The Cranes Are Coming!

The Critically Endangered Whooping Crane

Will Fall Ever Arrive In Florida?

After a much needed break, I am back, refreshed and ready to begin anew~

The Calendar says that Fall has officially begun, but it will be over 90 degrees

here in Central Florida again today, so where is our Fall?

Today's posting concerns a very eagerly awaited and always hopeful Annual Event,

the Whooping Cranes are finally on their way back down to Florida.

This incredible web site is dedicated to the Annual Whooping Crane Migration:

Operation Migration

And, if you would like to follow the Crane's journey south back to Florida:

Migration Route

When You Need A Break From Your Life~

 

The Bean Blossom Covered Bridge

We have been gone for the past two weeks and have ignored our Blogs and computers pretty much completely.

This is quite a feat, since we each have two Blogs and Facebook pages that seem to occupy way too much of our time lately.

Our trip to the heartland of this country, namely my home town of Indianapolis, was supposed to be for a family reunion, but it turned out to be so much more.

Going home for me has always been a double edged sword, I love my family and my childhood home, but usually, something unexpected happens to make me wish that I had gone somewhere else.

Not this time.

This time, the reunion was basically flawless family good times and absolutely nothing negative happened to cause me to yearn for the Keys or anywhere but home.

It seems that as you get older, everything falls into place, more or less.

The really silly things that you worried about in the past, just don't seem quite as important and the terribly important things, people, are brought sharply into focus.

This trip redefined my relationships with those I grew up with and made me truly appreciate the ones who had never been in the forefront until now.

But, if you asked me for the moment in time on this trip that began this process of change, it would have been when we turned down a wrong road in the country trying so hard to find a covered bridge and found instead two perfectly beautiful deer standing on the dirt road.

They gave us a quick look, then wandered slowly away through a field of golden amber flowers, ears flicking, just nibbling and watching.

After seeing them, finding that bridge, which we did moments later, seemed not quite so important.

Then, the next day, a cousin who has been extremely ill, and had been heavy on my mind since learning of her condition at the reunion, just appeared at an ice cream shop several of us had stopped at after visiting the grave sites of some of our ancestors that day.

Yes, we were in her neighborhood, but we never, ever, expected to have her just show up there.

It was all overwhelming and very emotional.

Seeing her that day, put the whole trip into proper perspective.

No matter where you go, if you open your eyes and your heart and just appreciate life, it all comes into focus.

Life that is.

Paradise Comes With A Price

Today's Blog is about what is happening to our state right now, Hurricane Isaac.

We haven't had one this close in a bit, so everyone is nervous.

Not knowing is the worst part.

The "isolated" tornadoes thrown off of the "feeder" bands,

are what we here in the Ocala Forest would most like to forget about,

especially those who live in Lake Mack and Lady Lake,

who lost so many that terrible February night in 2007.

We have dealt with the terror of tornados coming in the dark of night

and the memories are still very strong for some of us.

So, if you are reading this from the quiet, safe shelter of your home,

please give the state of Florida and those who live here, on two legs or four,

a moment of your time today and wish us all a safe passage

through the night tonight and in the morning tomorrow.

We thank you and as Tim Tebow always says, "God Bless."

So Many Babies And Counting~

 

What a joy it is to report this kind of story for a change.

It gets very old, day after day, talking about the countless tragedies involving

Endangered Wildlife here in Florida, but this is all so good!

There are Loggerheads, Leatherbacks and Greens, all are either Threatened

or Endangered and all are producing offspring this season in the highest numbers

that have been seen in the state in many years.

So many Floridians have done so much for them for so long and this year,

finally, they can pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

Protective and Environmental groups all across the state have worked tirelessly

to make this happen and this years "bumper crop" is their reward!

These groups and random strangers have done everything from " lights out at night, "

to eliminating traps, trash and nets that can harm the Turtles.

Is this the beginning of a new upswing for a precarious group of reptiles that

has teetered on the brink of decimation for so very long?

Only time will tell, and as the experts here are saying,

" let's wait to see if they come back next year to make more babies! "

On Florida Beaches, A Bumper Crop Of Baby Turtles

What Are A Few Bombs Among Friends, Right?

     

Scrub Morning Glory photo: Scott Zona

When a team of "five environmental experts," goes onto a bombing range to determine

the status of some Threatened or Endangered species, is this dedication or ??

Recently this group went onto the Pinecastle Range here in the Ocala Forest near where

we live, to see the effects the Navy bombing has had on several threatened species.

The areas easily accessible to the group, yielded a poor sampling, but when they got into a

military Humvee and went further in, they found a better representation of these species,

which included:  gopher tortoises,  scrub jays,  sand skinks

and the scrub morning glory.

I am not sure what all of this really means to those doing the hunting,

but for those of us who live here in the normally tranquil Ocala Forest,

we can assure them that we humans are being very disturbed.

Every time they start their bombing "practices," our walls shake and our Airedale goes nuts.

We always know before our enemies do, when they are about to get bombed.

So, if we are this disturbed and are about 40-50 miles away from the Range,

I can only imagine how frightened the animals are that live at ground zero.

The Jets are supposed to be using computers, not live bombs,

but I can't imagine any computer that exists today,

that could shake our house from that far way~

Protected Species Surveyed At Pinecastle Range

It's Crunch Time In Tallahassee, Where Need Meets Greed!

 

The Green Swamp Preserve, a part of Florida Forever.
Photo credit: John Moran/John Moran Photo.com

Eric Draper, the head of Audubon Florida, along with several other environmental
groups has just launched a campaign to get a constitutional amendment put on the ballot.

Republicans have been doing a hack job on Florida Forever,

to the tune of 97.5 % and making it just about impossible to protect

our land and water, as this program was originally set up to do.

The money to pay for the program comes from tax stamps, which comes

from home sales and we all know how the housing market has been.

So, when Republicans need a little extra money for odd and ends in Tallahassee,

they "borrow" it from this Environmental program.

It will take over 600,000 signatures to get this Amendment put on the Ballot

and if approved it would go into effect in 2015.

There's not too much at stake here, just the decision as to whether or not,

we are going to safeguard any land or water at all,

to pass on to the next generation of Floridians.

Oh, so that would be the present generations legacy, right?

And, what if this Amendment fails?

What does that say about us here in the present?

Environmentalists Seek Florida Funding Amendment

The Blessings~

 

This week with no pressing, or alarming Endangered Wildlife crisis to write about,

my thoughts turned to the many blessings that we here in Florida have and I

wanted to share them with those of you not fortunate enough to live here.

Number one, coming from thirty years of living and working in Los Angeles, fresh clean air.

Next, an array of stunning wildlife, the likes of which are rarely ever seen, anywhere on Earth.

An abundance of pure, clean, clear water, on both sides of us,

the Atlantic on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico on the West.

When you think about this, we are so very lucky here, we can drive

for just a short time and be in paradise on a Coast.

For a lucky few, we are already there.

I have been coming here since the early 1970's when my parents first moved here

and as they moved around looking for, like the three little bears,

"just the right place" to spend their remaining days, I have through them,

seen nearly every nook and cranny of this gorgeous state.

I knew, even back then in the '70's, that one day, just like the little bears,

I would find my own "just the right place" here too.

Well, now it is 2012 and we all did find our special place

and for us, at least, it is here in the Ocala Forest.

Welcome to our paradise, welcome to our Florida.

Please, please, leave it as good as, or better than, you found it.

The two leggeds, four leggeds and winged ones all over this state thank you.

Please Keep Florida Wildlife Wild And Alive.

Ever Thought About Joining A Facebook Wildlife Group?

 

              

Today I would like to share something not specifically about one particular

species of Endangered Wildlife, but about groups that you might wish

to join on Facebook that are each themselves dedicated to one topic.

I have just joined all of these groups and some others as well and have found

the photography, conversations and people involved, to be remarkable.

If you have one animal or cause that you are passionate about,

I highly recommend that you look at the names of the groups below for ideas.

If what you seek is not there, Google the topic of your hearts desire and go for it.

You have nothing to lose and may be delighted at the results, just as I was.

So, go get involved~

The Roseate Spoonbill

The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow

The Wood Stork

The Everglades Snail Kite

Have You Met The Grasshopper Sparrow?

Probably not, because this tiny bird that is found

nowhere else on earth, except the Everglades,   

A Grasshopper Sparrow

is having a really hard time, just stayin' alive!

The usual factors contributing to the demise

of the Grasshopper Sparrow, are loss of habitat
and intrusion by humans, in addition to fire ants and

flooding from the water pouring into the Everglades.

This sweet song of this very tiny, most common species

of bird, is what makes it so unique in the bird world.

Its song imitates the grasshopper's sound and so bring

females to it by deception.

So, if it wasn't bad enough with all that this bird in distress has going against it,
now people are complaining that the Everglades is having its water source "wasted"
because some of it is being diverted out to sea by FWS, to keep the nests of the birds
ancestral homes from being flooded out.

The bird did not ask for any of this, but it is being blamed none the less.

Can we at least be fair here?

The amount of water being "wasted" on this critically Endangered bird,

can not begin to compare with the amount that is being "truly wasted"

by some of the greedy humans of South Florida!

Grasshopper Sparrow

Why Can't The Everglades Ever Get A Break?

Just about the time you think,

well maybe things are getting better,

some very disturbing news just arrived

The Florida Everglades

from Audubon of Florida.

In Miami today, Audubon of Florida will

take on the bullies who want to pour

the nastiest, most polluted, chemical laden

water in this state into the Everglades.

The three worst farms in the Everglades Habitat area,
want to dump their toxic waste into the pristine waters

of the Everglades and few people even knew this was
about to take place.

The phosphorus in discharged farm water, is by Florida law,

required to be reduced by 25%, but these three farms are not playing by the
rules and neither, it seems, is the South Florida Water Management District.

Like the St. John's Water group, SFWMD may have become too big

and too powerful, and in ever more increasing fashion, both are

behaving like they are not only above the law, but can make or change

the rules at will, with no repercussions from the public, or anyone else either.

While some farms are doing the right thing for all of Florida's waterways,

the ones who cheat and those people who are supposed to be watching them,

are making it nearly impossible to ever bring this Paradise known as the Everglades,

back from the brink of the disastrous onslaught of pollution from chemicals and toxins.

The Everglades really does need to get a break!

Any Questions?

A PDF is here:

Florida Audubon Water Permits

Or write to Jonathon Webber,

Conservation Campaign Manager

jwebber@audubon.org

Or call: 850 222-2473

The Wood Stork May Get Room To Stretch Its Wings~

A pond or small lake with an island in it,

A Florida Wood Stork

within the Perico Preserve will soon become

a new nesting habitat for some of Florida's

most Threatened or Endangered birds, like little

blue herons, snowy egrets and white ibis and the
most eagerly anticipated member, who may

hopefully join this list, is also one of Florida's most

Endangered birds, the Wood Stork.

The new Manatee County Rookery, which should be finished by July 2013, will have the island in the middle, to deter the rats and raccoons who would pose a significant threat in the rearing of little ones, for parent birds.

Construction on this new home for Florida's winged ones in trouble,

will begin in about two months.

Stay tuned for updates~

Manatee County's New Rookery

Friends In Need, Are Friends Indeed

 
       A Florida Natural Place

Here in Florida, we are very fortunate to have many Environmental groups who

work diligently and tirelessly to preserve and protect the beauty that is Florida.

One of these groups, the Audubon Society, has a great News Blog Page and

if you are in need of an issue, place, or animal to get involved with,

you will probably find it listed here.

Come meet Audubon of Florida and offer to lend a hand, if you can:

The Audubon of Florida News Blog

Right Whales Are About To Become Extinct For Oil Gluttony

Very soon, in the birthing/calving grounds
of the North Atlantic Right Whale, which

The Right Whale

just happens to be the most Endangered Whale on

the planet, loud explosions may drive away the last

few of the species that remain in the waters along

the Florida-Georgia Coastline.

The Right Whale had very, very poor birthing numbers this year,
due to a complete lack of food up North and now they want
to do seismic blasting in the very place where they are born.

Are you kidding me?

How much more oil do we need? This is greed, not need!

These animals are hanging onto their very existence by a thread and they want to finish them off by looking for more oil?

Why? We need less oil, not more.

We need to walk, no run, away from this archaic, non renewable energy and

demand new sources of energy, so that in the future, we can all live in a place
where you can actually breathe the clean air, not see it.

Seismic Testing

Offshore Oil Exploration Plan Draws Fire

I Do Believe

 

                   A Florida Panther

A few days ago something happened that made me believe in the Wildlife Fairy,

or perhaps an even higher being~

A Florida Federal Judge said, "I don't think so," to ORV's running amuck

in the pristine Big Cypress Preserve.

This will be a lifeline for the most critically Endangered mammal in Florida,

maybe in the entire Country, the Florida Panther.

The National Park Service lost this battle to a powerful group of Wildlife Advocates,
who were fiercely determined to win this one for both the Panther and the Preserve.

Throughout this long, drawn out ordeal, however, there was much talk about who or

what would be disturbed, saved, lost, injured or damaged, but did anyone remember

what should have been the single most important reason for of doing all of this,

for the Panther and the Preserve?

When Wildlife are disturbed, as with the Panther in Florida or the Bison in Yellowstone,

by loud, intrusive machines running helter-skelter all through their natural habitats,
they are diverted and/or driven away from their number one priority,
which is eating to stay alive.

Once they have been interrupted by these intruders, it may take hours

or even days for the animals to find their food again.

These noisy, disturbing machines don't belong in Yellowstone Park,

and they don't belong in the Big Cypress Preserve either, ever!

Wild Animals cannot just reorder lunch.

Big Cypress National Preserve Protected From Off Road Vehicle Abuse!

The Precious Gift Of Life Is Not Always An Organ

Two American women who passed on in the 1990's,

left behind a great deal of their money to make sure

that the Whooping Cranes in this Country will have

A Whooping Crane

a better life.

The generous financial gifts from Lurae Brinkerhoff of
Wyoming and Elizabeth Overton of Colorado, were used

to secure more land for the critically Endangered Whooping Crane,
whose American living spaces have been disappearing for years.

As a "Designated Organ Donor" all of my life, I feel that each of us, in whatever way we are able, has a personal responsibility or moral obligation, to protect and care for those who cannot do it for themselves.

Human and/or Animal.

So, in lieu of any great financial bequest, my donation, for as much time as I have here, will always be to speak for those with no voice.

Private Cash Secures U.S. Habitat For Endangered Whopping Cranes

The Snail Kite Returns to Lake Okeechobee

This story brings hope for the most abused

A male Snail Kite

Bird in our state, the Everglades Snail Kite. 

You notice that I said Everglades, because just

a few short years ago, the Snail Kite was driven

out of its ancestral home on Lake Okeechobee,

north up to Lake Toho, where it was just beginning

to get a break and then bam.....

Whining, complaining, boaters forced FWS to clear Lake Toho of the fast growing and now most abundant Hydrilla plant because it clogged up their boat propellers.

Unfortunately, Hydrilla is the primary food of the Snail,

which is the only food that this Endangered Bird can eat,

so, no more Snails, no more Kites.

But joy untold, it would seem that for some reason the Snail Kite has returned

to Lake Okeechobee in numbers, that make even the most doubting of all Thomas's,

that would be me, believe that there just might be hope yet for the Snail Kite.

A great story, hope the news will continue to be so positive for the Everglades Snail Kite.

On Lake Okeechobee With Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Greco

Wonderful Rain, You Bring Life Back To Us Again

    

               Photo credit: USFWS/George Gentry
We here in Central Florida have been dealing with drought conditions for

many months now, something we don't normally have to contend with,

unlike our neighbors out in the West.

It is usually very tropical around here and rains just about everyday.

In fact, where we live, is just about dead center in the middle of the state,

where the two tropical sea breezes collide each summer day,

bringing thunder storms and lots and lots of rain.

This is what is normal.

But nothing has been normal here for a while and we got behind to the point where

most of Lake County's lakes had dried up and animals and people were desperate for rain.

Just recently, we started getting back to our normal and have been blessed with downpours

that have filled up our lakes, rivers and ponds and the pay off can be seen everywhere.

Florida's vast array of Tropical Birds can once again be seen everywhere,

enjoying the plentiful return to the "wet season" as all around us has finally,

turned to a deep, bright Irish green.

We are thankful for small blessings.

It is all good~

Today Is Another Three-fer

      

Three things have happened recently that affect Endangered Wildlife.

First, the Black Bear has been taken off of Florida's Endangered Species List.

Do not even get me started on this disaster.......

I have talked to those at the very top of the food chain in Florida about this

and there is no changing their minds, period.

Black Bears Removed From Endangered Species List

And second, a lawsuit has been filed to try to prevent the numbers of deadly ship

strikes on the most Endangered Whale on our planet, the Right Whale.

Give Right Whales A Brake

And third, the state of Nebraska has very foolishly extended something that never

should have been started in the first place for this exact reason.

Hunting Sandhill Cranes is beyond a really stupid idea and here is why:

At half a mile, more or less, away, do you really think that most hunters

can tell the difference between the Sandhill Crane and the critically

Endangered Whooping Crane, before he pulls the trigger?

What were these people in Nebraska thinking or smoking?

Duh!

Kansas Extends Hours For Sandhill Crane Hunting

We Will Take It!

 

  

Kind of similar to what happened this week in the Supreme Court,

this victory was not exactly what we were expecting.

Not only was this Restore Act a win for wildlife, but at the same time,

the despised Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline rider was left off of the Bill.

The message this all sends is pretty clear, at least for the moment.

Animals are important, clean air and water are important.

And a clean environment is important.

And people everywhere are demanding that we have it.

The people have spoken loudly and clearly all this year and thanks to the

millions of them all around the world who are wired and connected,

networking with Facebook and Twitter, the signatures on petitions went

through the roof and their angry voices were heard all the way to the Senate.

Oil Companies and their greedy CEO's need to start looking for a new place to call home,

America is once again, becoming a safe haven for our wildlife and our environment.

Wildlife Victory! Congress Says BP Fines Must Help Restore Gulf

The Last of His Kind, Lonesome George!

                             Photo credit: putneymark
Like Ishi, the Last Yahi, George was also the presumed last of his kind,

a giant Pinto Island Galapagos Tortoise.

When the last of any species is gone forever, we should ask ourselves one question:

"what are we doing to cause this?"

With Ishi, it was simple, Manifest Destiny.

European invaders marched across this country and decimated every Indigenous person

that they encountered along the way, in the pursuit of what they claimed

was their absolute divine right or Manifest Destiny.

The scenario is pretty much the same right now, for many species of animals on this planet,

as their Habitats are being wiped out for hotels, restaurants and shopping centers, while

their water and food sources are being poisoned with chemicals and pesticides.

Species of every type, including we humans, are in danger of extinction due to

our own greed and stupidity.

Living beings all over the world are dying at an alarming rate and the future is

bleak according to the scientists who are studying this rapid demise.

We simply cannot continue on this destructive, selfish path and

not expect a terrible price to be paid.

Unfortunately for the animal kingdom, they are the first price to be paid.

Will we be next?

Lonesome George

Galapagos Giant Tortoise

George's Photo Gallery