'Bout Time

It's been weeks months since we been able to add another bird to our list!

We had seen him a couple times before. He was always in flight away from us or too far away to get a good photo. However yesterday evening, he stayed perched on a remains of a old pine tree - allowing us to take several pictures. He remained contently on his post as we departed the Beaver Pond.

Mycteria americana - Wood Stork

Wood Storks have been on the Endangered Species List since 1984. In the early 1900's, there were more than 60,000 of these birds in the U.S. But habitat destruction, development, and pollution caused their population to dwindle to only 4,500 breeding pairs in the 1980's. Wood Storks are stabilizing and now have between 5,000 and 7,000 breeding pairs. The health and existence of the wood stork is a good way for us to measure the health of the wetlands where they live.