My personal favorite of the birds today was named Flop. When I first approached him, he began to make a noise unlike anything I had ever heard come from a bird before. In fact, it almost sounded like a meow. My initial instinct was right, because after reading his description, I learned that he began living in the Bird Sanctuary as an adult Blue Jay because as a juvenile, he had been imprinted. Flop grew up in a human household and is now unable to survive on his own in the wild. In his previous home, the owners also had cats, which is where Flop learned to mimic their "meow" noises. He seemed very comfortable around the large crowds of people, following them around and making friendly noises to them. It was truly an interesting thing to witness because I have never seen a typically wild bird develop these sensibilities to humans or the unique meow sounds. You can see Flop in the picture I took of him below.
One of the things I found particularly noticeable about the bird sanctuary was that previously, unlike the other birds that are caged, the pelicans were free roaming. However, this time they were in a cage with one another. Immediately I wondered, why they would decide to lock up the pelicans? So, I did a little bit of research. As a credible wildlife sanctuary, I trust that every decision made in the captivity of the birds is for the welfare of the animals. The decision to keep them in their cage like the other birds was one that had to be done for the safety and health of the organisms. Another photo taken by yours truly, is shown below. This is one of the many pelicans housed in the Wildlife Bird Sanctuary.
There are many other species of birds that all have unique characteristics being rehabilitated at this Wildlife Sanctuary. However, I decided to focus on two in particular. If you are looking for a place to visit while in the keys, I highly recommend paying my favorite Blue Jay "Flop" a visit and exploring the other species that the sanctuary has to offer.
For information on pelican behavior click here.
For more information of the wildlife Bird Sanctuary click here.
The bird sanctuary was really cool! All of the birds we saw had something unique to offer. Flop was too funny on how he would follow people around the cage and meow just like a real cat. It makes sense that they wouldn't let the pelicans roam around anymore, some people still probably harass them and if they are injured or sick they should definitely be in an enclosure where they cannot be harmed anymore. Nice pictures and blog post!
ReplyDeleteFlop has a special place in my heart. Bluejays are notoriously aggressive and territorial, so to see one so docile and happy to have human interaction made me genuinely filled with joy. He is a clear example of human imprinting on an animal.
ReplyDeleteFlop was also a favorite of mine too! His meowing noise was adorable. The raven and green parrot were pretty friendly too. "Fredricka" the parrot would laugh and say hello to guests, while the raven would eagerly collect any sticks you brought to him and "caw" when you left. It's pretty interesting to see how all these different bird species have these incredibly different personalities.
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