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!