Exciting Winter Break Events

Winter break is a busy time for us at the nature center, and we are looking forward to having a great time. On December 23 we are taking a kayaking trip down Lofton Creek, trying to spot alligators and other unique animals and plants. Later you can enjoy the sunset while watching the birds fly in for the night in our Sunset with the Birds tour. On Christmas eve we are fishing, then having a nature scavenger hunt at Drummond Point Park, then back to the nature center for a close encounter with a few of our critters.

During our Amelia at Night program on the 26th, we are on the lookout for nocturnal critters. On the 29th we are headed to Okefenokee Swamp for a boat ride and wildlife drive.

On the 30th we are offering an exciting tour to Catty Shack Ranch for a nighttime feeding...a great time to see lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, etc. active and enjoying their dinner. In addition to these special events, we have our regular tours every day. Check out our calendar online by clicking on the link to the right. Call us at 904-321-5082 to sign up!

wrong time to take a swim

A couple of weeks ago we got a call about a little raccoon who was trapped in an empty pool. The poor little thing had climbed down, but there was no way back up. Luckily there was water only in the deep end, so drowning wasn't an issue. Also luckily, someone discovered it! The problem for us was, how to get the little one out. He was very scared and despite his size could hurt us. But, there was no need to fear, Amanda Hardy was there! She jumped down into the pool with the net, scooped him up and put him in a carrier. And made it look quite easy, may I add.

We decided to keep him overnight because we didn't know how long he'd been trapped in the pool and may have been weak. We gave him some cat food and fruit and water. Since he seemed healthy and unharmed, we released him at Drummond Point park, not too far from where he was found. We think he learned his lesson!

" No more pools for me!"

Nature Center on Facebook!

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out our Blog. We now also have a facebook group! Click on the link below or search for Amelia Island Nature Center and add the group to your favorites. Every month the nature center will add all special or off property events to the event section. By being a member, you will be informed of all the fun and exciting events coming up! Also don't forget our daily events for all ages as well found in our calendar.

http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=amelia&init=quick#/group.php?gid=194006310867&ref=search&sid=46709337.3497491189..1

Fort Clinch

Last week I took a group to Ft Clinch, a civil war era fort located in Fernandina Beach, which is the north end of Amelia Island. This is a great place to learn about history and nature, as it is also one of the first State Parks in Florida.

The first weekend of every month are Garrison days at the fort. Historical interpreters dress in replica clothing, and can be seen around the fort doing their various duties the way they would have been done back in the 1860s. Join us on Saturday, December 5 for a special holiday garrison trip to Fort Clinch. We also explore the historic lighthouse and the resident critters and plants. Call the nature center at 904-321-5082 for more info.

Squirrelios

This is Cocoa, the latest squirrel that was brought to us. He was found, presumed orphaned, a couple of weeks ago. We'll do our best to raise and then release him. We released Huey and Duey a few weeks ago (see previous posts). A week afterwards, though, Duey came up to the nature center's front door. We thought he was just saying hi, until we noticed some blood around his mouth. Horrified, we went out to try to catch him. Christina and I caught him in a net, but he managed to squeeze out. We tried again, and he'd get close but not enough to get caught.

Heartbroken, we were forced to leave him outside, but put out some soft food for him on the porch. The next day, he came to the back porch for some grapes. It was a nice cool day out, so we had the doors open. Well, he decided to let himself in! We closed the door then Christina used food to lure him to her and got him in his old cage!

We drove him down to the Jacksonville Wildlife Rescue Coalition to be examined. They had him a few days and said that the poor guy had knocked his top front teeth out! They gave him some antibiotics for inflammation and started feeding him formula. We got him back and have been continuing his medication and giving him formula and soft fruits and veggies. He is doing great!

The good thing is that rodents', including squirrels', teeth grow continuously. So, in a couple of months Duey's teeth should be fine for eating! We'll monitor them to make sure they are growing back correctly. If they don't, we'll have to file them down regularly. Either way, we're so happy that he knew where to get help when he needed it!

Henry takes a shift as office manager

Last month, a sweet gray cat was found by the Inn. Christina was able to pick him up and brought him back to the nature center. We took him to the vet, turns out he was already neutered and in perfect health! We're not sure where he came from, but he loves people.




After a couple of days he'd made himself right at home in Christina's office. He even started taking calls while sitting in the office chair. As you can see in the photo, he had the bad habit of not listening to callers. You'd think we'd learn by now that cats are not the best office managers (see previous posts). Sleeping about 20 hours a day doesn't help. We named him Henry, but nooone came to claim him.

Not to worry, though...we quickly found a home for this soft and handsome fellow. Amanda Clark (one of our naturalists) took him up to Georgia to live with her mom! Once again, he took no time to make himself right at home. Makeup artist? Once again, sleeping on the job. Oh well....Amanda's mom already adores him!

Release of Huey and Duey

On Wednesday we released our baby squirrels, Huey and Duey. Huey came out first, looked around a little bit, then jumped off the porch into the palmettos. He later learned to climb trees, even the really tall ones (luckily squirrels are not scared of heights!) Duey came out soon after, but was much more cautious. He seemed to enjoy digging in a few pots filled with soil. He hung around on the porch for awhile, then when he finally stepped off of it, a kingfisher flew by overhead making a racket and scared poor Duey right back into the cage! But, he quickly came back out and then explored the porch some more and later found out how much fun it was to run up and down the big trees like his brother. Later in the afternoon he was back on the porch, trying to bury some acorns that we gave him in a hole between two boards of the porch. He has those natural squirrel instincts!

The next couple of days he came back and checked out the birdseed dropped from the feeder and the food we left out for them. We didn't see Huey, who turns out to be the adventurer of the two! Don't worry, there are plenty of huge live oak trees around that are perfect for squirrels! We miss our little guys but know that they are very happy to be the wild squirrels that they deserve to be!

Twinkle Twinkle Brittle Star

Last week during one of our Crab Grabs, a little girl caught this in her net while catching shrimp. She was so excited to find this "starfish". It was actually a close relative - a brittle star. Brittle stars have a disk-shaped body and long, thin arms, which can regrow if broken off. They mostly eat detritus, plankton, or scavenge. Some species are luminescent (glow). Most hide in rocks or crevices and come out to feed at night.
This little one now lives at the nature center in it's own tank. Amanda Clark thought of a great name for it -Aquarius!

Good luck, Mickey!

" What?? You want me to live in the wild? What about my pampering?"

"Here's what I think of that, mom!" *sticks tongue out*

That's right, our little Mickey the possum (see previous posts) is all grown up...except he could get up to 14 pounds...

On Sunday I drove him to the Wildlife Coalition in Jacksonville. He will live in a large pen for about a week, meet some other possums, and then turned loose in the wild. Don't worry, he will be on 130 acres of fenced in woods, with someone to keep an eye out for him and supply food if it's a hard winter. But we sure will miss him!

Ready or not, here I come!

Recently I was leading a Back to Nature Segway tour when we spotted this little raccoon scrunched between a post and the wall of the boat ramp at Walker's Landing. We had been standing there for about five minutes, looking out at the marsh, and didn't notice him til we were about to leave. Although it didn't look like the most comfortable position, he wasn't stuck.

We didn't see another raccoon looking for him, but it was the perfect spot for hide and seek!

Tiny Tot "Tuck"

Last week we received a baby box turtle. Somehow Tuck wound up in someone's kitchen! The homeowner wasn't sure how, but suspected her dog brought it into the house. We put Tuck in a 10 gallon tank with some sand and a little water to drink and soak in. Box turtles can swim, but are usually found on land. We plan on caring for this little one for a little bit and then releasing him.

All Cats go to Heaven

It breaks my heart to post this, but it is an update on one of our rescues. (See posts from August 5 and 19) Ike, who we've raised since a tiny kitten, has passed away from meningitis.

(From PetWave.com) Meningitis in cats is a condition in which protective membranes around the spinal cord and brain, termed meninges, become inflamed. Cats diagnosed with meningitis often develop the disease as a result of feline infectious peritonitis, toxoplasmosis, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline leukemia virus. Meningitis is a serious condition, and unfortunately the prognosis is usually very poor.

Ike's sister, Mikayla, is healthy and will live with Christina. These poor kitties had a very hard start to life and unfortunately Ike's immune system could not hold up. He did have a good life, though, lots of play and love, and he will be missed!

Squirrelzilla

This week we received a thoughtful gift in the mail from one of our loyal followers...JasonFromGrayson. It was a squirrel puppet to help us raise Huey and Duey! Duey immediately became a fan, since this large squirrel was feeding him his formula.

Although he got a few love bites, Squirrelzilla had a great time hanging out with the baby squirrels.

Mickey decided to see what all the fuss was about. Squirrels are not supposed to be bigger than possums! And, he was a little jealous that Huey and Duey may have their own fan club, as only possums (or mice) should.

Finally Mickey decided he'd had enough. He would take down Squirrelzilla! Not to worry, somehow Squirrelzilla survived the attack. After a large plate of cat food, Mickey calmed down. And Huey and Duey look forward to more happy times with their new squirrelfriend.

P.S. No puppets were harmed in the making of this post.

Salute to Dung Beetles

As promised in my post from September 10, here is some info and photos of those oh-so-important dung beetles. Dung, or scarab, beetles feed on feces. These dung beetles, seen on Cumberland island, roll dung into spherical balls, which are used for food or brooding chambers. Dung beetles live in many different habitats, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. It can be really amusing to watch as dung beetles try to steal the dung ball of another beetle. They can roll 50 times their weight in dung!

In making a brooding ball, one male and one female will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. When the right spot is found, they stop and bury the ball. They mate underground, then both or one of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it. The larvae live and feed in brood balls.

If it weren't for these not-so-glamorous bugs, we would be knee deep in you-know-what. Dung beetles are an extremely important part of the ecosystem. They improve nutrient recycling and soil structure by burying and consuming dung. They also protect livestock, by removing the dung which could provide habitat for pests like flies.

These horses in the dunes on Cumberland Island are a dung beetle's best friend! The horses also appreciate them keeping the flies down as we appreciate them clearing the path for us!

What's all that noise?

Visitors to Amelia Island this summer, and especially the last couple of weeks, have heard loud sounds resonating all around the woods. Who's responsible? A 1.5-3" insect - the cicada. Actually, a whole lot of them! Often called locusts, these are actually from a different family that don't jump like grasshoppers or crickets.
They have membranous wings and males make sounds using organs below the base of the abdomen. They are sometimes seen emerging or flying from empty nymphal skins after the large adults have emerged. Each species has its own buzz or a pulsating clacking sound. Some species have life cycles of 13 or 17 years, but more commonly the nymphal period is 1-3 years.
One things for sure - as long as you can hear you can't miss them!

Huey and Duey update

Huey and Duey, our rescued baby squirrels, (see
post from Sept. 2) are doing great! It took them awhile to start eating well, but now they are little gluttons! We have to stop feeding them their formula after they get little pot-bellies so they don't explode! They are also chewing a lot, so we've introduced solid food, such as rodent block pellets and a variety of nuts and vegetables. And, their favorite treats are strawberry yogurt chips. Spoiled? No way!

Upcoming trip to Cumberland Island

On September 22 and on October 11, we will be taking a tour to Cumberland Island, Georgia's southernmost barrier island. It is a national seashore (similar to National Wildlife Refuge).

One of us naturalists leads the tour around the island. There is a lot of history to tell, including the story of Dungeness, a former mansion built by the Carnegie family. We will see feral horses who roam the island, with a story all their own.

We will walk through the live oak forest, view the mansion ruins, see an old cemetery and walk along the marsh, and then it's over the sand dunes and onto the beach. The view on this undeveloped beach is beautiful, and there are many critters, shells, sharks teeth and other treasures to explore. We have seen (among other things): wild turkeys, armadillos, snakes, turtles, crabs, frogs, deer, dolphins, and those great little dung beetles in action (more on them in an upcoming post). A wide variety of birds can also be seen and heard, from songbirds, shorebirds, wading birds, birds of prey to woodpeckers, this trip is also a birder's delight!

Give the nature center a call (904-321-5082) to sign up for this amazing trip. If you can't make it these dates, let us know when you want to go a couple of weeks in advance and we'll take you then! (as you can tell, we LOVE to go ourselves as well as introduce the island to new people!)

Meeting Winter the dolphin

This past weekend, I was spending time with family in Tampa and we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It is a working aquarium, meaning they rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured/sick marine life and do research.

Among their permanent residents (those that could not be successfully released) is Winter, a very special dolphin. Winter lost her tail after it became entangled in a crab trap. Amazingly, she can still swim in a modified way. The trouble is that unless she can swim like a normal dolphin, her muscles won't develop properly. So, the aquarium made her a prosthetic tail! She wears it a couple of hours every day.

When I saw Winter, she did not have it on, but she was swimming around playing and enjoying herself the whole time. She's a great inspiration! Go to www.SeeWinter.com for more of her story!

Mickey's fan club

Move over, Mickey mouse! A little possum is giving you a run for the money! One of the first members of the Mickey "Possum" club is the Heisler family, who came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Andrea Heisler took these photos while the family was watching Mickey eat at the end of one of our Critter talks.

Yum, yum...cat food! Mickey was so adorable that her family came every day they were on vacation to see him. And they are not the only family who's done that!

It was really fun to meet this terrific family, and the others that Mickey has helped introduce us to!

Here is the email the Heisler family was kind enough to send after their stay:

Jessica,

We wanted to thank you for all your time you spent with our family. Amelia Island is a wonderful place and you made it really special. The kids, as well as myself, really enjoyed the nature center and the time we spent with you. We wish you all the best and it was so nice to meet you. Take care and thanks again!We will be checking your blog quite often.

Andrea, John, Johnny and Elizabeth Heisler

Elizabeth 9yrs old Johnny 13yrs old

Anyone else need help??

When we come to work at the nature center, we never know what to expect. Today I had three different animal rescues.

The first was a young possum who was very disoriented. Not sure what was wrong with him, but unfortunately he passed away before we could get him to the vet. At least he passed away where it was warm and quiet.

Later I was called to one of the condos of Club Villas to get a bird who's wing appeared injured and could not fly for awhile. So I picked it up, and had to search through the bird guide for awhile to figure out who we had. I'm pretty sure it is a young great crested flycatcher, a bird that I've heard a lot around the resort but not seen that often (or that close!). It had the prettiest rufus/brown color on its tail and wings. Also grey and yellow underneath.

I took him to BEAKS, a nearby bird sanctuary. They suspected it had flown into a window and was in shock. With luck this beautiful bird will recover and be released.

While I was out getting the flycatcher, a man from a timber company called about two baby squirrels that had been in a nest in a downed tree. So he brought them in, after getting attached - which isn't hard to do with these cuties. They were skinny and dehydrated, so I've been feeding them pedialyte a little at a time to rehydrate them. It's not as yummy as milk, but I told them the more they drink and get hydrated, the sooner they move onto a puppy milk formula. Who can resist that?

Huey and Duey are probably around 4-5 weeks old, just opened their eyes. With round-the-clock care they should be just fine!

Days of our Turtles...

Like sands through the hourglass...so are the days of our turtles. Well, maybe that's a little dramatic, but we have had a lot of turtle business lately! It started about a week ago, when we released Tuck, our yellow-bellied slider (see post from April 6) into the pond behind the nature center. He was big enough to fend for himself, and was also bullying Buck, our peninsula cooter. He was pretty excited to live in the big pond, but you can see him here looking back at us - reconsidering his bad behavior! But, then he swam away to explore.

Then, on Friday, an A.I.P. employee brought in three young turtles. Someone thought they'd be cute pets, but didn't realize the size they'd grow to. This is an important consideration when you are looking for a pet! Many young reptiles are bought and then tossed out when their owners don't have enough space for them. It's very hard on the animal itself, and also on the environment. Non-native animals compete with natives for habitat and resources. They may also upset the whole balance of an ecosystem. These three were saved from a yard sale!

We released them into the pond behind the nature center as well. As we were releasing them, maintenance workers brought in a tiny baby Florida red-bellied turtle, named Rex after his rescuer. It was found in the breezeway by the game room, which is by the pool. It was obviously lost....a pool full of chlorinated water is no place for him, and neither is the ocean!

Since he's so tiny we decided to keep him with Buck. No worrying about him fending for himself against the bigger Buck - he gave him a nip to put him in place!