With The Time That Is Given

Mexican Jay-a common Jay found around Southern Arizona

Where do I begin?  My treks around the US have been life changing.  Sometimes exhausting but always worth the effort. In my 40 some years of life, I never thought I would be living this incredible dream of exploration.   The birds take me to some of the most amazing places around this planet. 

With my dear friend Sydney at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

I have a rule when seeking out birds.  My goal in this life is to find as many of our planet's birds while I still can.  It sounds quite simple but I assure you, it can be complicated.  Before any trip, I research EVERYTHING!  Places, birds, reports......you name it. 

Orange-breasted Falcon

 Several birds that become my priority are the endemics and endangered species. One of the birds of Florida that is an endemic is the Florida Scrub-Jay.  I thought it to be numerous having heard several birders tell me it was a "trash" bird(a bird found EVERYWHERE).  Turns out the Florida Scrub-Jay is not only endemic but endangered!  Within our lifetimes, this bird could go extinct.  When I read reports like this, I am saddened.  It is very difficult for me to accept that we, as humans, are accelerating their extinction.  My friend Gordon said to me that this Jay should be my priority as its numbers continue to diminish.  When he told me this, I sat up the entire night reading.  It broke my heart.  How many birds will I see in my lifetime go extinct?  Today I have seen several birds, like the Orange-breasted Falcon and California Condor, that are critically endangered.  When one of these birds is observed in the wild, a tear forms in my eye.  

California Condor

  As I got more into birding, a wise old birder gave me some good advice that I cannot shake.  She puffed on her cigarette and in her no-nonsense-way told me to go after the birds that face extinction first.  It hit me hard.  Birding is a thrill for me.  While finding an endangered bird is exciting, it also is profoundly moving. After an outing with a find like that, I sit at a private table with a drink and just watch the world pass me by.  And I think about humanity as a whole. I wish I could change the world.  

Florida Scrub-Jay

So when I went to Florida, I knew that this bird was important for many reasons.  People continue to move to Florida.  The human population continues to increase.  Construction continues.  Roads are widened and created to get to those new subdivisions.  And more and more, the Florida Scrub-Jay is now locked into protected areas which is concerning because it limits the genetic diversity within their populations. Another major factor to the demise of this bird is caused by automobiles on the road. Because there are so many road mortalities, in populations of Florida Scrub-Jays near roads, the number of breeding adults that die each year is much greater than the number of offspring they produce each year. This creates what is known as a population "sink," where the population can't sustain itself without a constant influx of newcomers.

So on this day after weeks of study, I was granted one of the most wonderful gifts possible......a close encounter with the Florida Scrub-Jay.  And it was a very special moment that I won't forget anytime soon.  I hope that the state of Florida can reverse the declining population trend of these magnificent birds. 

I am linking to Wild Bird Wednesday. Here is my buddy Kathie's story about her own experience with the Florida Scrub-Jay.  Las Aventuras continues.....

Las Huellas Del Pasado

The great pyramids of Tikal

When one thing leads into the next, I begin to make connections on a universal level. 

Brown Jay

While all of it appears, smells, tastes and feels differently; it really is the same. We are all the same.

I noticed how the wildlife clung to these ancient pyramids.  The extremely rare Orange-breasted Falcon actually nested on one of them.  A very special and sacred moment to witness in the wild. We could lose these birds in the very near future. 

White-nosed Coati

Human kind will come.  And human kind will go.  And we will be the cause of our own extinction if we are not careful.  I now see in person what is happening on our planet.....and it is overwhelming.

Orange-breasted Falcon

During this day of VERY rare and special finds in Tikal, it all made sense. We are not islands anymore. We are all connected. What happens in one place affects us all.

"Someday we'll fall down and weep...and we'll understand it all, all things"  
from the Tree of Life (Two students created a video for a project in my literature class back in 2011)