It Is Officially Baby Season At The Sawgrass Nature Center! This Week Alone We Have Taken In 36 Baby

In honor of World Animal Day, the SNC is spotlighting our Eurasian Collared Dove, named Ginger. Ginger was rescued from a pet store that wanted to put him down because of his inability to stand up straight. When he came to the SNC, we found that he could stand perfectly when he was given a proper perching space. 

Because Ginger is an exotic animal to Florida, we are not allowed to release him. Instead, he will live at the SNC with loving care takers as an Educational Ambassador. 

Our Great Blue Heron was doing some feather cleaning this morning. Look at how long that neck is! The long neck and beak of the Heron was adapted to fishing for prey. This tall birds are excellent at wading through the water and make quite an impressive sight in flight. 

“ Great Blue Herons aren’t likely to visit a typical backyard. However, they are sometimes unwelcome visitors to yards that include fish ponds. A length of drain pipe placed in the pond can provide fish with a place to hide from feeding herons. Herons, like most of our birds, are legally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” -The Cornell Lab https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/overview

Peepers says hello to Fall

We’ve spotted our first winter friend, a Northern Waterthrush!

A rainy but beautiful start to our morning here at SNC!

Turtles lay their eggs on land before leaving them to hatch on their own. The babies are instinctually drawn towards water. These guys hatched on SNC grounds quite a bit away from the nearest freshwater habitat, so we gathered them up and helped them on their way. This increased their chances of survival as they didn't have to fend off hungry birds during the long walk to safety.

These beautiful works of art are made from discarded flip-flops

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The head stabilization of an American Kestrel   

Source                     

Our turtles are wondering where the sun is today

Ewok, the eastern screech owl, is a permanent resident at the SNC due to an eye injury that would prevent him from thriving in the wild. He is a fully grown eastern screech owl, even though their small size leads many to believe that they are juveniles. 

The interesting coloring of their feathers is camouflage adapted to blend in with the base of trees. 

And yes, we name all of the Eastern Screech Owls we care for after Star Wars.