Our Resident Brown Booby

While we always try to rehabilitate birds, we do provide a home for birds too injured to return to the wild. One of our unique residents is a Brown Booby that schoolchildren in the Keys have come to know as Byron the Booby.

The Booby is a pelagic bird. Pelagic is a term that, according to Wikipedia, refers to the open sea or ocean not near the coast. In other words, they seldom touch land. They are sea birds in the most pure sense of the word.

When we received this bird, it was wrapped in fishline and very weak. The line had severely injured its right wing and leg and the infirmary staff did not think it would live. But, although he can't soar any longer above the sea, this bird recovered and is healthy.

Byron is part of our education outreach program. The bird seems to enjoy trips to schools and libraries to help everyone learn about this wonderful free-flying species. Here is link to the page on the Brown Booby at the Cornell Ornithology Website.

Our new Willet

We recently welcomed a species of bird we don't see very often in the Keys: a Willet. The Eastern Willet is a shore nesting bird. We have a lot of shoreline in the Keys, but it isn't great for nesting unless you are a bird who likes mangroves.

This Willet came in with a broken wing and the wing has been treated in our infirmary. Our goal, as always, is to rehabilitate the bird back into the wild so it can reproduce and strengthen the species.

You can find out more about the Willet at this link in Wikipedia and you can hear the call of the Willet at this link from the excellent Cornell Ornithology Website.

Our Friends: Pirates on the Water

Pirates on the Water is a very interesting social and service organization here in the Keys. There is no greater group of friends of the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center. They recently held a benefit for us that was superb! Bird Bash 2007 featured a live auction, local luminaries, and a lot of fun!

The Piates have a great Website. Click right here to see the pictures of the Bird Bash 2007 and read the narrative. If you are looking for a fun bunch to join... here they are!

Thanks much to the Pirates on the Water!

Why We Need Old Towels and Linens

This peahen was hit by a car on old US1. Usually, drivers in this area know to watch for and work with the several flocks of pea fowl that wander the highway, but an unfortunate driver hit this hen and her sister were hit. The sister died.

Technically, pea fowl are "barnyard" animals, but around here they are "free range" and we take them in at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center if they need help. Our goal will be to get this girl back out with the flock. But, as we nurse her in our ICU, note that we go through a lot of sheets and towels. Your contributions of old bed linens and towels are very useful and welcome.

The Challenges of Infrastructure

Most of our biggest challenges revolve around maintaining our infrastructure. Combine salt water, mud, leaves, and bird input/output and you have a challenge. We have to keep things washed down and ship shape, but that mean moving a lot of water around. Salt water and pumps have a hard time co-existing.

This photo shows a 2HP washdown pump that been in service for a little over a year. It's time for a overhaul (if possible) or replacement of the motor.

We talk about the wonder and rewards of helping wild creatures stay strong and build their flocks... but much of the work has to do with things as prosiac as pumps. That's why it costs us over $1000 a day to keep it running!

UPDATE: Slash Prospers!

We are thrilled to report that the wild Great White Heron we named "Slash" (because of the terrible wound in his neck) has recovered and is healthy. Please see the movie below!

For more information about the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, please see our Website http://www.fkwbc.org/

The Story of a Bird We Call Slash

The Florida Keys Wild Bird Center is all about rehabilitation of birds so they can return to the environment and strengthen the species. The attached video tells the story of a seriously injured Great White Heron that is probably smarter than we are in his environment. Please view the video below that tells the story of "Slash the Wonder Bird".