read the fine print!

The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors and Everglades National Park

If you aren't familiar with The Crossley ID Guides by Princeton University Press, then get out from under that rock and join the rest of us!  When I first opened The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds I was both inspired and impressed by the book plates.  This guide has taken it's graphic representation to a new level by showing birds in many settings and situations, all in focus on one page.  With such an interesting way to study birds, it's no surprise that the newest book out focuses on Raptors.  From the hawkwatchers, to the casual backyard birders, this book will offer insights to bird identification.  Go ahead, if you don't take my word for it, check out a sampler.

Let's take a stroll through Everglades National Park, Crossley Raptor style.  The Everglades is a birders ideal habitat.  It has interesting birds, rarities, and for the raptor lovers, this is a place that you can see a large number in both individuals and species.  One of the most common raptors in the park is the Red-shouldered Hawk.  While driving from the park entrance to Flamingo, I have counted dozens of Red-shouldered Hawks littering the roadside snags and flying over the marsh.  On a recent field trip to the Flamingo campground a friendly Red-shouldered Hawk caught prey with little to no interest in the middle school campers that I had with me.  While it was at times pulling teeth to get these urban Miami kids interested in nature, the Red-shouldered did the trick by swooping over their tent to catch small lizards.

On a hike out to the Gate 15 mound in Everglades National Park, you will be happy to find Snail Kites along the path.  Snail Kites are found near wetlands with Apple Snails and I really liked the Crossley ID plate that demonstrates a typical Snail Kite feeding style.  These guides aren't just pretty coffee table books, they show behavior and identification tools that you can take into the field with you.

Snail Kites are found year around but in the summer months at Everglades National Park, another kite species migrates to Florida.  No one can mistake the Swallow-tailed Kites with their deep forked-tail and bold white and black markings.  Often seen in early spring, these migrants are easy to spot on the open grasslands of the Everglades.

One of my favorites raptors of the Everglades is the Short-tailed Hawk.  This species can be seen near the forested areas of the park including the pine uplands around Long Pine Campground and Research Road.  In the Crossley plate above the white color morph is shown.  This raptor has a very restricted ABA range and many birders hope to see it while visiting the park.  Since it's usually seen on the wing, the ID plate provides a variety of flight options that may be seen in the field. 

Another range restricted raptor that can be seen in Everglades National Park is the White-tailed Kite.  By far the best place to see this species is at the end of Research Road near the Nike Missile Base.  Last summer I was even able to see a breeding pair there, perched on a snag.  The Crossley book gives us a plate with some typical behavior of hovering, perching, and gliding.

The Crossley ID Guides are meant to improve your identification skills by showing birds in different  poses, behaviors, and light conditions.  What I like about the new raptor guide is that it takes the idea of ID practice and provides mystery plates to help you hone your skills.  The plate above has a variety of raptors in different flight poses.  The species  are numbered so you can check to see if you're right.  This book is visually stunning, provides insight to bird behavior, and offers interesting identification tips.  If you're interested in birds and want to improve your identification, you shouldn't pass up the opportunity to own The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori, and Brian Sullivan.  This book can be a reference guide, a coffee table conversation starter, and a great way to study birds from home.  It's not often that we are offered an identification tool that we can use at home that inspires us to participate like The Crossley ID Guides.

I hope you've enjoyed our little walk through the Everglades with Crossley plates. You should head over to The Fat Finch which has an article on raptors in Native American mythology and references the new guide as well.  The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors blog tour will be continuing all week and through next week, check out the Princeton University Press website for more details on what's to come and where to go.  

Two chances to win a prize!

Below are more raptors found in Everglades National Park.  Can you ID them?  The first person to answer correctly will receive a prize.  The second prize goes to the person that can list all the known raptors that have been seen in Everglades National Park.  Leave your answer in the comments.  There will only be one winner for each answer and the same person cannot win both.