|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
Calendar Photo and Article For September 2008 |
| When a flock of American White Ibis landed in our backyard, I grabbed my camera and took several shots. The best of these pictured the ibis at their "goonie-bird" full potential. While the 'Ibis Three' sing about their dinner plans, the 'Backfeather Dancers' form a strutting line and Conga across the lawn. |
 |
|
While the ibis is still protected, the population is on the increase and they are returning to the coastal wetlands from which they were once driven. When I was a kid, the sight of a flock landing in the yard was an unusual and exciting event. Today this happens more frequently and the adults are often accompanied by immature birds like the brown mottled ones pictured below.  I first learned the plight of the ibis in 1967 when I was 11 and joined the Junior Science Museum program started by my home town, Bradenton, FL, upon completion of the new facilities for the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium.  Our natural history instructor, Naturalist, Mr. Hitch, was in his 70s and was wonderfully knowledgeable and patient but simply unable to deal with my hyperactive antics. Because of this, he was able to convince local educator, Mary Blackburn, to volunteer her time and she helped me listen to and appreciate Mr. Hitch's stories and expertise. I stayed with the program for a few years, but she got involved for decades and enriched the lives of hundreds of kids. With a bus on loan from the school system, every other week we took trips to locations where we learned about climax forests, native plants and animals, ecology, and conservation. Once a year we took a trip over the original rickety Sunshine Skyway bridge.  The entire top of the bridge was made of a metal grid you could see through and the bus tires would whine pitifully as we crossed. Every year Mr. Hitch would point to the mangrove islands you can see in the distance and tell the story of the White Ibis and the Snowy Egret which he called, "the lady in golden slippers" because of their bright yellow feet. Both of these birds are known for their fluffy pure white plumage as this lucky shot from my backyard ibis flock shows.  In the late 1800s, plumes on ladies hats were all the rage in fashion and the mating plumage of the White Ibis and Snowy Egret were highly prized. The ibis had long been a staple at settler's tables earning the name 'Florida Chicken' among others. To collect feathers, greedy hunters would go in with boats and literally kill off an entire rookery, taking the plumage of the adults and leaving the babies to die. Seeing these beautiful birds driven almost to extinction prompted Florida to enact one of our nation's first conservation laws in 1901 protecting many species. This enabled the ibis to make the startling comeback I've already described. Today the greatest threat is the loss of habitat caused by overdevelopment, but steps are being taken to protect the remaining coastal wetlands and help wildlife to thrive.  My photography session with the ibis ended when the flock moved to the other end of the yard and eventually took off in search of greener pastures. I'm thankful our backyard, less than 100 feet from the Manatee River, is part of the wetland habitat and that we get so many welcome visitors. |
|
Go to Mike's Past Calendar and Article Index Return to Codelphia Home Page
Copyright © 2005-2012 Codelphia. - All Rights Reserved. -
Terms of Service
|