How I Got Into Birding

How I Got Into Birding

I wasn't always someone who would go out of their way to visit natural areas, state parks, or wildlife refuges. Honestly, I wasn't always interested in ecology, environmental science, and biology. In fact, my best subjects back in high school were English and Chemistry. It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I became interested in these natural sciences, and the reason for that was my introduction into birding.

My two best friends had visited Green Cay Wetlands, which was an anthropogenic wetland - AKA -man-made wetland restored from previous farmland. That's how they got into birding; they would try to identify all the species of birds they would see along the boardwalk. One day, they asked if I wanted to go to Marco Island with them for a day trip on the weekend. I said yes, not knowing that birding was going to be on the to do list. When we arrived at Marco Island, they brought out their binoculars and started identifying all of the shorebirds on the beach (one I specifically remember was a Snowy Plover). They were so excited to see the Snowy Plover, and I was still apathetic to the whole thing. They asked if I found any interest in what they were doing, and I told them I was still unconvinced. I just didn't see the big deal about seeing a bird!

In order to win me over, they brought me to Green Cay Wetlands. They started teaching me how to identify birds starting with Herons and Egrets, which were the most prevalent group of birds at the site. I kinda got the hang of it, with mistakes of calling a birds "Great Heron" or "Blue Egret." The one bird I could identify without question was the Roseate Spoonbill. When I was little, my dad would read me these animal books, and one of the animals I remember was the Roseate Spoonbill because it was pink and the bill was the shape of a spoon. My friends and I would visit Green Cay on the weekends pretty regularly, and I found it to be a fun way to spend time with my friends.

What solidified me as a "bird nerd" was when my friends and I took another trip back to Marco Island. On the car ride there, I would read my Smithsonian Bird Guide of North America to study up on the birds we would see at the time. While we were birding the mudflats, I remember seeing a photographer taking pictures of Roseate Spoonbills foraging. The photographer was waste deep in the water with a huge lens on his camera, which was attached to a tripod. That image will always be in my head whenever I think about my first experiences birding because I found it so interesting that someone would think to walk out in the middle of the water  to take photos of birds. As we continued along through the mudflats, we all agreed that we would want to see a cool shorebird, like a Greater Yellowlegs. All of a sudden, we all hear "tututu" flying in right in front of us. Immediately we all see the bright yellow legs on the medium sized shorebird. It was a Greater Yellowlegs! We had confirmed it due to its call and not just by its yellow legs (which is also seen on Lesser Yellowlegs). 

That trip and that moment sharing an experience of a "lifer" with friends is what cemented me in the birding life. I started becoming more interested in environmental sciences, biology, and ecology due me spending most of my free time outdoors watching birds. I encourage anyone who hasn't tried birding to go to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, or their local natural area, with friends and try to identify some birds. Birding is a healthy and productive hobby that everyone can enjoy!

-Brian, Research Intern

The Wolf Reflects in Ripples of the Swamp

I was a 90/10 Resource/Research Conservation Intern here at Corkscrew. My 10% research included trail cam processing and the occasional species survey, otherwise I was always on Resource in the battlefield against invasive species. I learned more species identification such as invasive species and bird species. I learned hands on operational and maintenance skills with chainsaws and 4wd vehicles like our swamp buggies and ATVs. I wrote an operational procedures manual outlining the maintenance and usage of these as well as other tools and equipment. I was also part of two prescribed fires including mop up where I learned about the amount of foresight that has to go into the fire plan and the suppression techniques. 

As my internship comes to a close, I reflect on my time here at corkscrew. It isn’t like me to sugar coat things because I am a very direct person who prefers the straight truth. That being said, this internship was a very tough experience. There were a lot of negative times that I had.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing however, I really grew because of it. 

Resource management is hard work especially in Florida where temperatures feel as hot as 120 degrees in the field. You screw up more often, you dehydrate fast, and you get annoyed with the people you work with even quicker. Heat will do this but you always had to remember that you are still working in a professional setting. I had a hard time getting a firm handle on this concept until about the fifth month of my sixth month internship where I managed to change my mindset and just appreciate everything around me.

The biggest lesson I learned from interning here at corkscrew was professionalism and how to adapt by merely changing my state of mind. I learned how to better work with people and how my wording when I speak can be misconstrued very easily and offend people who are not familiar with me. This is common sense written down but I did not fully gage the extent of it and have experienced blow backs because of it during my internship (I am thankful I learned this during an internship and not a career job). I have learned that complaining with a fellow coworker only puts your mind in a negative state and that it is a poor reflection on you to continue doing it. 

 This is what I obtained from my internship here, personal growth.

During my rebirth I have realized that I want to go back to school to pursue a degree in Sustainability business geared towards Water quality and Ecohydrology. I am passionate about ecology and have always caught myself transfixed with hydrology (water movement and quality). 

From growing up in a swamp, enjoying the currents of the ocean in my kayak, falling in love with Wilson’s Creek at Pisgah National Forest, being enamored with Rainbow Falls at the Great Smoky Mountains, to once again returning to the Florida wetlands- I am excited to move on with what I learned and to open more doors on my way wherever I go.

Panther Island Field Day

Panther Island Field Day

This past week on Panther Island (PI), I went out with Lee Martin, our Research Technician, to conduct the monthly wading bird survey. We didn't see many birds, but what we did find was a ton more invasive apple snail egg clusters than we had seen the month before. At first, it was only a few that we saw attached to some Pickerel Weed and alligator flag, but after going down one of the trails, we saw dozens attached to other aquatic plant bunches all the way down. We had seen one Snail Kite along the way, so we will have to wait and see how this season's snail populations affect the Snail Kite population.

We had also found tons of Florida Panther tracks along the way, some even included kittens as well! Lee made plasters of the tracks as a souvenir. Other tracks included Bobcats, Coyotes, and White-tailed Deer. We also we driving our ATVs down one trail to find that the trail had been dug up and ruined by wild hogs. Maybe the presence of these hogs on PI will assist the growth of the panther population as well. 

Overall, I thought it was crazy to see how much PI's water level had changed from the last time I was there in June. I predict that we will definitely be seeing more Snail Kites out there due to the population growth of the apple snails, whether invasive or native.

Touring with the Naples Botanical Garden Interns

The week of July 1, the Corkscrew Interns have had the pleasure meeting the wonderful and very bright interns at Naples Botanical Gardens. On July 2 Brian, Alex, and I lead a tour around Corkscrew showing the backcountry and the boardwalk. We were able to make connections with the interns, and we learned a lot about them as individuals. It was a very fun experience and we hope they had just as good of a time taking the tour as we had at giving it. The following day we headed out to the Naples Botanical Gardens to receive a tour from four of the seven spectacular interns we had the pleasure of meeting.

On our tour with them, I was fascinated by their internship programs! Each intern at the Botanical Gardens comes up with their own research project, even the land management interns. Some of the projects were creating a type of basket-like catcher to obtain seeds from the Florida Scrub Roseling (Callisia ornate) that drops its seeds as soon as it opens. The purpose of this is to catch the seeds that would disappear into the scrub forest ground otherwise in order to propagate them.

There was also a dual project involving ecohydrology principles. This tested if quantity of fish in a lake had a direct effect on the water quality of that lake. One other project involved growing different genetic propagules of Persea palustris that tends to  develop a fungal disease called Laurel Wilt disease due to an invasive burrowing beetle. These propagules are grown in a controlled environment so that they do not get afflicted.

We had also taken a tour of the gardens which were absolutely gorgeous! From the amazingly kept up succulent garden to the diverse array of water lilies, and especially the lotus pond! Alex especially was very enthusiastic about the ''Lotus Effect''. This is where the leaves of the lotus being hydrophobic (and dirt repellant) would repel the water so well that you could toss droplets in the air and catch them and have them still skimming across the leaf as if it were made of plastic.

Our final experience was going into the herbarium to have the one and only George Wilder show us some pressed files he made and talk about the herbarium. George Wilder was one of the main botanists who first came to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to create a database for all of our species here.

So Thank you very much for that divine tour Naples Botanical Garden! Especially to Emily, Julie, Will, and Fred. We had such a fantastic time there, and will most certainly be back if not to see the exquisite gardens, but to see you devoted intelligent and truly amazing people!

Field Work on the CMT

The past couple of weeks have found me assisting with field work in the Central Marsh Transect (CMT), including throw trapping, minnow trapping, and bird surveys.

The first time we tried throw trapping back in June, the CMT was still dry and had little to no water in it, making it impossible to throw trap and catch anything. Moreover, we waited to do throw trapping and minnow trapping for the next month in July, in which the water level ranged from knee-high to waist-high. After catching some Mosquito Fish and Freshwater Shrimp, we set up our minnow traps to be checked up on the next day. The next day came and we had caught tons of Peninsular Newts, as well as African Jewelfish, crayfish, and a baby Mud Turtle. While checking on one of the traps, I brushed away some alligator flag and felt a sudden stinging sensation. Wouldn't you know it that I had just been stung by a Saddleback Caterpillar! The pain was worse than a wasp sting and lingered for a few hours, but it was super cool to see the little guy.

This week I assisted with a CMT bird survey, in which we observed 30 species of birds for July. The water on the CMT was around the same level as the weeks before, and it was really fun to explore through the swamp with a great group of people. Birds that we saw included Pileated Woodpeckers, Chimney Swifts, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Brown-headed Nuthatches, a Tufted Titmouse, and more. We saw an Okefenokee Fishing Spider that was about the size of my hand!

All in all, I've had some memorable experiences on the CMT and I'm happy that I could tag along and help with the field work.

-Brian, Research Intern

Flighty Feathers

I just adore feathers! Out in the field while I'm working I always look for them, even when driving the swamp buggy will I stop just to jump down to take a picture of another exquisite feather that one of our beloved birds of corkscrew molted!

I started really taking an interest in feathers during my Vertebrate Anatomy course I took at USF. There Dr. Motta taught an extremely captivating lecture and lab regarding species. It was very informative and my favorite lecture was that of feathers and how they came to be! Allow me if you will to share the marvel that is feathers....

Flighty Feathers

Around 175 million years ago, feather-like filaments started to appear on dinosaurs who are the ancestors of todays birds. Scientists believe these filaments evolved to provide insulation or that they were for sexual display similar to what todays birds will use their feathers for.

Around 165 million years ago however did we first see evidence of the first flattened feathers showing that locomotion was beginning to change into aerial locomotion. It was believed that the ancestors of birds would evade their predators by running up trees. As they continually used this escape mechanism and flapped their wings, the feather-like structures started to evolve for a whole new purpose, flight.

The first bird-like dinosaur with true feathers appeared around 150 million years ago and was called Archaeopteryx.  The Archaeopteryx was the transition between non-avian feathered dinosaurs and modern birds that we know. It most resembled a Raptor, a close relative of the Archaeopteryx.

Extant birds of today use their feathers for display, insulation, camouflage, and flight. The feathers are shed once or twice a year; not all feathers are shed at once though.

There are two types of feathers, Contour (vaned) feathers and Down Feathers. The vaned feathers cover the body. The contour feathers include Flight feathers (remiges), Coverts, and tail feathers (retrices). The contour feathers on the wing, or the flight feathers, are used as air foils. By this, it is meant that the feather is positioned such that they rotate as the bird flaps its wings during aerial locomotion.

The muscles responsible for this locomotion are the erector-plus-rotator muscles and the retractor muscles that are found within the feather follicles along the linear feather tracts on the wings. Upon downstroke, the feathers rotate so that wind cannot move through them. Contrary to this on upstroke, the feathers rotate to allow wind to go through them. If this was not the case the bird would not be able to get lift.

Feathers have a quill, a shaft, and a vane made of barbs and barbules. The barbules have hooklets on them to keep the feathers together. When birds preen themselves, they not only waterproof their feathers but also rehook the barbules to put the feather back together.

The down feathers that are used in pillows have little to no shaft nor and hooklets. They are just short feathers that lie all over the body for insulation.

Birds have beautifully colored plumage. The warm colors such as red, orange, yellow, brown, and black result from pigments. White color on feathers are due to microstructure and light that passes through it. Blue and green iridescent colors are structural colors that result from light hitting the fibers of the feathers themselves.

The Importance of Community Science

The Importance of Community Science

Community Science is the public participation in scientific research. Here at Corkscrew, community science is conducted by our boardwalk naturalists. They volunteer their time to contribute to a 22 year old data set that goes back to 1998! My job is to organize and format this data set into Microsoft Access, and then from there we can look at relationships and trends within the data set.

Looking back at the data, we can ask questions that we never knew to ask. For example, we can ask why a certain species was seen at one point in time and why it doesn't currently get recorded. Were there changes in the environment that were unfavorable to the species? If the species is migratory, were there changes to the environment in their breeding range that prevented successful reproduction? As you can see, one can ask many more questions just by looking back in a large data set.

Not only does looking at data help answer these questions, but you can also get insight from the data collectors themselves. I have met with a number of the volunteer boardwalk naturalists and have had discussions on how the data is collected. I have also asked about previous migration events and which songbirds were seen, and when these events occurred. Being familiar with these patterns will help me understand the data better when looking at it from an outside perspective. Overall, I like looking at this data set and I can't wait to see what can be discovered.

-Brian Fedak, Research Intern