PANAMA!

Do you remember when I won that trip from Canopy Tower?  Well the time has come for me collect!   I'll be spending the next week in the country of Panama staying at the famous Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge.  Let me tell you, I am beyond excited for all the new birds, new experiences, and new people that I will meet.  My days will be full of motmots, toucans, antbirds, and manakins.  To top it all off, I will be accompanied by EmilyLark on my vacation and you better believe we will take advantage of the adventure.  I'll be back soon with tales of the Neotropics!

Thank you Raul and the Canopy Tower crew for allowing me to visit.  I cannot to wait to meet all of you!

Green Cay's Photo Contest Winners

Best of Show by Linda Fell "God's Creation"

This year we had a small turn-out for our photography contest, down by 40% or so.  I'm not sure why that is but I still thought the entries that were submitted captured some great parts of our lovely park.  The photo above by Linda took the Grand Prize.  I really liked that a non-traditional photo won this year, not a bird.  To see all the winners visit our webpage and don't forget to enter next year.

Winner of the Swarovski Optik Leisure Product Tester Competition

This week Swarovski announced that I had won the product test competition and I get to keep the new CL Companion binoculars!! Thanks to everyone that went on Facebook and voted and for those that visit this blog. I couldn't have won these babies without you.

I am very fortunate to have a great job and a happy birding hobby. The CLs will give me countless new opportunities while birding. I love how they are small but fit perfectly in my hand. They travel lightly and withstand the hardships of rain and humidity. The price for Swarovskis are high but the quality will blow you away. Thank you Swarovski for the new bins. I hope to have a lifetime of adventures with them in hand.

Canopy Tower Winner!

The most amazing thing has happened, I won the Canopy Tower Contest! Well, technically I won second place but the prize is still rich with offerings. Raul Arias de Para emailed me with the details of the trip:

Second

*The prize is for an eight (8) night stay in the Canopy Tower Family, 4 nights in the Canopy Tower and 4 nights in the Canopy Lodge.

*The prize does not cover flights and travel prior to arriving at Canopy Tower.

*The prize includes all accommodation and subsistence while staying at the Canopy Tower Family locations and also includes transfers to and from the airport.

*The prize is for 1 person.

*The prize must be booked for a stay between the dates of May 15th 2011 and December 15th 2011 or between the same dates in 2012.

Raul also decided to raise the stakes by suggesting we visit in 2012 with this lucrative offer "I am presently in the initial stages of building another lodge in the Darien Lowlands. It should be ready next year. I propose to all of you to come next year and I’ll add 4 nights in the new lodge. So the prize will be 12 nights, 4 in the Canopy Tower, 4 in the Canopy Lodge and 4 in the Canopy Darien." This is an even better offer and one I am not going to pass down!

The shock of winning is still lingering and I am sure it will continue until I buy my tickets to Panama. If you haven't heard of the Canopy Tower in Panama I suggest you check it out. It's always been a dream that I visit and I am grateful for Raul for making my dream come true.

Does anyone have suggestions on what month I should visit? Any tips or must-do activities? I look forward to your responses.

The Jewel Hunter

The nice folks at 10,000 Birds are pumping out many perks for their Conservation Club members such as periodic giveaways. I was lucky enough to win a drawing last month and now own an autographed copy of The Jewel Hunter by Chris Gooddie. I look forward to reading this great book but first I must finish Mariposa Road.

Kaufman Field Guides

If you like free giveaways, helping conservation issues, and becoming a part of a larger birding community you should consider joining the 10,000 Birds Conservation Club. I was lucky enough to be one of their winners in a Kaufman Field Guide Seires giveaway many months ago. I wanted to finally get around to thanking 10,000 Birds and also Kenn Kaufman for such a treat. The books are amazing. I've been putting the Mammals guide to good use. On my recent trip out West I was able to identify Antelope Ground Squirrels from chimpmunks. This is something I would've had a harder time doing without these great guides. Now I even have a mammal list going thanks to Kenn.

The Butterfly guide has been a prize possession of mine since it came out so I was able to give my new copy away to a budding naturalist that lives in Oregon. I hope she's putting it to great use out there. And I opted to keep both the Bird guide and the Spanish edition bird guide. I'm in the process of producing a Spanish bird checklist for our nature center. With a large migrant community close by I want to reach out to this section of the community that is easily overlooked. I have the Kaufmans and 10,000 Birds to thank for all of these opportunities. Also I would be remise if also didn't thank Wren from Wrenaissance Reflections for giving me an opportunity to join such a great organization. Thanks everyone, Green Cay Nature Center and myself have much to gain from your generosity.

4th Grade Science Fair

In contrast to the County Envirothon I judged a 4th grade science fair the day before. Both competitions were local students participating in science projects but the 4th graders provided me much more amusement. Two of my favorite hypothesises are below. I appreciate that Mom and Dad didn't help but I thought that they are classic kid ideas, the tiny blocks one especially.

Some of the projects made little sense, like this turtle experiment but I thought it was fun nontheless.

From the name of the projects you can tell how the media affects our youth. In Fruits Gone Wild the student studied decomposition of various fruits in different climates. I must admit, it's a catchy name but doesn't really have anything to do with the science.

Just like the Envirothon I had a teammate that helped me. This time I had Mo from Okeeheelee Nature Center and we decided that the War on Germs project was by far our favorite. All in all, it was a really fun afternoon and the teachers at Manatee Elementary are so kind. They even fed us pizza and snacks. So two wonderful days with the local students in Palm Beach County. Who knows, maybe some of the kids at this science fair will go on to the the Envirothon in years to come. Regardless, I'm proud to be a part of the process no matter how small.

10,000 Birds Conservation Club

Wren at Wrenaissance Reflections has just announced that I am one of the lucky winners of her 10,000 Birds Conservation Club giveaway. If you're not familair with this club then you need to head over to 10,000 birds and join. It's a great way to be involved in bird conservation. I hope that Corey, Mike, and Charlie have much success in raising funds for conservation projects and threatened species. And if you're looking for an extra incentive to join then check out their current giveaways that members of the club can enter to win.

Thanks again Wren for choosing me to be a winner.

Education Owl Update

Our new Eastern Screech-Owl has a name! Grace from New York and Kaylah from Parkland, FL both submitted the winning entry. After the staff members of Green Cay whittled the list of 100 names down to 10 our volunteer staff voted on their favorite. Now we are proud to say that OLIVER has a new home at Green Cay. Oliver suffered injuries due to a car collision and lost his left wing this year. We are now the proud sponsers of this education animal. May Oliver engage many children and adults alike here at the nature center!

Name Our Owl Contest

A couple of weeks ago Green Cay got their first education bird, a male Eastern Screech-owl. We are now having a naming contest! For those of you that frequent the park don't forget to stop by and drop a name in the box on the front desk and for those on the interwebs you can post your name in the comments and I will enter them. If you win we will mail you out an adoption packet for the owl.

To give you a little history on our new fellow, we know he is full grown and probably a few years old at most. He was rescued and taken to Busch Wildlife in Jupiter, FL after sustaining a car accident. His left wing has been amputated and he seems to be quite healthy. So far he's done very well eating the two medium mice that we feed him everyday except Sunday which is his fasting day. Now he will live the rest of his life at Green Cay where he will entertain thousands of school children and visitors each year. Please help us by naming our new animal ambassador!

How to Get Kids Excited About Birds - 10,000 Birds Style

On Monday the 10,000 Birds crew wrote an excellent article about getting kids excited about birds. There are some great tips in there and my submission is included. I didn't want to be a part of the contest but I did want to give my favorite advice about turning kids on to birdwatching. It's great to see that other adults out there are also making a difference and spending time with their kids or local school children. I was lucky growing up to have an excellent nature-minded mother who took my brother and me out on walks to explore. She bought us microscopes, telescopes, and generally encouraged us to be little scientists, even if this meant turning our bathroom into a chemistry lab. When my parents moved after we graduated from high school they found all sorts of bottles and secret potions in the bottom drawers of the bathroom. I guess it's not surprising that I became an environmental educator and my brother is a pharmacist. We both love the outdoors and though our political leanings are very different, we find common ground in nature.

I had the privilege of seeing a copy of The Young Birders Guide by Bill Thompson while attending the birding festival in Titusville, FL. It looks like an excellent guide for young kids and I am anxious to pick up a copy to use with my Jr. Naturalist series. Thanks to people like Bill and the 10,000 Birds contest contributors I feel confident that our computer driven youth will still be in touch with the outside world. And I definitely hope there are parents as great as mine out there showing their kids that it's cool to investigate the natural world whether that is looking at birds or dissecting dead logs or just taking a walk down through the woods.

Mystery Wednesday

Can you guess what mammal bones are pictured? These were found at Green Cay this week near the parking lot drainage ditch. Also two feet away was this scat.

10,000 Birds Giveaway Update

Mike from 10,000 Birds informed me that my entry in the Life of Skies Giveaway was a winner. Here were the requirements:

Receive by Giving
The Life of the Skies is like a gateway drug, potent enough to tempt a person from just reading about birdwatching to actually indulging in it. We want you to be the dealer. Identify someone you know, whose address you have and are at liberty to share, who isn’t a full-blown birdwatcher yet but could be with the right impetus. Present the best case in one paragraph of 100 words or fewer for why your nominee would be the best recipient of The Life of the Skies and not only will he or she get one, but you will too. The deadline for this contest is Saturday, April 12.

This is such an exciting win because I really do want to convert my friends over to birding. My winning entry is below:

Some people resist for resistance sake and Emily is one of those. In our circle of friends she is the only non-birdwatcher. She will go hiking with us and even occasionally look at the birds but she insists she is NOT a birdwatcher. My hope is that this book will change her mind and bring her over to our side, the land of birders and birdwatchers. I know that she will be happier with us but I need your help. Please help Emily become a birdwatcher. Please be her beacon of light in the darkness.

I know it's a bit dramatic but I do think that birding not only helps people appreciate the importance of the natural world but it's a great way to form partnerships, learn about animal behaviors, and become attuned to the land (and skies) around us. Thanks Mike for hosting another great contest!

10,000 Birds Giveaway

Mike over at 10,000 Birds is once again hosting a marvelous contest. This time you have the chance to win a copy of The Life of Skies by Jonathon Rosen. A couple of the deadlines have passed but there's still a chance for those that are interested.

Mystery Monday extension

Last week I posted a Mystery Monday quiz. I have heard that some more hints are needed. Here are two more photos from the same bird. If you can guess it correctly I'll still send you the prizes! Remember you can guess as many times as you would like. The answer will be posted by Monday.

Final hint: This bird frequents Green Cay wetlands only during the winter months.

Mystery Monday

This week at The Flying Mullet I will be hosting my first ever Mystery Monday. Below you will see a photo of a bird feather. If you can identify the bird species by it's feather I will award you with a handsome reward in the mail. You have until March 31st to submit your answers in the comments section. You can submit as many guesses as you would like. The first person to respond correctly will be sent a fun package. Good luck and thanks for playing!

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts this weekend. There are events you can join in every state. My dear friend Hewy is leading the Kayak Bird Count at Crooked River State Park in Georgia. You can call to sign up if interested. I'm not sure where I'll be counting since I won't be at home this weekend. I am going to Jacksonville to run the Breast Cancer Marathon and raise some money for a good cause.

Mike at 10000birds.com hosted a GBBC contest recently. I entered by submitting my favorite backyard bird, the Palm Warbler and won the drawing. So thanks Mike for a fun contest and I look forward to receiving the book. I plan to give it away to one of my volunteers at the next Migration Count we have here at Green Cay.