A Northwest Naturalist: 3 Florida Threatened and Endangered Species

Here's the list of T and E species we saw on our trip-
West Indian Manatee- Endangered
Wood Stork- Endangered
Florida Scrub Jay- Threatened

Florida, like other unique areas overwhelmed with human development, has a long list of T and E species and more to come with the influx of non-native species such as pythons which are currently eating lots of common species such as raccoons and bobcats, and have moved on to the already endangered species like the Key deer. We enjoyed three of the special species still hanging on.

Here's a selection of the manatee photos I took. Unfortunately the water was low so they didn't get close enough for excellent views and photos. No matter, this is the primary critter I wanted to see on the trip. How exciting to finally see this unique and gentle animal! The 20 we saw were hanging out at Blue Springs State Park. We also saw three at the Big Cypress National Preserve visitor center. One of them had a large gash from a boat propeller.

The dark ones near the cormorant are juveniles. Like alligators they don't do much but hang around in the water coming up for air periodically. That's okay with me, I don't need them to jump through hoops to get their reward. Just being in their presence and observing them swim, breathe, and interact with each other was enough of a reward for me! And for the perfect photos, I bought postcards.

For more details about the manatee check out this website: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/manatee.pdf

Wood storks are prehistoric-looking birds. We saw several of them during our forays. We didn't get to see the largest nesting colony at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, although we did see one pair nesting in a tree. I noticed that they use their wings and their pink feet to stir up food. Like the other wading birds they were tolerant of human presence making photos pretty easy. Ironic, since human impacts to their habitat are what's wiping out their nesting areas.

For details on their life go to this website- http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Species-Accounts/Wood-stork-2005.htm

The Florida scrub jay has lost most of their scrub habitat to development. One of the places left where you can be sure to see one is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the road to the Canaveral National Seashore. How wonderful to be able to watch these birds interact. This one replaced another bird that was perched in the same spot. The other flew low across the road- hence the warning sign. Like other corvids they often live in family groups and juveniles assist their parents in raising the next batch of babies. We didn't see a lot of these guys but being this close to one was a treat!