The Silver king.. the PONS

Asides from sharks, grouper, snapper, and barracuda one of the top predators that is  found in Florida’s waterways are the tarpon. Tarpon are a massive fish capable reaching sizes exceeding four hundred pounds, and lengths longer then six feet.  They are opportunistic feeders and will feed on almost anything they can fit their mouth around, but preferably feed on mullet, pinfish, and ladyfish.  Tarpon feed by inhaling there prey with their powerful jaws and then swallowing with a crazy amount of force.

Tarpon are considered by many people like myself to be the “silver king” because they are one of the hardest fighting fish you will find in the world. They often will jump over 20 times in a fight, make long runs, spit the hook, and wrap around docks to escape. This draw the attention of anglers from all over the world to come fish for this majestic beast. One thing about the tarpon that makes it a great fishery is that these fish are virtually not edible and offer no single option as far as table fare is concerned. It is also illegal to use tarpon for shark bait. One adaptation that tarpon do which make them an extremely successful species is that these guys can actually breath air when oxygen levels are low in the water, they can also survive in freshwater, or saltwater. 

Here are some websites that show you how the tarpon can be caught and the significance it brings towards the island

http://dreamcatchercharters.com/key-west-tarpon-fishing.htm

http://www.budnmarysblog.com/tarpon-fishing

Hello? Hello! Hello? Hello? NEIGHHH!

Ahh the sounds of a parrot talking and repeating what people say, entertaining humans for hours on end. We had visited The Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center in Tavernier, FL, where birds with injuries can reside after healing. Upon walking through the sanctuary, there were many birds that had been rescued from accidents that could have been fatal. These include being struck by cars, cat and dog attacks, and unfortunately being shot at by people. If some of the birds could recover fully from their injuries, they could be released back into the wild. However, most of the birds at the sanctuary have forever homes there due to them not being fit enough to ever return to the wild. Some of the birds that we saw at the sanctuary were owls, falcons, vultures, seagulls, pelicans and parrots. The parrot was the most entertaining because it would actually talk to us and say "hello" with the occasional horse neigh in there! 

Parrots and their ability to talk and repeat sounds has always amazed me. It turns out that parrots use this imitation of sounds in order to fit in. In the wild, flocks of parrots will have a certain "dialect", and if a new-coming parrot can imitate the sounds and squawks properly then it will be accepted into the clan. The same goes for a domesticated parrot in people's homes. If the parrot makes a noise or says a human phrase that entertains us, we will most likely light up and laugh and give the parrot treats. The parrot catches on to our positive feedback and continues to repeat these noises in order to fit in with its human counterparts. There is much debate on whether parrots actually know what they are saying or if they are just simply imitating the noises they hear. It has been found that parrots can actually make associations to words they say with colors and objects. So maybe parrots do actually know what they're saying!  

If you want to learn more about the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center, visit: http://www.keepthemflying.org/

Andddd here's a parrot doing a TED Talk. You're welcome. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/einstein_the_parrot_talks_and_squawks#t-16354

Buy A Honda

   Bahia Honda is a Florida state park that is located at the end of Big Pine Key Florida. The parks deep natural bay has been a harbor for passing sailors for centuries. The island's name is Spanish for "deep bay” and began showing up on their nautical charts hundreds of years ago. The park was also used as a key west extension of the Florida east coast railway, which began in the early 1900’s by Henry Flagler.

       Of the 43 bridges needed to link the mainland of Florida to Key West, the Bahia Honda Bridge was one of the most difficult to construct. This was due to the island’s deep bay and the changing of the tides. The railway often stopped on the Bahia Honda state park to allow passengers to enjoy the white sand beaches and blue water Florida had to offer.
         Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, a category five hurricane, directly hit Bahia Honda with 200 miles an hour winds and a 17-foot storm surge. Miles of train track were destroyed leading to the decision of selling the Railroad and its right-of-way to the state of Florida. The once railroad was then converted into the Overseas Highway consisting of two lanes that allowed for automotive traffic opening in 1938. The Florida park service fully obtained the full property of the Bahia Honda island in 1984, once a private landowner sold its portion of the east end.
        Today the state park is filled with several actives, historical momentums and a ton of learning experiences. While visiting Bahia Honda, one thing, in particular, caught my eye, sea beans or drift seeds. Any type of bean, fruit or seed that is adapted for long distance travel from ocean currents can be considered a sea bean or drift seed. Most of these are produced by tropical trees, and they can be found on distant beaches after drifting thousands of miles through ocean currents.

        Some sea beans that I found at Bahia Honda were sea hearts, hamburger beans, crabwood seeds, and a tropical walnut. My favorite bean was the sea heart. The Sea Heart is the seed of a vine called monkeys ladder that grows in the jungles of the Caribbean, Central, and South America. Sea Hearts are used for jewelry and are believed to be good luck!

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Bahia-Honda

http://www.beachbeans.com/entada.html

Well you see mommy and daddy met on a beautiful moonlit summer night!

Earlier during my week in Florida, my class and I visited the Mote Marine Laboratory for coral restoration in Key West. This lab is solely dedicated to the study and restoration of Florida's coral reefs, and reefs around the world. At the laboratory, the team of scientist and college interns work together in order breed and grow new coral so that they can study new genetic adaptations to things like rising water temperatures and decreasing pH. But the thing is its not as easy a stork delivering some new coral babies to their doorstep. Coral reproduces through a process called spawning. Meaning that they reales sperm and eggs into the water column and hope that they can find a match in time and then settle again somewhere suitable on the sea floor. To make this process even more difficult coral usually only spawns once a year, and that time tends to be on a summer after water temperatures have reached warm enough conditions, and sometime during or soon after a full moon. In order to help this process along and improve the odds of new coral successfully growing mote marine labs goes out to several coral reef locations on the night of spawning each year. And by scooping up eggs and sperm from several different sites and relocating them they help increase the odds of sperm and egg fertilizing and also increasing the genetic diversity during the spawning event. The research that is being conducted at motes marine lab is extremely important because coral reefs are some the must important ecosystems in our world. Coral reefs serve has habitat for so many oceanic species that without them our ocean may loose almost, if not all, of its life as we know it. Some ways that you can help keep our corals safe and healthy is by reducing your carbon footprint and the amount of pollution you allow into our environment. By simply walking or riding a bike a little more often, and choosing a reusable water bottle over a disposable plastic bottle you can help save our coral reefs and oceans.

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/corals/coral-reproduction

https://mote.org/research/program/coral-reef-restoration

Skys the Limit

During our dive and snorkeling trips in Florida I had the opportunity to interview Sky  from Capt Slates dive shops about a few things regarding the ocean, the field she is in, and how would a northern like myself can move down to the sunshine state. Here are the questions I asked and the responses Sky gave me.

Q.) How did you get into Scuba diving and being a boat Cpt.?

A.) This is a family business her dad ran the dive center when she was little. I got my Dive certification when I was ten and I fell in love with it and that has never changed

Q.) What is the coolest thing you have ever seen in the water.

A.) We hand fed a 14 foot hammerhead on one dive, still to this day nothing have given me a bigger rush of adrenaline then that moment.

Q.) How have you seen climate change and overfishing impact the ocean?

A.) Bigger fish and bigger coral reefs are less frequent in the inshore waters. Years ago though it was much worse. A lot of coral bleaching was taking place, and over fishing was rampant  and it still kind of is now, however now there are way more people who are trying to protect the coral reefs, as well as more regulations that are put in place so overfishing is reduced. The entire Florida Keys depend on it so if we lose it we lose much more than the fish, and wildlife that live there.

Q.) How can someone from another state get a job, and an internship down in the keys be able to afford it ?

A.) Its actually a lot easier then most people think it is. There are so many internship opportunities down here as well as many dive shops that would hire you. Its just up to you to apply and fallow up. As far as housing goes often times the employers can help you find a place to life, granted it might be a tiny condo or a shack. Working in a restaurant can help also pay the bills.

THAT'S MY CHARACTER, I'M THE TRASH MAN! I COME OUT, I THROW TRASH ALL OVER THE- ALL OVER THE RING! AND THEN I START EATING GARBAGE! AND THEN I PICK UP THE TRASH CAN AND I SMASH THE GUY ON THE HEAD!

Bahia Honda State Park. The old bridge can be seen in the distance.

Today, I became one with the trash. It all started with a visit to Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys - a section of the original railroad that connected the Florida Keys in the late 1800's can still be seen from the island. Perhaps more significant than the railroad is the ecological role that the island plays - it serves as an important nesting site for seabirds such as the least tern. Unfortunately, a large amount of the island's foliage was blown away during Hurricane Irma - despite this, it still retains its ecological importance as it recovers.

Another unfortunate effect of Hurricane Irma was that the storm blew tons of trash onto the island - and I mean A LOT of trash. A large portion of this trash wound up at the wrack-filled beaches of the island - wrack is a collection of seaweed that washes up on the beach. In the case of Bahia Honda, the beach was just piled high with the stuff. As you could imagine, all of that seaweed baking out in the sun doesn't smell very good. So why can't we just get rid of it? Well, wrack plays a very important ecological role - it's home a huge number of small invertebrates, such as amphipods, whose activity recycles the nutrients of the washed-up seaweed. Seabirds also spend a lot of time in the wrack, feeding on all of the invertebrates. Without the wrack, the environment doesn't get all those recycled nutrients, and the seabirds don't get food. Clearly, it's important that we keep this community healthy - doing so, however, is another story. Today, we ventured into the wrack to clear the trash that had washed ashore along with the seaweed.

The Stockton Ospreys after their trash adventure.

As I ventured into the wrack, knee-deep in decaying seaweed, the smell of death washed over me. The hot sun overhead, the swarms of amphipods coming from the wrack, the sludge clinging to my legs, making it hard to walk, and the ungodly smell - all of it made me yearn for my own mortality, for suffering of this magnitude is a fate worse than death. And yet, as I began accumulating trash, I started to remember why I was doing this - trash kills marine life. Animals get choked by six-pack rings, smothered by plastic bags, and ingest small plastic chunks which they think are food, preventing them from being able to digest. Every piece of trash that I picked up could have potentially been a life saved - and suddenly, I was in my element. I was going from piece of trash to piece of trash, collecting them like a harlot collects venereal diseases. Suddenly, the disgusting wrack didn't matter - in that moment, I was the Trash Man. Finally, the least tern would be able to return to this beach too.

Unfortunately, my team still lost the competition.

Learn more about Bahia Honda State Park here:
http://bahiahondapark.com/
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Bahia-Honda

Learn more about wrack here:
http://explorebeaches.msi.ucsb.edu/sandy-beach-life/wrack-community

Learn more about Trash here:
http://www.debrisfreeoceans.org/marine-debris/
https://www.cleanwater.org/problem-marine-plastic-pollution

Do you smell it? That smell. A kind of smelly smell. The smelly smell that smells... smelly.

Today at Bahia Honda, that smelly smell was decaying seagrass on the beach. Bahia Honda State Park leaves this seagrass on the beach because it plays a vital role in keeping the coastal ecosystem healthy and thriving. Some people want it removed due to its smell and roughness when walked on, but it is important to understand its importance to the environment. Our class volunteered to help clean up some of the garbage in this long stretch of wrack that is still washing up from hurricane Irma.

The piles of seagrass are referred to as wrack. It washes ashore when seagrass loosens from the sea floor. It also contains decaying animal matter. The amount of wrack on the shore changes with season, tide, currents and wind. Wrack is home to amphipods which eat the seagrass and help break it down. Amphipods are also an important food source for shore birds which feed on them while migrating thousands of miles. Wrack also provides shelter for animals to hide away from predators. Commonly, seabirds can be seen napping in the wrack while blending in. As the wrack breaks down into essential nutrients, it becomes fertilizer for dune plants. In addition, it stabilizes the windblown sand to prevent beach erosion. 

The wrack contains seeds that it carries from dune plants. As the sand builds up over time, the seeds will take root and new dunes grow and form. 

Here is a guide to some organic matter that make up wrack:

1. Turtle grass 

-Turtle grass has ribbon-like flat blades and is a green or brown color. 

2. Manatee Grass

-This grass has tube like blades and forms white tubules when dead. This grass gets its name because it is the main food source for manatees. 

3. Hamburger beans 

-They are round with a thick black band in the middle. Hamburger beans come from the rainforest vines in the West Indies and American tropics. 

4. Redbeard Sponge 

- Redbeard sponge can be identified by its velvety red branches. Sponges are commonly used in labs to study how separated cells can form back into a new organism. 

http://www.longboatkey.org/pView.aspx?id=52024

http://bahiahondapark.com/

Oh My What A Big Mouth You Have

My obvious main excitement for this trip was the anticipation of swimming with things like sharks, stingrays, and eels in their natural habitat. I never expected to get almost just as much happiness at the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary. The talking parrot and owls kept my entertained for little while, but I could sit and watch the pelicans all day long. In fact, I did stand there for a good fifteen minutes recording one floating around the tiny kiddie pool, constantly smashing it’s face in the water. I’ve never seen a bird with such personality before.

Brown Pelicans are considered seabirds because they spend their days on or near the ocean. They’re one of the only pelicans that plunge dive for food. They can plunge head first from heights of up to sixty feet in a dive. Once they catch their prey, they tip their heads upward or to the side to drain the water from their large pouched bills. Air sacs in it’s body help it to resurface after it’s decent into the water.

It was amazing to watch the pelicans preening themselves, spreading their wings, hiding in trees, or floating around the water at the sanctuary. Even watching them trying to snag fish, getting up close and personal at Robbie’s dock was mesmerizing. Unfortunately though, about 700 adult and juvenile pelicans die each year in Florida alone from fishing line and sport fishing gear entanglement. Humans began posing a major threat to the brown pelicans in the 1960’s and 70’s when their populations began to decline due to the pesticide DDT. Luckily we realized this was harmful to numerous species and banned this killer spray and the pelican populations were able to recover. We may have realized that mistake, but humans still pose a big threat to these birds. Every day these pelicans are experiencing the effects of pollution, their habitats and food sources declining, and the dangers of boats and their gear. The sanctuary has a perfect example of how humans harm without even realizing. They have a pelican named Half-Beak who ran into a boat propeller and lost a bit of his upper beak. Despite his injury he’s still thriving because of the protection the pelican enclosure has to offer.

So keep in mind the pelicans next time you’re exploring the beach and pick up any trash you see to ensure we get to experience their amazing personalities for lifetimes to come.

Sources:

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/imperiled/profiles/birds/brown-pelican/

http://www.keepthemflying.org/

How to cook, Iguanian Style!!!

Now if you are reading this, you are already on your ways to become a master chef of reptilian proportions.  Here you will learn the best way to catch, clean, cook, and eat this scaly pest that is littering the Florida Keys.

Now the first and hardest part is to catch the Iguanas.  Now in Florida there is no law prohibiting this practice and there are no limits on the catch rate; so by all means you can do a whole BBQ with them.  Often these guys are found in parks and on the side of the road, so they are easy to find.  There is even road kill, which comes pre-tenderized!!!

Once caught and killed, usually something quick like a bat, slingshot, or pellet gun, you would need to clean them out.  All this takes is an incision in the underbelly to take out the guts so then they can be prepped for dinner.

Because these reptiles have a slight fishy and can be a little tough there are multiple ways to cook them.  Of these ways the simplest one is to stew them with some coconut milk.  This will certainly warm your belly after eating and it you serve it with rice, it makes it that much better

Another recipe would be the Island style macoy.  This is just a mixer of various fruits, vegetables, fish, and other meats once again cooked in coconut milk.  But if those tiny bones are too much, then the boneless iguana con huevos may be your thing. In this dish it brings the whole family together because you throw on some iguana eggs on top for some extra flavor.

The next recipe I have for you is steamed iguana and when you steam it in some coconut oil and water.  The juices that come from it can even be turned into a sauce for your main dish.  It is usually served along with yuca, rice, beans, and plantains.

And now we save the best two for last, the first of these is to grill it.  You can take the skin off or leave it on for the extra crisp. Finally, you can fry them up and we all know that fried food is the best food.

With all of these methods we can control the iguana population and hunger in Florida one delicious morsel at a time.

If you can think of a method to cook up these critters, don’t be afraid to write a comment bellow.

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/restaurants/six-ways-to-cook-iguana-6392248

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-reg-south-florida-iguana-invasive-damage-20180618-story.html

Give it a fish, said no one ever

    Robbie's of Islamorada is a fun-filled tourist attraction that offers all kinds of amenities for a quick family stop or a long adventure filled-day in Islamorada on the Florida Keys. Attractions can include fishing, snorkeling, parasailing, tours and their famous tarpon feeding. Robbie’s also has a restaurant located on its waterfront deck that is known for signature cocktails, local draft beer, and their famous loaded Trailer Trash Bloody Mary. The area also is surrounded by little shops and offers boat and kayak rentals.

    Since today was our last full day on the keys, our professor decided to surprise us with this quick little stop to feed the tarpons.  The tarpon feedings began about 18 years ago and have been a big hit throughout the tourist and the Florida Keys community. I’ve heard from friends that this attraction was a must, so I was extremely excited to get my fingers bit off by some tarpon.
    As soon as we arrived the whole deck was packed with people and tarpon flooded the waters. When you took a closer look at the shallow water, I noticed a huge solid mass appear. It slowly floated through the tarpon while surfacing its head and flared its nostril taking a deep breath. That’s when I noticed its whiskers and nose, it was a manatee. Everyone was shocked and surprised that a manatee was around the dock. It carelessly drifted around the dock. After a few minutes of being nosey, the manatee went on its way and disappeared into the bay.

    The one animal I wanted to see and experience on this trip was the manatee, and little did I think I would spot it with a massive amount of tarpon jumping around feeding. The reason for the manatee being spotted at Robbie’s is deemed to the fact manatees enjoy fresh water, which the dock could provide. There is no proven reason for this other than the fact manatee finds the fresh water rather enjoyable. The spotting of the manatee totally put my trip above and beyond my expectations. But not only was the manatee a hit, the tarpon feeding was as exciting and adventurous like people talk about.

http://robbies.com/
https://defenders.org/florida-manatee/basic-facts

Escalators! Escalators! Escalators!!! Eeeelllsss...

Look at that giant piece of seaweed! Oh wait that’s an eel! A green moray eel to be exact. These large eels have a seaweed green color from head to tail and swim in a snake like motion through the water. When given to the chance to inspect one of these eels closer you will see their razor sharp teeth lining the inside of there mouth as they open and close moving water through their gills to breath. You can get so close to these animals because they will usually be found tucked inside a hole in the coral reef with their head facing out. And because they are in their shelter they feel comfortable as you approach them and they are actually very curious. If you calmly approach a moray eel and wait outside it’s home more than likely he will slowly inch out to get a closer look at you. These animals may seem scary because of their dangerously sharp teeth but they are actually very friendly. During my dive yesterday I was able to experience some amazing interactions with these eels. Our dive master Slate came down with a bucket of fish to feed them and as soon as the first eel was out to grab a bite, the next thing I knew I had another eel nuzzled between my legs using me as cover. They would swim right up to my camera and bump right into it or take a very light curious nibble at my leg. The friendly and curious nature of the eels truly amazed me. Some people may say that this nature is due to the fact that our dive master slate has been feeding these eels for almost 40 years now, but i don’t think thats the case. My opinion on the matter comes from one special eel that I spent almost 10 minutes getting to know. While all the large adult eels were feeding i spotted a very small juvenile eel tucked in his reef hole. I approached him slowly and allowed him to check me out. After a felt he was comfortable with me i began to push piles of sand towards him and he would dig his nose through the sand until he found my hand. I did this several times and he became less and less shy with each pile of sand. After about 5 minutes it almost seems like we were playing a game. Although these eels are top predators in their environment I also believe they are very intelligent and have great personality.

#Escalatorsandeels #garryneedsanewpairofshoes #50%sea #50%weed #itsamoray

https://www.aqua.org/Experience/Species-Spotlights/green-moray-eel

http://www.captainslate.com/

5 Animals We Saw Emerge from the Reef... AT NIGHT

1. Stone Crab 

Stone crabs can only be found in Florida’s waters. Most of their weight is in their claws, with their claw weight increasing more as they age. Stone crabs are a favorite among many people to eat due to their large and meaty claws. Our captain for the dive even said that her family has many traps set up to catch Stone Crabs to eat! 

2. Slipper Lobster 

Slipper lobsters are tropical lobsters found anywhere in warmer water from Florida down to Brazil. These lobsters are flat and lack claws much like their close relative the Key lobster. Slipper lobsters are pretty strange looking, surprising many of the divers that happened to catch a glimpse of one on our dive. 

3. Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Seeing this turtle in its natural habitat was truly stunning. Gliding through the reef and occasionally coming up for air were some of the things we saw it doing. These turtles search the reef at night for jellyfish and squid, which are some of their favorite things to eat. These turtles are critically endangered, and laws protecting sea turtles prohibit even touching them. Here is a photo of one taken on our night dive!

4. Bioluminescent Plankton

Whenever we waved our hands fast or kicked with our flippers rapidly underwater, tiny flickers of greenish light would appear and then disappear. This is from agitating the microscopic animals called zooplankton, resulting in a release of glowing goo. Zooplankton also glow when trying to attract a mate. Sometimes large spaces of water in Florida and the Caribbean glow due to large amounts of bioluminescent plankton inhabiting the waters. 

5. Parrotfish Sleeping 

Alright so the Parrotfish didn’t exactly emerge because we saw them on the reef all day in daylight, but I did happen to see one sleeping! When Parrotfish sleep at night, they surround themselves in a mucus “sleeping bag” in order to protect themselves from other reef animals at night. One of the biggest threats could be bloodsucking parasites. So the Parrotfish’s mucus shield is kind of like a mosquito net for us. Pretty gross, but very cool! 

Want to go on a night dive and possibly see these animals? Check out Captain Slate's Scuba Adventures, located in Tavernier, FL at http://www.captainslate.com/

And you can find more information on nocturnal Florida reef species at http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/

Don't Accidentally Eat One of These Spiders

Spiny orb-weaver at Windley Key Quarry.

If you ever find yourself walking around the Windley Key Quarry in Islamorada, Florida, you may come across one of these spiders - actually, you will come across at least one of these spiders, they're everywhere. You may even come across one sitting in its web in the middle of the path, hence why you shouldn't just be absentmindedly walking around - that spider could end up on your face or in your mouth. If you do end up eating one of these, it should be on purpose, not by accident! This is called the spiny orb-weaver, and the fact that they're so abundant is a good thing.

Spiny orb-weavers act as a sort of pest control - like most spiders, the spiny orb-weaver catches insects in its web and eats them. This can include pest insects like mosquitoes, so having a lot of them in one area helps keep the mosquito population under control. So, if you're walking around Windley Key Quarry and notice that you're not getting eaten by mosquitoes, you can thank the spiny orb-weavers for that (this may explain why spiny orb-weavers are so common here - its loaded with mosquitoes too!). Although, with how abundant these things are, you have to wonder if they can be considered pests themselves. Despite their flashy appearance, they're not considered harmful to humans; although they can bite, and those spines, which serve to deter predators, can puncture skin, neither is serious at all. So even though they're everywhere, they pose no real threat; that is, unless you accidentally walk into one's web, which is really gross.

Section of limestone showing fossilized coral at Windley Key Quarry.

As the name suggests, the Windley Key Quarry used to be, well, a quarry. It was used to mine limestone, first for building a railroad, then just for decoration. The limestone itself is loaded with fossilized coral - you may even recognize some of the fossils, as living examples of them can still be found in Florida's seas today. That's right - millions of years ago, that whole area was underwater. Now, that period in time is forever preserved in limestone. Said limestone supports a huge variety of plant life, which in turn supports a huge variety of animal life, including our spiny orb-weaver friend. Thanks limestone, we can always count on you.

To learn more about the spiny orb-weaver, go here:
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-23_spiny_orb_weaver_spider.htm
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gasteracantha_cancriformis/

To learn more about Windley Key Quarry, go here:
https://www.stateparks.com/windley_key_fossil_reef_geological.html
http://www.keyshistory.org/casequarries.html

Let me tell you about my day.. it was a HOOT!

Today we took a trip to the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary. This is a place for injured birds to stay who cannot be released back out into the wild. I loved seeing all the beautiful birds, and I definitely had some favorites. Here are my top 6 favorite birds I saw at this sanctuary.

1. Casper the Barn Owl- Casper was brought to the sanctuary due to an infected right wing. The only way to save her was to amputate half of it. Therefore, Casper would not be capable of hunting in the wild, which is why she stays at the sanctuary.

2. Leopold the Barred Owl- Leopold was found on the Tamiami trail by a veterinarian traveling to the Florida Keys. He was hit by a car and had a broken left wing. He was able to be rehabilitated, but his wing never healed completely. Leopold is used as an animal ambassador to teach people about birds.

3. Corbin the American Crow- Corbin came to the bird sanctuary after he was not in good health from being fed an improper diet by his former owners. The bird center was able to provide him the diet he needed, and now lives happily in the sanctuary. He gets very excited when people come to visit!

4. Flop the Blue Jay- Flop grew up living with humans his entire life. His owners surrendered him to the sanctuary. In addition, they also used to have cats and he learned to mimic their "meow" noises! He shares his cage with other birds like Mourning Doves, Woodpeckers, and Finches.

5. Charlie the Turkey Vulture- Charlie is one of four turkey vultures living at the sanctuary. All four of them have a non-functional wing. Vultures commonly get struck by cars when swooping down to eat a dead animal on the sides of roads and highways. All four of them are the victims of car accidents. 

6. Professor Moody the Eastern Screech Owl- Professor Moody collided with a moving car as a juvenile. As a result, his left eye was severely damaged. Veterinarians had to remove his left eye because the damage could have caused him more health problems in the future. He is a small cute owl with bad depth perception. In addition, he shares his enclosure with another screech owl named Luna Lovegood. 

For more information on the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary, visit: 

http://www.wildbirdsanctuary.com/

https://floridahikes.com/species-id/bird-species

All Hail the Magic Conch

Many of you may remember growing up with a big shell in your house that you could put your ear up to and hear the ocean or blow into and make a sound like a trumpet. Well that shell was most likely a conch shell. What once lived in those shells is actually a sea snail, and there are several different kinds of conch that can live in them. Down in the Florida Keys, conchs are a common find on the seafloor. During my time here in Florida I have managed to find at least one conch each day that I’ve been in the water. This species is a large part of the Florida Keys because not only are there shells a very sought after souvenir but the snails that live inside them are delicious to eat. But Conchs also serve another purpose and that is playing a role in the florida ocean ecosystem. Conchs like the Queen Conch are herbivores meaning that eat things like algae with is important for making sure the coral reefs do not get smothered. All they serve as food for several animals in the ocean not just us. For example nurse sharks will sometimes use their powerful sucking jaws to suck conch snails right out of their shells. Searching for conchs when you’re in the Florida keys is very fun an here are some tips I’ve learned over the past few days.

• Search for a shell outline within sandy patches on the seafloor.
• Check the shell to sea if there is still a living snail inside.
• If not you may have scored an awesome souvenir to bring home.
• But, if you are in a protected dive site it is illegal to remove any conch shells living or abandoned from that site.
• Following these regulations is important because keeping conch populations healthy is necessary to help keep a healthy ocean ecosystem in the Florida Keys.
• Have Fun finding some amazing shells with beautiful designs and colors because they are all different.

https://www.fws.gov/international/animals/queen-conch.html
https://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-and-Cook-Conch
#magicconch #mayihavesomethingtoeat #no #leedleleedleleedle #floridakeys

Turtellini

You know writing this post made me hungry, but this is not about the Italian dish called tortellini.  Instead this is about how we impact sea turtles and how they impact us.

Let’s start out with some of the many uses we have for Sea Turtles.  This includes things such as medicine, food, and for tourism; tourism is a little tricky, so we will get to that last.

So, for medicine people think that the shells and even the meat have some magical property to it that will cure various diseases, but this is not the case.  They are just another organism that is eaten.

The preparation of sea turtles as food varies; you can cut the meat out and cook that, you can cook the shell in a soup, or as my father always says, “they come in their own bowl” and you can cook them in the shell.

Now its time for the tricky part, for tourism people enjoy seeing them dead and alive.  In various markets around the world people can get a dead sea turtle as a souvenir  Personally, all these uses are disgusting, because it kills an already struggling creature.

of their trip.

On the other hand, the other use by tourism is through dives, trips and look outs.  All of these allow people to see how beautiful they are in the wild and then it is possible to see what they do to aid in the environment.

Now the impacts that turtles have on the environment are huge, each turtle, doing their own specific part to their surroundings.  To start off the green turtle likes to graze on sea grass beds, and in doing so allows the grass to grow faster and have a higher nutrient content.  Hawkbill sea turtles help more on the reef, eating things such as sponges, which allows for more corals to colonize and grow. 

In addition to these individual habitats, Sea turtle help to enrich the environment, by supplying and recycling nutrients.  This occurs both on land and in the ocean, due to their spawning habits.  On top of all of these all the species of sea turtles are special and beautiful in their own way and it would be a shame to ever lose them from this wonderful planet that we call home. 

If they can inspire me to make a difference in this world, then they can do the same for others.

http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Why_Healthy_Oceans_Need_Sea_Turtles.pdf

https://www.keywestaquarium.com/florida-keys-sea-turtles

Nobody likes taxes or tax men

Day 2 of my Florida trip was more than a success! After a full day of snorkel and shark tagging with some awesome people I got the chance to interview master diver Adam Moccio! What made me so interested in interviewing Adam wasn’t just that he is a master diver but he is also a very experienced spear fisher. Spearfishing is a new sport for that my friend and I have been trying the past two summers so I was more than excited to hear some tips and stories from a pro.

Q: so to start simple how long have you been diving?

A: I started diving 16 years ago

Q: and how many of those years have you been spearfishing

A: I have about 9 years of spearfishing under my belt 

Q: So what made you decided to get into spearfishing?

A: well I grew up fishing and scuba diving in Florida and one day I realized that I could combine my two passions into one!

Q: when you’re out spearfishing what’s you’re biggest worry if you have any

A: sharks for sure! Around here we call them tax man and sometimes you just gotta give up your catch to the tax men.

Q: whats you’re favorite fish to shoot!

A: hogfish no doubt. They’re plentiful delicious and dumb. Hog fish like to come into the open to check you out and they will almost always turn to look at you giving the perfect shot.

Q: what is the biggest fish you have ever shot?

A: My personal record is a 58 inch 72 pound black grouper I shot at mar cases about 40 miles west of Key West.

Q: Is there one moment spearfishing that really sticks out too you?

A: So I was diving in Jupiter with some really low visibility when I shot about a 40 pound Amber Jack. Next thing I know there were about 10 sharks around and I got the Jack on my stringer and the sharks shredded right through it and stole my fish. 

Q: Over the many years that you have been diving and spearfishing what kind of changes have you seen in Floridas waters. 

A: well when I was younger you could go right off shore and find big and lots of them, but now they are far and few between. Also the reefs themselves just don’t have the same life they had years ago.

After the interview my conversation with Adam went on for a while, but I don't need to blog all that. The last tip that Adam gave me though is that when it comes to spearfishing one of the most important things is knowing your laws and regulations. Shooting the right amount and right size fish is extremely important because those regulations are set in order to help protect and restore our fish populations.

#Taxman #spearfishing #hogs #savetheocean #wheredthefishgo

http://www.pompanodive.com/

http://www.spearfishingworld.com/