Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Pelican Island

 A few years back and our first trip to Florida, we were visiting Barb's  first cousin Joe and his wife Mary.   They were taking us to see Pelican Island.  Much further back yet, at the turn of the 19th century, the passenger pigeon, the Carolina parakeet, the American bison, 80% of Floridas birdlife and a series of other birds and mammals had all but disappeared. They were slaughtered in an orgy of greed, profiteering and carelessness. The wonderful wading birds of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts had become the staple for women's fashionable hats. There was only one place, on the Atlantic coast, a tiny 5.5 acre island named after the birds, where a small flock of Brown Pelicans survived. And it went on and on. Till some true American heroes stepped forward and took action. Tormented by the slaughter, a German immigrant, named Paul Kroegel eventually made heroic attempts to ward off feather hunters from Pelican Island with his own 10-gauge shotgun. Kroegel's bravery and dedication received the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, one of my personal heroes, established Pelican Island in 1903 as a "preserve and breeding ground for native birds" and appointed Kroegel as the first Refuge Manager. It was the beginning of the conservation movement and the start of the National Wildlife Refuges. Today, they are the largest system of lands for wildlife in the world.
With Joe, our genial host driving, we headed off to the barrier islands, which encompass Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. Small Pelican Island itself stands alone and protected amidst the refuge itself. It proved to be a fun day.





A sign and a Kestral welcomed us. We had a picnic lunch overlooking a small marsh and then took a hike to look for birds.....
 







An anhinga watches over the scene.
 
                                          And a Red Shouldered Hawk watches the scene
 
The namesake of the refuge, the brown pelican, reflects on the more secure days as he and his comrades now enjoy in this beautiful place.














The refuge islands lie off the coast of Sebastian, Florida and the Indian River Estuary. If you click on the picture you can see the town in the distance. The Audobon Society and concerned citizens had to fight in the 60's to prevent "development" from once again destroying the barrier island chain.






                                                               









Later, Barb and Joe keep an eye out while "Chicken" Troutbirder, cautious of Atlantic rip tides, goes ankle deep.
 

21 comments:

  1. My mom lives within sight of Pelican Island in Sebastian. It's wonderful! I'm glad you got to go.

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  2. Isn't it incredible how people would kill birds for their feathers and then parade around with them stuck on their heads ! Thank goodness for Paul ... an immigrant no less. If it had happened today he probably wouldn't be allowed to enter our hallowed "Trump world".

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  3. It's a good news bad news story. Species and habitat were saved but not enough.

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  4. I love this story. Thank you for letting me know how the conservation movement came about. :-)

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  5. Anhinga ... will look this up. I never thought about it but we don't see as many feathers on hats these days. There are a few, but I reckon they're home made, so to speak. I enjoyed reading this post.

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  6. The best and worst of humanity. Plus ignorance assisting the worst.

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  7. I have been there and it is worth the trip. Teddy set the bar high preserving nature.

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  8. Great post and pictures. Those incredible mangrove swamps.

    Nor was I familiar with the Anhinga, which turns out to be a fascinating bird with many videos on youtube. However, I can't look at the picture of you without hearing the theme from Jaws in the background.

    And if I'm not just making this up the that lady in the hat is Lady Bellfontaine Dither, most noted for making repeated reconnaissance flights over Germany while her Duesenberg was being worked on.

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  9. Good report. I hope that there is a Teddy Roosevelt or the likes in our future. I worry about our preserves and national forests/land for the future generations.

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  10. Thank goodness we didn't exterminate the egrets altogether.

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  11. What a wonderful story; thank goodness for the far thinking conservators - and Teddy. Your photos are terrific.

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  12. Dear Troutbirder, thank you for this interesting and informative posting on wildlife conservation and Pelican Island. I know that Teddy Roosevelt did so much to establish national parks and wildlife care and many other things. Like you, he is a hero to me. Right now, we need heroes but it seems to me that wildlife and parks our in dire need of our support. Peace.

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  13. Hi Troutbirder .. must have been a lovely trip - such interesting wildlife and environment - cheers Hilary

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  14. I would enjoy seeing all the birds and I know you did too! I hope you and Barb and Lily are having a good winter. We are home and in isolation for a couple of weeks to get all better:)

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  15. So much fun birding, but I'm pretty discouraged around here!

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  16. What a great (interesting!) trip you had!! Good to see that you are still posting! I'm such a "hardly ever" person these days...

    Best wishes for 2018!!

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  17. Hi Mr T, An excellent post here. I enjoyed the photos and the background information, much of that I did not know. It delights me to see that Theodore Roosevelt is one of your heros as he is for me as well! Knowing how you love Yellowstone I'll bet you know that Teddy laid the corner stone of the grand entrance arch in 1903. The even call it The Roosevelt Arch. For photos, please see my blog post of April 8 2011 https://john-s-island.blogspot.com/2011/04/coaching-through-yellowstone.html
    Thanks for sharing your blog and for your kind comments on mine. Hope you have a good week ahead! John

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    1. Indeed. I have several photos of me standing underneath the Roosevelt Arch...:)

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  18. I’m glad Mr. Kroegel decided the pelicans needed to be protected. It looks as if you had a beautiful day for your visit.

    By the way, I remember Gorgeous George very well.

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  19. Florida is always great for birdwatching, and of course for wading in the ocean. Looks like a great trip to a beautiful place.

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