Center for Birds of Prey

Across Florida, there are over 40 Audubon chapters and over 90 employees working to protect birds and their habitat. Several weeks ago, I was fortunate to visit the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey (CBOP) in Maitland, Florida. CBOP rehabilitates raptors and educates the public about their care, biology, and role in our environment. When raptors can’t be released after rehabilitation, they are housed at the center or relocated to educational facilities across the country. 

Their education manager, Laura VonMutius, welcomed me to shadow her for the day. Although I’ve known about CBOP for almost a year, arriving at the center was a wonderful surprise. They have over 50 resident raptors, of 20 different species. Many of the mews (outdoor enclosures for raptors) are available for the public to view, and some of the birds are even kept outside during the day. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m a firm believer in the power of experiential education. Education birds are raptors that are trained and acclimated to assisting with public programs. Although Education birds don’t allow the same hands-on opportunities as some other animals, they carry an incredible power when brought into a room. Adults and children are mystified in their presence. When I look back on my visit to CBOP, I think about the ripple effect they’ve had in their 40 years of operation. How many birds have they rehabilitated and released? How many others have been nurtured in captivity, and how many people have those birds taught?

~AnnaFaith, Education Intern

The Halfway Point

I am halfway through my internship on Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and I must admit I have had more opportunities to expand my knowledge and experience here on Corkscrew than any other places I have worked. I have learned about many different invasive species of plants, performed wading bird surveys, fish sampling for their food supply, and trail-cam maintenance. A typical day is to never expect, only to embrace a new lesson and become more fascinated with the wildlife living in the swamp.

Butterfly Surveying- Only seven Viceroy Butterflies (Limenitis archippus) were spotted this year, while the White Peacock was more prevalent at a count of 354.

If you follow all my weekly Friday post you get an insight into all the cool insects, plants and animals I run into, such as this one the Common Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristate).

This year I had the pleasure of leading a team for the Christmas Bird Count. I am not the best at bird identification, but I surprised myself by the amount of birds I knew. My favorite parts of this new experience was learning how to distinguish the difference between songbirds and taking a long look around Lost Creek Lake and seeing the amount of birds that use this hidden treasure.

The Christmas Bird Count has been going on for 120 years to get people involved in counting birds over hunting them. Over the years, Audubon has seen the trends in bird populations all over the world. I am living to take part in the little things that can make a bigger impact as the world around us evolves. 

-Ayanna

FIRE

A little over a week ago, I got to be a member of one of the ignition teams on a prescribed burn on Corkscrew’s property. It was incredibly cool, and I learned so much.

The Everglades is an incredibly fire dependent region, and its pine flatwoods and prairie ecosystems especially so. Pine flatwoods cover approximately 50% of Florida’s natural land area, making them the most extensive terrestrial ecosystem in the state. Fire is necessary to maintain the open plant community this shade-intolerant ecosystem relies on. Without periodic burning, this habitat can undergo a phase shift into a hardwood hammock in as little as 15 years. Fire-adapted plants within these habitats even rely on burning to help germinate seeds and improve growth. As human populations have spread, we tend to suppress natural fire regimes. Not only does this result in a buildup of dead vegetation that can act as fuel for extremely destructive wildfires, it allows for areas of extremely dense vegetation that make it difficult for wildlife to travel through.

There are so many moving parts to a prescribed burn; wind, humidity, presence and types of fuels, as well as location of all team members, corridors for wildlife to escape, and many other factors. There are different techniques for setting fire, and different terms dependent on where the edge of the fire is compared to the wind direction, which then influences fire behavior. It’s difficult not to just stop and stare as the fire burns on, but there’s too many important tasks to focus on such as spacing ignition spots correctly and watching embers to make sure they don’t travel outside of where the fire is meant to be contained. I have gained such a respect for fire, for the habitats that rely on it, and the teams that carry out the prescribed burns to maintain these vital ecosystems. I’m honored to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of it all.

-Sam

Farewell

Working as a Research Intern at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I have gained so much knowledge and experience from working here and I am so grateful to the Research team for guiding me along the way. I wanted to thank Shawn for being such a great mentor and showing me the ropes of the dataset that I worked on for my main project, and for connecting me with Dr. Jerry Lorenz, who will be my new boss down in Tavernier, FL. I also wanted to thank Lee for teaching me field techniques and training me to eventually lead the crew in the field. I also wanted to thank the rest of the Corkscrew staff and all the interns that I've worked with for being so kind, helpful, knowledgeable, and for welcoming me into the Audubon family with open arms. I will miss this place dearly, and I will never forget my time in this beautiful sanctuary.

-Brian