Daisy and Marvin

A couple of weeks ago, we received a baby squirrel, who we named Daisy. She was about 5 weeks old, so we had to feed her formula around the clock for a few days, but then she began to eat some solid foods too, like nuts and rodent block. A couple days after we got her, someone brought us another squirrel that was a little older, named Marvin. She had raised him for three weeks, and knew he needed to be released soon, but didn't know exactly when or how. So, we put him in our larger cage to let him run around until we can release him.

It's important for these little squirrels to learn how to be a squirrel, and not that they are people, so we always have two together if possible. So, we decided to put the two of them together, even though we were a little worried because Daisy is smaller than Marvin.


It's hard to see in this picture, but Marvin in in his box on the right, peeking out the back left corner into the other box that we set up for Daisy, who stayed inside at first. Not much happened other than a few peeks at each other the first day they were together. By the next morning, though, little Daisy had taken over Marvin's box! So much for being worried about her, she turned out to be the dominant one. After a couple of days they got used to each other and now they use the same box and play together all the time. Daisy is the pesky little sister, always running around, even hiding under the towels to surprise Marvin. We'll keep the two in their cage for another month or so until they can be released.

Hummingbird

A few weeks ago, a local resident was shopping at a home improvement store when he noticed this hummingbird laying upside-down in a plant saucer full of water! Thankfully the bird didn't drown, and the man brought it into us. We fed it some sugar water, and it still did not fly off. So, we tried again about an hour later, and then then she did fly off. We have hummingbirds who frequently visit our feeder and flowers, so this one should do just fine around here.

Beach mice

This summer the recreation department found these little beach mice living under a trash can near the sand dunes. Unfortunately, the mother was found dead nearby. So, we took them to the Wildlife Coalition in Jacksonville where they lived with a foster mom for about a month. I picked them back up about a month later, and they were a little bigger and a lot quicker (and had sharper teeth!). So, we released them close to where they were found.


These little mice are cute, but they are also essential to the health of the sand dunes. They help repopulate sea oats which are critical to dunes. They are also food for alot of other animals living in the dune system. Some subspecies are are threatened, so it's great that we were able to return these to the wild.

Ungrateful gull on the bridge

I was driving to work a couple of weeks ago, and spotted this sea gull on the side of the bridge to Amelia Island. I thought it was an odd spot for a bird to be, so I turned around and crossed the bridge again, but decided it was too dangerous to stop on the bridge. So, I crossed again and parked at the foot of the bridge, and walked up near the top to the gull. (not fun in the August heat!). I got up to the gull, but right before I grabbed him he ran/flew into oncoming traffic. I just had to turn my head because there was a car coming that I was sure would hit him. Luckily, it didnt, and I was able to catch him. I carried him back down the bridge to my car, with him trying to peck me the whole time. Luckily I didnt have far to drive to work, because everytime I'd turn the wheel, he'd go right for my fingers! Talk about beign ungrateful to someone who saved your life! When I got it I put him in a carrier, and then we took him down to BEAKS where he could recover.

Leatherbacks on Amelia!

We were very fortunate this year to have two leatherback sea turtle nests on the island. Almost all of our sea turtle nests are loggerheads. Since it's so rare to have a leatherback nest, tons of people showed up to watch as volunteers excavated the nest. After the hatchlings hatch and then emerge from the nest, they head down to the surf. A couple of nights later, a volunteer from the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch digs up the nest and counts the number of eggs hatched and unhatched, and babies that hatched but did not live. Hatchlings that failed to climb out of the nest but are still alive get to hitchhike down to the surf where they're released. If you'd like to see a sea turtle nest excavation, go to www.ameliaislandseaturtlewatch.com, and then click on "excavation schedule" on the left hand side. The season is coming to a close, and we are happy to report 154 nests this year!

Mr. Whiskers takes over

If you've been following our blog through the years, you know that cats have often taken over our office. We now have Mr. Whiskers, who's decided to take over the whole nature center! He is about 4 or 5 months old and was found loose in an apartment complex parking lot. Amanda Clark could not leave this sweet boy there, so he's here at the nature center until we can find him a good home. He loves everyone that comes in, and escorts them around the nature center.

He even takes phone messages for us!

Mr. Whiskers also helps us keep track of the other animals. Here he is checking on our Burrfish, and keeping an eye on Buttercup the guinea pig.

Mini-me gopher tort

A couple of months ago, this tiny gopher tortoise was found with a bad eye. Sand had probably irritated it, so we treated it with some eye drops to make sure the baby was ok. Gopher tortoise babies usually hatch in the fall, so this one was probably about 8 months old. We named her Gypsy and kept her in an enclosure with our resident gopher, Gophina, who's about 6 years old (they dont reach adult size until age 12 or older).

Gypsy acted like a typical little sibling. Gophina would bob her head at the baby and sometimes head-butt her. We scolded her, but after a few days realized that it was all due to Gypsy egging her on. The two seemed to have a love-hate relationship. Gypsy was released today close to where she was found. Does Gophina miss her? Maybe in a small way, but I'm pretty sure she's happy to go back to being the spoiled only child! And I'm sure Gypsy is happy to be free again to roam!