This or That?

Lara Miller,
Natural Resources Agent


Is it a turkey vulture or a black vulture? A slash pine or a longleaf pine? A saw palmetto or a cabbage palm? Identifying things in nature is not easy, but there are many ways you can learn and remember what is what. Each person remembers the name of certain species in different ways. For example, my trick to remembering a black vulture versus a turkey vulture is by the color variation of their wings when in flight. The black vulture has lighter colored feathers at the tip of its wings (Figure 1) and I remembered this by associating it with a “black-tip” shark. For the turkey vulture, the lighter color of the underside of their wings highlights a “T” shape which can easily be associated with a “t” for turkey vulture (Figure 2).

Okay, so now you’re a pro at telling the difference between a turkey vulture and a black vulture, right? What about all of the plants? Could you tell the difference between a young cabbage palm and a saw palmetto? One way cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), our state tree, can be distinguished from the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is by its leaf structure. The cabbage palm has a costa which is a long, narrow, triangular extension of the petiole or what some might refer to as the “stem” (Figure 1) whereas the saw palmettos lack a costa (Figure 2). There are many other ways to tell the two apart, but remembering some key distinguishing features is very helpful in identification.

With the wide diversity of plants and animals found in Florida, confident identification only comes with practice. The benefit of learning to identify plants versus animals is they don’t move! It is not to say plant identification is easy, but it’s not a bad place to start. The good news is we can help! James Stevenson, Extension Specialist, is hosting an Intro to Plant ID class at Brooker Creek Preserve on Saturday, June 1st from 10:30-noon. If you attend his class and want to take your skills to the next level, he is also offering a six-session summer course all focused on how to identify plants.

To stay up to date on upcoming environmental programs offered through UF/IFAS Extension Natural Resources you can sign up for the Brooker Creek Connection, follow the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center or UF/IFAS Natural Resources on facebook.

Online registration for these courses and more is available through Brooker Creek Preserve’s website, www.brookercreekpreserve.org. Simply click on the “CALENDAR” link and register. We look forward to seeing you!

Living with Sandhill Cranes

  
Lara Miller, 
Natural Resource Agent
  
Their call cannot be mistaken, a sound of a rattling trumpets from far reaches of the sky. Standing at almost 4 feet tall with long legs and a long neck, they are hard to miss and hard to mistake with any other bird. Sandhill cranes are typically found in small family groups or pairs with numbers increasing during winter as non-resident cranes migrate down from the north. Florida sandhill cranes (a non-migratory subspecies) will stay with the same mate for several years while young cranes only stay with their parents for about 10 months. You are most likely to see a sandhill crane in open pastures and prairies or wetland areas; however, it’s not unusual to find them in more urban areas such as golf courses, airports, etc. Keep in mind if you should see one in an urban setting, it is illegal to feed them per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Code 68A-4.00(3).

As with most laws and regulations, there is reasoning behind them. Florida’s sandhill cranes are a threatened species. The feeding of this bird puts citizens and the species at risk. Cranes that are fed by humans can become aggressive and thus attack causing personal injuries. Furthermore, urban settings are filled with windows, screened porches and shiny cars which may be damaged by these birds searching for food or mistaking their reflection for another bird, causing a territorial response. Their attraction to urban settings also puts them at risk for being struck by cars as they cross neighborhood roads in search of food. Young cranes are particularly at risk from attack by domestic pets such as cats and dogs as well as pesticide poisoning from neighborhood lawns. Human food does not make up part of a sandhill crane’s natural diet (seeds, plant tubers, grains, berries, insects, earthworms, mice, snakes, lizards, frogs, and crayfish) and can thus disrupt their digestive system. The foods which make up a crane’s diet are abundant in the natural environment and thus there is no need for supplemental food from humans.

If you wish to learn more about the Florida sandhill crane and its conservation, plan to attend “Florida Sandhill Crane Conservation”, an educational program on Saturday, January 19th from 10:00-11:00am at Brooker Creek Preserve. Learn about Florida sandhill crane populations, their life cycles, their habitats and special organizations that help the cranes with all aspects of their health including prosthetics. We will cover in detail the many threats to sandhill cranes and important things people can do to protect them in their habitat.

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