Friday, December 05, 2008

Visitors from the Everglades.


Today I took this picture of three Ibises perched on my neighbor's roof. These birds are wading birds common to the Everglades National Park and the beach areas of Florida where they peck at the sand for tiny crabs and other crustaceans to eat. Suburbian Miami is not really their habitat but since humans continue to encroach into their home, they visit our cities more frequently. Good thing for us (we get the pleasure of their company), not so great for the birds (they are losing habitat more and more).

For those of you that aren't Miami natives--a bit of trivia. The Ibis is the mascot of the University of Miami Hurricanes. Why this bird for the 'Canes? Because lore has it that the Ibis is the last bird to leave for safety right before a hurricane hits!

4 comments:

Cheryl said...

I always feel sad when a species is pushed to come into cities and towns because of loss of habitat....although saying that sometimes the wildlife benefit. There are many birds of prey living in the city of London....they feed on the pigeons, so everyone benefits......

My Little Family: said...

They are everywhere around here. I guess because Pinellas county is surrounded by beach and humans have totally encroached on the habit - taken over really.

Gail said...

Habitat loss is a real issue for so many species...we are also losing species. gail

Anonymous said...

Loss of habitat caused by
more people and more land development means fewer birds.
A very sad story happening all over the world.
- Cheers from Canada.