sawgrassnaturecenter
The Sawgrass Nature Center (SNC) is a nonprofit located in South Florida. Our mission is to educate the public about native wildlife and environmental stewardship. We also rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife. Animals that cannot be released due to permanent injuries or disabilities are given a forever home on site with animal keepers that know how to properly care for them. We are able to operate due to donations from generous patrons. If you are interested in helping us further our mission, check us out at: https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/
202 posts
Latest Posts by sawgrassnaturecenter
This beautiful Limpkin was seen in our front wetland the other day. You may have heard their calls and thought something terrible was happening! Don't worry, it's just normal territorial behavior. Listen here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Limpkin/sounds
This wild red shouldered hawk that visits our nature center had a brief cleaning session after breakfast
Today is Squirrel Appreciation Day!
https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/2022/01/18/squirrel-appreciation-day/
A downy woodpecker in our front wetland
A Eurasian Collared Dove built a nest in our yard
Merry Christmas from Leonidis!
Molly, the Loggerhead Musk Turtle
We hope your Thanksgiving was as great as Nelly’s, our resident Turkey Vulture!
A rainy but beautiful start to our morning here at SNC!
Our turtles are wondering where the sun is today
A wild water snake in our wetland
A Long Tailed Skipper visited our Fire Bush
Spike, the Burrowing Owl, has sparse feathers on his feet unlike many other owls who look like they are wearing leg warmers!
Riddles + an Event = Fun!
https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/2021/09/28/world-animal-day/
Peepers says hello to Fall
Hummingbirds Use Sense of Smell to Make Foraging Decisions: Study
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/hummingbird-olfaction-10037.html
We’ve spotted our first winter friend, a Northern Waterthrush!
A pair of red shouldered hawks we’ve been seeing around the nature center.
A non-native iguana snuck into the alligator’s enclosure. Luckily for him Wally wasn’t hungry today!
Those of you that follow us on social media may already be familiar with Bumper and the reason he got his name. Bumper likes to bump shoes with the front of his shell. This is a territorial display that is meant to inform the keeper of the day that they are in his home and they are only welcome as long as there is food.
Bumper is with the Sawgrass Nature Center because he is considered an exotic species. That means his species is not native to Florida.
What is Bumper?
Greek Tortoise
The Greek tortoise is one of five of the Mediterranean species of tortoises. They can grow to an average size of 5-8 inches in length, making them one of the smaller species of tortoise. Even though they have an average lifespan of about 50 years, they have been recorded to live up to 125 years in captivity with proper care and treatment.
Want to see Bumper?
Even though these guys are small in size, they require a pretty big habitat space to be kept happy and healthy. This includes lots of dirt and vegetation. That’s why if you come by the SNC to visit Bumper, you may have a hard time spotting him in such a large exhibit area. The best time to see Bumper is feeding time Tuesdays-Sundays around 11am-12pm. You might even get to see him do his famous “Bumper” display.
Sinbad
A fan favorite at the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital, is Sinbad, a yellow-naped amazon parrot. The main mission of the SNC is to rehabilitate and release native wildlife back into the wild, but sometimes we have to provide permanent residency to the animals that come our way. Sinbad is a great example of two of the usual three reasons.
Previous Pet
In the wild, yellow-naped amazon parrots can live twenty to thirty years. In captivity, however, they can live sixty – eighty years. That means any potential pet owner of this gorgeous bird would have to plan for what is going to happen to their beloved parrot upon their death. Sinbad out lived two owners. The extended family of his owners reached out to the Sawgrass Nature Center for help and Sinbad became a permanent resident of the SNC. Why can’t pets be returned back to the wild? Pet animals are usually captive bred and are totally dependent upon us for food, shelter, and water and may not be able to seek out these things for themselves. They most likely would not be able to survive on their own in the wild and may become easy prey to predators. This is why we should never just “let go of” an animal that we can no longer care for.
Exotic Species
As their name implies, yellow naped amazon parrots are not from Florida. This means they did not originate from Florida and were brought to the area by human intervention. Unlike invasive species, this exotic species does not have an established breeding population in this region and is not causing any inherent harm to our environment. In fact, you are only likely to see this particular species of bird in a place like a zoo, living as a pet, or in a nature center.
Because of the potential harm they can cause in our native ecosystem, it is illegal to release any exotic species into the wild.
Sanctuary Living
Sinbad, along with many other species, will spend the rest of his days being lovingly cared for by the dedicated staff at the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital. He is provided a healthy and diverse diet of fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts. One of his favorite things to do is serenade his caretakers in Spanish. He has also been known to give our Camp Director a scare or two by letting out a very good impression of a child screaming.
Interested in meeting Sinbad?
The Nature Center is open Tuesdays to Fridays 9am-5pm and Saturdays and Sundays 10am-3pm. To enter, a five-dollar donation for adults and a three-dollar donation for kids is greatly appreciated.
Invasive Species and the Burmese Python
Have you ever heard the term, “invasive species”? Listen along to this month’s podcast from the Sawgrass Nature Center as our staff teams up with the Nature Conservancy of Southwest Florida to discuss invasive species and the Burmese Python problem in the Everglades!
https://anchor.fm/snc-wild/episodes/Invasive-Species-and-the-Burmese-Python-Part--I-e11n04k
Tomorrow an incredible natural phenomenon known as the super blood moon lunar eclipse will take place at 5:45AM EST. “In the United States, the total eclipse will begin at 7:11 a.m. ET and end at 7:26 a.m. ET, but will be partially visible from 5:45 a.m. ET to 8:52 a.m. ET,” (https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/world/may-full-moon-lunar-eclipse-scn/index.html). A lunar eclipse is described as an event where the Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light that reflects off the moon.
Celestial events like a lunar eclipse have long caught the attention of humans throughout history. There are also many myths and legends about the full moon affecting human behavior. Whether it’s just a really cool event to watch, or something more, what is the connection between the moon and us?
Scientifically speaking, the moon has a gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans. The moon’s pull is what is responsible for creating the tides. The tide is essentially the rising and lowering of the ocean against the shore. The change in period between higher and lower local ocean levels is referred to as high and low tide. As the moon circles the Earth, it’s gravitational pull gets greater and weaker in the areas it moves closer to or further from. The greater the pull, the higher the tide, and vice-versa.
Find your local high and low tide here: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/map/index.html?region=Florida/
In nature, many animal species have oriented themselves to respond to high and low tide. For example, sea turtles will come up to shore during a high tide to lay their eggs. Since other animal species have developed behavior that responds to certain aspects of the moon, it isn’t too crazy to believe that at some point down the evolutionary line, humans may have done something similar. However, there aren’t too many studies to prove this.
While many studies have been done on how the Full Moon can affect sleep cycles in humans (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25266502/), this might be better chalked up to the slow adaptation to artificial light in the 21st century. And while there are many who believe that hospitals, emergency rooms, and even classrooms get crazier than usual on the day of a full moon, there isn’t much to prove that either. A better question to ask might be, is the superstition around the full moon becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy? Let us know what you think!
