Beauty & the Beast

Sunday afternoon we took a spin down to Homestead for the International Orchid Festival. The orchids were absolutely spectacular as was Fruit & Spice Park where it was held. But, it was the ride back that was r-e-a-l-l-y AMAZING! We took Krome Avenue north to Broward and stumbled on an entrance to the Everglades. The vista was beautiful beyond words and I wish my camera could have captured the majesty of it all!


A boot and a Budweiser in the Everglades ... and hundreds of spent gun shells on the ground left me feeling violated. Targets had been set up 100 yards away and were riddled with bullet holes while the ground was littered with broken beer bottles. A huge mound of burnt trash indicated a fire. A very recent fire. There was still the smell of smoke. And, what really frightened me is how easily this area would have burned if a spark had been blown out on the parched, dry earth of my precious Everglades. It's been so dry for so long ...

Everglades Land Grab

They say it's going to be a 10-story building. Right next to the Everglades. And, they act as if they're surprised that the "environmentalists" are outraged. Well, let's look at the map ...

It's just a little triangle of land. The Sun-Sentinel says it's 22 acres. It's not much, I suppose, but it's right there next to the Everglades. Next to a major canal. Next to a water conservation area. Next to an area that already has more traffic than they know what to do with. And, they want to build what?

I don't normally weigh in on these issues. I've known since I arrived here in 1974 that Florida belongs to the developers. But, this time is different. You see, I received an e-mail from Grant Campbell, an advocate for Audubon, early last week, right before Earth Day. When I read about the "re-zoning issue" related to this project coming before the Sunrise Commission, I thought other people in my inner circle would want to know about it. So, as I've done many times before, I forwarded it (blind copied, of course) to the commissioners I work for along with my boss and fellow workers and close friends and associates who care about these things. And, I used my "business" e-mail address, as I usually do. And, that, I thought, was the end of it.

A week later, on the day before the Sunrise hearing, I got a telephone call at my office from the developer's attorney, Dennis Mele. He was irate that I had sent this e-mail "around!" I told him I had shared it with my inner circle, including my employers. He said I had given Campbell's e-mail "credibility."

Whoa! Mule!

He said there weren't going to be any warehouses. He said this project had been "approved for 20 years." To which I responded, "Just because it's been approved for 20 years doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do." And, he responded with an abrupt, "You need to do something!"

What the heck did he think I could do? I am nobody! I'm just the lowly "outreach" person. The one who visits schools and teaches little kids about the Everglades and how to keep our waterways clean. Anyway! I simply said, "I appreciate the call. I have to go now. Good-bye."

The next morning (Tuesday) was pretty dicey. My boss got phone calls from the commissioners in protest to my forwarding the message. (Now, remember, I had forwarded it to all six of them, too, as I've done with many other issues of note related to water management. But I suspect they didn't read it.) And, my boss requested a copy of my original e-mail message plus any responses I had received. Three responses, all from teachers. Oh! And, the December 2008 article in New Times titled "Everglades Land Grab." I had the information ready for him when he got to the office because I knew he'd be wanting it. And, then ... I waited.

The long and short of it is, my boss disagrees with the project, but realizes as I do that there's nothing we can do. He agreed that it had gotten people talking, which was a good thing. What wasn't good was that I'd sent it from my office e-mail address. Hence, the "credibility" that Mr. Mele had alluded to. And, therein lies the rub.

My name was on the message, NOT the commissioners. I could easily find another job doing something else, but I believe in what I do as an environmental educator! I don't like the idea of a 10-story anything being built right next to a water conservation area! I am genuinely concerned that it will open the door to further development in the Everglades! But, I am supposed to separate what I do professionally from who I am as a "private citizen." And, this is a concept I do not understand!

I'm writing this as a private citizen concerned about Florida's Everglades. I work for six elected officials who make decisions and set policy related to water management within our district boundaries. Those boundaries do NOT include the parcel in Sunrise. But, the Everglades belongs to all of us and as a teacher, I speak for the students and teachers I work with who care very much about this wonderful, magical, one-of-a-kind ecosystem!

As the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland says: "Off with their heads!"

I am sad to report that one of the burrowing owl babies died this week.

First reports were it had been run over by a car. But, upon investigation, I learned he had been trying to fly all day the day before and they believe this activity in some way contributed to his/her death.

Nature is not kind. Nor is it ever easy. When they say, "survival of the fittest," they are not kidding. The strongest, the biggest, the smartest ... they are the ones who carry their genetic material into the future and guarantee the continuation of a species.

It still makes me sad.

Burrowing Owls
stand guard at
Pioneer Middle School

This gallant pair of burrowing owls stand watch over their young while traffic flows along 90th Avenue in Cooper City. This burrow is located in front of Pioneer Middle School and the owls seem oblivious to the students or the cars.

In this photo, you can see the first baby emerging
from the burrow. It was about 11 AM.

Here you can see two of the babies have emerged
from the burrow and the top of a third one's head
is visible. One parent is on the right.

Around 1:30, I checked in on them and only two babies
were outside the burrow, fussing in the direction
of the only visible parent.

Finally someone showed up with food and this
agressive little one insisted he/she could
do it alone. Tear up the lizard, that is ...

Bird Watching

The ducks and the finch, top and bottom, are new residents of the canal next to my office. The ibis flock was just passing through. On any given day I will see makes and models of birds that are so very different from one another. The diversity of the wildlife here in the Everglades is so amazing to me. And, this is just watching from my office. Imagine if we took an airboat out into the sawgrass plains! What might we see there!

Christmas Bird Count Documents 112 Species at Everglades Treatment Wetland

Above: Roseate Spoonbills.
Below: Everglades Snail Kite
(one of only 650 remaining birds)

Audubon/SFWMD Birding Tours
Take Flight in 2009,
Can Generate Benefits
to Local Economies

An Everglades restoration project just south of Lake Okeechobee lived up to its reputation as a national bird-watching location as volunteers with the Hendry-Glades Audubon Society partnered with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to document 112 species and more than 92,600 birds during the 109th national Christmas Bird Count this January. Known as “citizen science,” bird counts are vital to studies of the long-term health and status of bird populations.

More than 50 participants made the trip to Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) 5 in Hendry County for the day of bird watching. Of the diverse array of bird species sighted at the constructed wetland, American coots were by far the most abundant with 37,618 counted. Birders also took note of 31 snail kites, which are endemic to the Everglades area, and spotted some rarer species such as the short-tailed hawk and Cassin’s kingbird, a species more common in states west of Texas.

“You might spot a sandhill crane in your backyard, but it is a truly special experience to see hundreds of them together with so many other species of all sizes and colors in one beautiful place,” said SFWMD Executive Director Carol Ann Wehle. “Along with their recreational value, these treatment wetlands are wildlife havens that remind us of the environmental and economic significance of Everglades restoration.” The bird count at STA 5 served as a prelude to another partnership year of Audubon/SFWMD birding tours that showcase wildlife and public access on lands managed in perpetuity by the District for Everglades restoration. The 6,000-acre constructed wetland, just south of Clewiston, is today one of 489 sites on The Great Florida Birding Trail. Sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the sites are selected for their prolific bird watching or bird education opportunities.

Birding, a national pastime, is big business, with 48 million people observing birds both around the home and through vacation travel. A 2001 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that nationwide birding generated $32 billion in retail sales and created 863,406 jobs.
Non-consumptive bird use (non-hunting activities) supported more than 19,000 jobs in Florida in 2006, and wildlife viewing activities generated more than $3 billion statewide that year, according to a state report. Second in the nation only to California, birding generates an estimated $477 million in retail sales in Florida every year.

Fast becoming renowned as havens for birds and wildlife, Stormwater Treatment Areas are the water-cleaning workhorses of Everglades restoration, cleansing phosphorus from the water flowing into the remnant Everglades. Over the last 15 years, the District has constructed more that 45,000 acres of treatment wetlands to improve the quality of water entering the famed River of Grass.

For more information about recreation on public lands managed by the District, visit the SFWMD recreation guide. For more information on Florida bird watching, visit The Great Florida Birding Trail.

Vultures clean up after the freeze ...

The first picture is a vulture and his mid-day snack. I couldn't quite make out what he/she had to munch on, then when I tried to get in a little closer, he/she hopped up on the fence post and stayed there longer than I wanted to hang around. It's just too darned cold today! 43 degrees Farenheit at 11:35 AM today! Now, you're probably thinking that 43 degrees isn't much when the northern part of the state is in the teens, but this is south Florida! Our "normal" winter weather averages in the 70s in the day time and in the 60s at night. Last night's low temps along the beach were in the 30s for cryin' out loud! West of I-95 there was a freeze warning for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees.

The problem with this kind of weather is that most of us don't have enough clothes to endure a long cold spell. Maybe two or three days ... that's all I have clothes for! Tomorrow is supposed to climb into the 70s with one more cold night tonight, but only in the 40s this time! Only in the 40s!!! Hmph!

As for the vulture, I suspect he had a young iguana. The iguanas don't do well in prolonged cold like we've had this week. They become very sluggish, as if someone drugged them. This makes them vulnerable to predators, including humans.

C'mon sunshine!

Broward County Audubon Society

I haven't been here in a while. Have you missed me?

I joined the board of directors of the Broward County Audubon Society, and getting to know these people has been real darned interesting. They are currently wrestling with their mission. One of my fellow board members wrote this and I decided this would be a really good place to share someone else's words. Especially, these words ...

Birds and Audubon

Bird watching is an enjoyable, economical hobby that is swiftly growing, and the Broward County Audubon Society is happy to welcome birders to our events. The focus of the Broward County Audubon Society is and always has been…..birds. In today's rapidly changing world, our focus is not changing, but it is broadening.

The Broward County Audubon Society has embraced five areas of advocacy:

• Land Conservation


• Water Resource Protection


• Growth Management and Transportation
  
• Wildlife Policy
  
• Global Warming
  

The common thread that ties these areas together is ….. birds. Global warming and the resulting climate change will, over time, affect every single living thing on the planet, but the birds of the world will be among the first to be affected.

Much has been said about the fate of the polar bears and their shrinking habitat. The Northern Pika has been pushed to the upper limits of its' mountain habitat. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the fate of our birds.

Wildlife habitat worldwide has been shrinking at an alarming rate through deforestation, building and development; clean farming, where the land is worked right to the fence lines, resulting in a loss of bird habitat, as well as a loss of floral species through changing climate.

Population growth and the growing need for transportation facilities to support the growth are responsible for habitat loss around the world. The need for food for the growing population leads to more deforestation and wetland loss. Today's trend towards aqua-culture is the number one cause for the present rate of decline in mangroves.

Wildlife policies throughout the world are changing as governments try to seek a compromise between the needs of wildlife and the needs of our growing population. In the US, there is a current movement to open previously protected areas to hunting, vehicular traffic, oil exploration and drilling, strip mining and the new craze, mountain top removal, where the tops of mountains are literally blown off to get to the coal beneath them. This blatant destruction does not stop with the aesthetic change; the spoilage fills adjacent valleys polluting or completely eliminating streams, destroying wildlife habitat, and leaving toxic wastes behind to affect all life.

Other sources of pollution have had a drastic effect on our waterways including air pollution that leads to acid rain, runoff from fertilizers, pesticides and polluted groundwater, much of which is finding its way into our aquifers. This not only affects our wildlife that utilizes the waterways, it also affects the human population.

These conditions are all brought about by man. All can be controlled, and all affect …..birds. Birds are an "indicator species," meaning that they will be among the first of species to be affected by global changes. Before the advent of the miner's safety lamp, canaries were used in coal mines to indicate the supply of oxygen. Canaries need a higher concentration of oxygen to survive than man does. When a canary died, it was time for people to leave the mine. Unless we make some drastic lifestyle changes soon, canaries will be dying around the world.

In the Broward County Audubon Society's advocacy programs, we are striving to bring about positive changes that will affect our global outlook and we, as birders, can present a united front and a voice that will be heard. Please join us in our quest to regain the diminishing habitat that our birds so desperately need.

Grant Campbell, Broward County Audubon Society

Say, "Goodbye..."

It's hard to believe, but they're gone. I watched them on Tuesday. Mama and Papa Birds were showing the four youngsters how to hunt. They would fly from the fence next to our building to the bald cypress next to the canal and back to the fence again, somehow beckoning to the babies to follow. Finally, two followed. Then, the next time, three followed. By late in the day Tuesday, all four were following their parents to the cypress tree, then across the canal to the cow pasture.

I knew it wouldn't be long before they would strike out on their own, but to my surprise (and great disappointment) they were gone the next day. I like to think they've flown west into the Everglades, foraging for lizards and insects of all kinds, feeding until they can't eat anymore, then roosting in a tree in one of the hardwood hammocks, napping in the late afternoon's setting sun.

I'll be watching next February when it's time for them to return. I sure hope they do.

We've got baby birds!

One baby bird is perched not far from the nest, above,
and below are his/her three brothers and sisters!
Watching the threesome reminded me of Larry, Moe & Curly!

If you look closely, you can see 3 babies perched on a branch
and a fourth baby bird is on a branch upper left. Just to the right,
behind the "3 stooges" is the nest. They are fledglings, not yet
ready to fly from the tree. I think they're waiting for mom and
dad to bring food. They're quite vocal, fussing at each other
while waiting. And, when the parents show up, you can
really hear them carrying on! They are just too cute!