It has been over a month now here in Florida. "Winter" is here but that just means cooler nights and mornings. I have done a little bit on my days off. I have been to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, kayaking/canoeing here at the conservancy, bowling, bike riding, running, to the mall, and to a couple of movies. It is very convenient if something is within biking distance like the corner store, mall, post office, park, newly opened grocery store, and beach. I try to ride my bike or walk whenever I can. Here are some pictures from the sights so far.
Freedom Park
This is an anhinga that hangs out at Freedom Park, the park we jog to in the mornings.
Same anhinga, it guards the sign at one of the ponds. You can tell it is a male based on its color. Males are black and females are more of a tawny color, at least adults are.
This is the anhinga from the park that I recorded as he was vocalizing. You have to turn it up kind of loud, he sounds like a frog, you can see his pouch flare out on his mouth as he vocalizes.
This is a great egret. It flew right by my head and landed...(see below)
....here! Right on the railing beside me. They are rather large birds.
This is a glossy ibis, they are more rare than a regular ibis so it was quite a sight to see.
Freedom Park is a work in progress. It was started in 2008 and use to be an orange grove. The park is there to educate people about the natural habitat, wetlands, and water usage of Florida while restoring and improving upon these issues. It is a great place for wildlife too. Also, a memorial is currently being built. Me and another intern jog to the park in the mornings when our schedules allow it. We like to look for wildlife once we get there as you can tell from the pictures above.
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Banded Water Snake
Brown Anole, commonly seen in Texas too but green anoles are more abundant. Here in Florida brown anoles are everywhere, when you walk out the door you see an anole.
Butterflies
The boardwalk at Corkscrew.
Corkscrew before entering the tall trees.
I thought this was a neat picture.
Gator! Can you find him?
I think Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is technically part of the Florida Everglades, one of many parts of the Everglades. We saw numerous birds, a mammal or two, and some reptiles. It was amazing! I could have stayed there all day watching the wildlife.
Like I said before I can not get pictures from work because of the policies and the time constraints, no time for pictures. I will do my best to remember to take pictures when we do something outside of work. If you are on facebook you can see the pictures of the pelican release I went on.
Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble :)
A volunteer in the wildlife rehab department invited all of the wildlife rehab staff and interns over for Thanksgiving dinner. Her and her husband cooked us an entire Thanksgiving meal! It was much appreciated and delicious. They were very kind to do that for us. They had a beautiful apartment overlooking the ocean too. We ate, drank, and played a game. Then afterwards all the interns went back to do night feedings because no one was working the late shift.
Work Update
I have learned most of the shifts now. I am still learning turtles though because that is usually done by the night person and I have only been on night shift once now. No major disasters so far. I have been on a pelican and opossum release and a coyote rescue. Anddddd I got to rescue an anhinga with Livvy (running buddy) on our way back from our run one morning.
I have learned a lot but there is just as much still to learn. I need more experience with phone calls and admitting animals. I never have been a people person so that is something I will have to work on. My biggest fear is doing something wrong that will impact the animal. I also need to work on setting up treatment plans for new patients but that comes with admitting animals. I think most of what I still need to work on only comes with time and learning by doing.
Till next time, Adios :)
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