Unknown Future: Troubles on horizon for endangered Everglades Snail Kite
This is the second in my series on how Everglades Restoration would change the wildlife and landscape of South Florida’s River of Grass: The Everglades Snail Kite population has been declining steadily since 2001, and one scientific model projection puts the species on a track towards near extinction in 2030 if conditions don’t change. That means fewer than 50 Snail Kites by as early as 2030. “The bottom line is the population is not doing well. That is not an overstatement, it is an understatement,” said UF Research Ecologist Dr. Wiley Kitchens. 
Rescued Florida panther, now 12 months old, will graduate from conservation center to the wild
The rescued Florida Panther Kitten I wrote about last month is set to be released into the wild soon. “He’s grown up,” Steve Steve Shurter, Director of White Oak Conservation Center, said Monday.
Up in the tall slash pines
I stopped to take a water break and admire the robust, tall slash pines, some taller than 100 feet. South Florida slash pines are not normally this thick in scrub habitat. The land that is now Seacrest Scrub Natural Area was cleared in the 1920s for the growing of pineapples, and after the land was no longer farmed, the slash pines started to take over the thinner and shorter sand pines’ territory. As I took in the large pines, I looked up and saw an Osprey nearly directly above where I stood.
Photo Essay: Blue Jay and Cardinal chow down
Here is one of two Blue Jays that has been chowing down at the birdfeeder in the morning, often when I am outside writing.
Trouble on Lake Okeechobee for Snail Kites
For those who have been following the recent story about the Everglades Snail Kites and how they are being impacted by water pumping from Lake Okeechobee, the National Audubon Society has posted a full report and started an online petition against the pumping.
Hike at Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area
We wanted to try somewhere new, a hike that we didn’t have to drive to far to get to. So we headed out to Hypolouxo Scrub Natural Area. It turned out to be a nice late-afternoon hike through the flatwoods.
