I have been here before, but it was about 10 years ago, so I decided to go back to see what new and old birds they had for viewing. This organization rescues and treats 1,000 birds each year, but they also keep cages for birds that have serious problems such as missing eyes or wings that prevent them from living independently. No charge to visit, but they encourage donations.
Good parking, also.
This is a black vulture, which are common in Florida and other southern states. They are smaller than the turkey vultures and tend to stick together in groups. Sometimes, they will find a carcass that they cannot open, so they wait around for a solitary turkey vulture to open it, and then take over the carcass by outnumbering the turkey vulture.
These are also the "bad birds" who in southern areas of Florida entertain themselves by tearing off anything rubber on a vehicle, though they specialize in windshield wipers. For that reason, many people will slip plastic grocery bags over their windshield wipers. They don't eat the rubber--they just play with it. In a couple of places in the Everglades, the rangers have left boxes of tarps and bungee cords you can use to cover your vehicle while you are parking there.
Sorry for the photos taken through wire mesh, but it was the only way I could get photos. Below are a pair of crested caracara. Pretty birds
This a view of some of the bird cages that hold birds which are permanent residents.
Offices, restrooms, and a tiny gift shop are upstairs.
A red-tailed hawk.
This great egret was just a visitor.
A pair of endangered wood storks. Not the prettiest birds, but they are interesting to watch using their feet to find small mollusks in shallow swamps. While stamping with one foot, they also use that side's wing to shade their view so they can better see what is in the water.
So, to demonstrate the wood stork dance, you stand on one foot, stamp with the other foot, while holding your "wing" out and looking down with your beak in the water ready to snap shut. Very impressive, but looks silly when a human does this.
I happened to be there while they were feeding fish to these pelicans. As soon as each bird had a full crop, it left the pool and found a spot out of the way. That way the keepers knew who still needed more fish.
I have no idea what these birds are. Will add info when I find it.
Just a view of this peaceful place.
They are reconstructing some cages to make them more hurricane-proof.
This great horned owl had been given a young rat, dead of course. He was clinging onto it with one claw and did not start eating until the small crowd on humans moved away. Some raptors got day old chicks and others got a young rat, as this one was guarding.
Finally, he started tearing bites off of it. They also had a couple of barred owls and a couple of tiny Eastern screetch owls, but I could not good photos of them.
It was really a nice day, sunny with a high of 77 and a nice breeze off the Gulf of Mexico.
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