Phaedra coming to you from beautiful Sanibel!

Can you believe it?  January is almost gone and we are halfway finished with our “tour of duty” at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge!  Zoe and I are really happy to be here with sunny skies and warm temperatures.  Today, I think it is going to be in the upper 70’s with blue skies, fair winds and following seas.  
 

So, you ask, “What have all y’all been doing down there for all this time?”  I’m so glad you asked.  Mostly staying in the camper.  However, there have been quite a few times when we have been able to go to the beach and run all over.  Lately, though, it’s been a tad too cold to do that so we just beg to get Papa to take us out and throw the ball.

On the other hand, Papa and Mama have been so busy that they are begging for the quiet solitude of a beach chair and a book.  There were actually several nights when Mama was so tired that she couldn’t read in bed after the 11:00 o’clock news.  That’s such a rarity, I can tell you!

They are really getting

into this kayaking job 

to remove monofilament from the mangroves so that the birds don’t get caught in it.  Both of them have a group of 4 kayaks that go off in various directions and scours the landscape for lures, lines, bobbers, and lead weights.  This happens every Friday morning.  Then in the afternoon, they go back out by themselves and put in at the places where it is more difficult to launch but much closer to the birds. 

This past Friday, both Mama and Papa were within 3 feet of Tricolor Egrets and about 5 feet from a large group of White Pelicans.  They love it.  Mama also had to climb out over the water on a mangrove branch in order to reach hooks and a line that as Jeff, the Invasive Species Ranger, said - only a fool could have made such a bad cast!  I think I’d rather fish with my mouth instead of using a pole.  I had a friend, Cody, who used to “patrol” the beach by his dock and every once in a while he’d plunge his head under water and come up with a big ole fish!  I didn’t ever see Cody swallow the fish whole like the birds do, though.  He practiced “Catch and Release” quite well.

Yesterday, the folks were gone all day. They went into Fort Myers to help out their friends, other Resident Volunteers, who were hosting an outreach kiosk at the Florida Science and Inventor’s Fair.  They were talking about the Junior Duck Stamp Program for kids in school.  It is an art contest that involves doing scientific research about waterfowl and then the kids draw, paint, or illustrate a bird that they choose.  The art competition is in every state in the U.S. and the national winner has a stamp made of her artwork.  

 Ding Darling is where this competition originally began, and it is a really big thing.  (Mama even had a student at Chapel Hill High School who was one of the state winners and had a reception with President Clinton the year that he won.)  It sure is a small world with all the connecting threads in life, isn’t it?   
 
I bet I can paint ducks, you know.  You must all remember Jackson Pollock and his “drip period”, right?  Anyway, I thought I could use my tail and paint a duck that way if he could throw paint onto a canvas and become famous.  What do you think?

Every day, we take a ride out to the refuge to see the different birds.  Mama is trying to figure out all the shore birds now.  


She has a several favorites, the Black Skimmer, the Royal Tern, and the Sandwich Tern.  Plus they both really like the little Sanderlings that are the wave chasers.  They’re so fast that Zoe couldn’t catch them even if the folks let her go after them.  They’re such sticks-in-the-mud, though.  They say we can’t harass or chase anyone.  I hope to get free one day and go with gusto!!!

Drinks at a beach bar!

The people here are too nice.  So far Papa and Mama have been invited to a dinner party, have gone out to dinner with someone else and then returned to their home to play bridge, went to see The King’s Speech with a group of people after one of their new friends had bid at a charity auction and won a day at the theater for herself and 59 of her closest friends. They have, also, met up with many friends of a long-time friend whom they knew in Germany.  
 
Their great friends, the Coopers and the Drezners are here, too.  They went on another cruise with Karen, Sherree, and Herb one late afternoon.  I wish I could have gone, too.  As you see, I don’t much care for all this social life because, guess what, we stay at home.  At least we are getting our beauty rest.  And boy do we look wonderful!

So, the discussion lately has gone something like this:  "My favorite is the older one."  Or, "I like the young one the best."  After a few times of hearing this, Zoe and I wondered if they were talking about us.  We always thought they liked us both equally, but we started to get worried.  Come to find out, they were talking about Juvenile and Adult Night Herons.  So, now that we aren't worried anymore, you can decided for yourselves. 

Happy 2011 from Phaedra and Zoe!

Happy New Year from Sanibel!

Phaedra here wishing ya’ll the best for the coming year. For Zoe and me it’s the same ole stuff. Walks, food, play and sleep…

Geez, it’s the same for the folks except their time does not include US going with them all the time!  Plus, they get a lot more time to play.

Relaxing on the sand.

Buried in the sand.

Parker was down over Christmas with Anne and Dov, and we had a great time. The weather was nice when they got here, and they spent a little time at the beach.  Then, the weather turned cold, and we actually had frost one morning. I really missed it when the whole family went to the beach.  The first two nights, Parker talked Papa and Mama to take her to the beach to look for Ghost Crabs.  I guess they didn't see any of those, but Parker and Mama went bezerkers with collecting shells.  Parker loved the "Mother Pearl" shells just like Mama.  I think Mama can't wait until Parker attends "Nana Camp" this summer at Myrtle Beach and they can fill the whole camper with beautiful shells!  Me, not so much.  They hurt my feet when I step on them.  But, I do love to be on the beach.  Dogs are allowed at any beach on Sanibel.  All I have to do is make sure I wear my leash and Papa has the bags!

They slept in a tent next to the camper, by choice, except for the last night.  Zoe hated the time when they went outside because her playmates weren’t inside anymore.  I don’t think Parker missed her too much, though.  Parker was always trying to hide the ball from Zoe so that she didn’t have to always throw it for her!  In addition to beach time, they spent time at the Center, out on Wildlife Drive, and drove to Cypress Swamp near Naples to see alligators. 

Fire Ants!!!

Parker is really good with the binoculars.  Sometimes, she even turns them the wrong way and chases after Zoe who doesn't know what to think but loves it!  Binoculars come in really handy when out on Wildlife Drive.  Parker was able to call birds by name after the first day.  She'd say, "There's a Roseate, or look at that heron.  Papa didn't learn as quickly as she did, but don't tell him I said so, OK?  She's really observant, too.  When we visited the Citrus Grove in Naples, she was the one who told her mom to watch out for the fire ants!  Glad I wasn't there!

Baby Manatee

They did drive over to Manatee Park on the north side of Ft. Myers where a power plant is located.  Parker kept saying she wanted to see baby manatees and I heard Mama mutter under her breath that she was really worried there wouldn't be any babies to see.  Well, I heard that as soon as Parker got up to the waterway, the first thing she saw was a baby manatee.  She and Anne and Dov really enjoyed seeing the manatees in the wild.  The reason they are at the power plant, you know, is that it produces warmer water, which they need.  The gulf is 55*, which is 13* less than the manatees need in order to survive. So, up the river they go.  So far this year 700 have died because of the cold weather and its only January.  How sad!

Papa and Mama drove Anne and Parker down to Cypress Swamp to see alligators while Dov had some time to himself and went kayaking on Tarpon Bay.  In Cypress Swamp, Anne counted 27 alligators along the canals on the main road.  There were lots of them on the swamp loop road, too.  I never hope to see an alligator up close and personal.  They can move really, really fast and I'm just an appetizer for a big 'gator, don't you know!

Sunset Cruise with Mike and Mary

Papa hard at work.

We made some new friends, too.  Right after Parker and her folks left, Mary and Mike arrived from Chapel Hill with Kay and Bill, Mary’s sister and nephew.  We already knew Mary and Mike, but Kay and Bill were really nice, too.  Bill was so good to Zoe and threw and threw her ball over and over again.  She loved that.  They stayed in Ft. Myers but spent a lot of their time on the island.  We had a great visit with all of them.  Everyone went on a drive through the refuge plus had a sunset cruise on Tarpon Bay.  Of course, we stayed home.  Mom always tells us to “guard the house” and for me to keep track of Zoe.  She tells Zoe to do what I say.  As if that would ever work!!!  I think she really feels guilty about leaving us and thinks that a job will make it better for us.

Peace and quiet returned on Friday.  Mama and Papa went out in kayaks getting fishing lines out of the trees. We, all, spent the afternoon in the sun outside the camper and brought in the New Year in our sleep!

All loaded up to start working.

Looking for lines.

I don't know if I want to go kayaking with the folks.  It looks peaceful, but I think I'd want to go for a swim and they wouldn't let me.  This is a really good job for them what with being out of doors! They think they are going to like Ding Darling a lot.

May you have health and happiness in the new year.  Happy 2011!

Episode 2: Tales from the great Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

  Zoe coming to you from the Presidential in the middle of Ding Darling:

"OK, I'm moving!"

Great Egrets Disputing

So, we’ve been here three weeks!  You’d think that we would have done tons of things, right?  Well, we took the second week that we were here OFF!  We didn’t want to, but Papa’s stomach landed him in the hospital in Fort Myers.  And landed us in the Presidential 5th Wheel!  Whoopie!  He was there for 5 days but didn’t need any surgery and is home doing fine, now.  Things are looking up.  He throws my ball for me as much as I want - well, almost...

Great Egret

Up Close and Personal

River Otter Dining

The folks have been trying to learn as much as they can about the birds, the bees, and the plants.  They have to be ready to teach about the main birds and how they eat (each group is different), and what their behaviors are.  As far as I go, I eat as fast as I can and then ask for more!  That is what it is all about!

White Pelicans Landing

Wood Stork

One day, Papa and Mama went to a place called Bailey Tract and had lessons on identifying wildflowers. They, also, have to be able to talk about mangroves and plants.  They met a really nice person who happens to be a very good friend of someone they knew when they lived in Germany.  It seems like the world is really connected, doesn’t it? One thing they didn't like at Bailey Tract was the Fire Ants!  Mom was always reminding Papa to move away from the mound.  They are always watching out for us, too.  Florida, especially here, is a whole different landscape from where we have been living in.  Sure, we've been here before, but let me tell you in the dark of night on our last walk sometimes I get freaked out with the night sounds.  Did you know there are Bobcats right here?  That's right - they are as big or bigger than I am.  I don't think Mama likes to go out in the dark, dark night, either.

Roseate Spoonbill

Spoonbill feeding

We have seen some beautiful birds lately, but we aren't allowed to chase them.  Mama and Papa have been learning how different birds fish.  There are Roseate Spoonbills which eat by touch which means that they swipe their spoon shaped bill into the mud and as soon as the thousands of nerves along the edge recognize a creature, the bill snaps shut tightly.  I wouldn't want that to happen to my tail!

Then, there are Egrets which spear their dinner.  It was so amazing to watch one of them spear the fish, rub it off of its bill with a stick, catch it in the air between it's bill, flip it around so that the fish head is first, and swallow the fish whole.  I'm learning about other ways birds eat, too, but I'll leave that for another time!

First time on the beach!

We have gone kayaking and on two sunset cruises already.  Well, not really.  We had to stay home while the folks went out and had fun.  You know, it’s the same ole, same ole.  They go.  We stay.  I keep hoping we will get to go with them soon. 

Life's a beach, and we do get to go again today.

Sanibel Is For The Birds!

Phaedra here in beautiful Sanibel Island:

Snowy Egret

Sanibel is for the birds!  You heard me right!  It’s for the birds in “oh, so many ways”.  All Zoe and I ever hear these days is “What kind of bird is that one?” or “It’s another shore bird!  They are so hard to tell apart, aren’t they?”

Roseate Spoonbills

You’d think that after 16 hours or so in the car, we’d receive more attention.  We’ve been really good and haven’t chased any of those $#%^& birds, or anything like that.  Papa and Mama have been leaving us alone every morning so all we get to do is sleep.  That’s not so bad, I guess.  But then they come back for lunch and are off again in a really short time.  Then they get home around 4, but are so worn out that we still haven’t been to the beach YET!

Little Blue Heron

You know that the folks are volunteering 3 days a week at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  This month all they have to do is learn all about the refuge.  That doesn’t seem so hard to do, right?  After all there are only about 180 different species of birds in “Ding” Darling, and not all of them are here all the time.  So far, I’ve seen the Red Shouldered Hawk who stands guard over our “gated community” which is really a small camping area near the maintenance area of the refuge.  And, there are two Red-Bellied Woodpeckers who live right above our deck.  I can identify those for you.

Papa's Green Heron

We are really close to the Visitor Center where Papa and Mama work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  They ride their bikes to work unless they are going out with a “Rover” on the Wildlife Drive to learn about the birds, plants, manatees, crocodilians, and who knows what else.  You see, they are supposed to be “back-up presenters” to the experts who give these talks to the public.  When Papa heard about this, he almost had heart palpitations.  Ranger Jeff told a refuge board member that he thought he almost gave Papa a heart attack.  The folks hope they won’t need to be back-ups very often. They, also, think that come January 1, they will know all they have to in order to help out! I’m not so sure about them, though.  If I had to learn this stuff, I’d have a lock on it already. They’ve gotten soft since they retired!  And, Zoe would get so distracted with everything around her, she couldn’t even find her way to the Visitor Center if she had to do something like this!  That leaves only moi!  I’d do it without a hitch!

Brown Pelicans on Tarpon Bay

Did you know that the water on Tarpon Bay averages about 2 to 4 feet deep in most places?  That means that we can go swimming if we want to.  Papa and Mama go out there in kayaks one day a week and pull down fishing lines, lures, and things that fishermen have gotten caught in trees.  These might hurt the birds so that’s a really important job.  We can’t go in kayaks, though.  The folks are afraid that we might tip them over if we saw a bird or an alligator nearby and suddenly jumped to that side.  Zoe might, but I am “sure and steady”!  I’m just not sure I want to be alligator bait if you know what I mean.

On the way down here, an armadillo in Brunswick, GA stalked us.  He looked like a hedgehog with a long tail and smooth armor on his body.  Zoe wanted to chase him, but Mama had a fit not knowing what might happen.  We haven’t seen any on Sanibel Island, and I don’t know if they are here.  The first sign that greeted us when we crossed the border into Florida was this one...SNAKES!  Normally I think snakes are cool, but the poisonous ones, not so much.  We don't worry too much about them on the island.  There are bobcats who come through our campground all of the time in the evening.  I haven’t seen one yet, but Bailey the Short Haired Retriever next to us told me all about these big cats.  They are bigger than I am.  I’m not afraid, though.  Bring ‘em on!

Sunset Cruise

White Pelicans and Friends

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile

So far, the folks have gone through Sanibel on a trolley, stopping at lots of local shops during the Holiday Luminary last Friday evening.  There was free food, so you know Papa had a wonderful time!  They went to a staff party on Saturday for all the refuge people.  Then Sunday afternoon they took wine and cheese onto a “sunset cruise” in Tarpon Bay.  It was a 3-hour cruise and they did return!  Thank Heavens!  They saw lots of birds like Brown and White Pelicans, Osprey, Yellow-Crowned Night Herons, Anhingas, Cormorants, American Oystercatchers

WAKE UP!  That’s better.  I won’t do that again, I promise.  

Osprey Fishing

Anyway, it’s time for me to go to sleep, now.  I have to get up early so that they can take me outside in the morning.  It’s going to be cold tonight.  I thought Florida was warm.  At least we don’t have any snow like our friend Parker does up in North Carolina.

Phaedra here signing off from my refuge!  Zoe will be in touch later on.

Ta Ta!    P