We all know what our favourite bird looks like – but do you know why it’s evolved to look that way? Discover the amazing new project striving to build a stronger connection between people and nature – through the fascination of bird anatomy.
Everyone with outside space, he says, “can become a nature reserve manager. You can do really simple things to affect biodiversity where you live.”
No matter if it’s thousands of migrating Sandhill Cranes covering the sky in “V” shaped formations, or the stately presence of these large birds casually foraging along fields and wetlands, they are a spectacle to see.
Even as a kid I loved seeing birds of prey. I gave reports in grade school and could identify most raptors in the Midwest area where we lived. The ultimate prize, however, was the American Bald Eagle that was never to be seen. In fact, pesticides, poisons, DDT, and rampant hunting brought these magnificent birds to near extinction.
Herons using bread or insects as bait to catch fish, carrion crows dropping nuts onto roads so passing cars crack open their shells and great cormorants timing their fishing periods in New Zealand to take advantage of the strong currents generated by commercial ferries.
The question is, can the birds, the people, and the environment all get along? Florida’s exotic environment is a delicate treasure that requires good care and some common sense.