MAKE WAY FOR YOUNGLINGS

                                                

Wakodahatchee is a Miccosukee (Seminole) Native American phrase meaning “created waters”.  The Seminoles had a thriving trade network between 1767-1821. When tensions built up between the Seminole and the United States to the north, a series of conflicts broke out.  These were known as the Seminole Wars  (1818–1858).  All but about 200 Seminoles were forced to relocate west of the Mississippi River.  Those natives who remained in Florida fostered a resurgence in traditional customs, and Mother Nature eventually reclaimed roughly 50 acres - Wakodahatchee.

The birdwatching in this area leads to many surprises, like a Roseate Spoonbill, pictured above, that had just settled onto a tiny island.  If you ever see an aptly named Roseate Spoonbill, you will never forget it.  Like a creature out of Alice and Wonderland, this rosy flamingo-pink colored bird has a gray beak curiously shaped like a spoon, and it truly gives a whole new meaning to spoon feeding.  The Roseate Spoonbill walks steadily through the water swinging its odd bill to strain small bits of food out of the water, shrimp, bugs, and small fish.  Marsh soup. 

I giggled when learning its scientific name – Ajaja ajaja – which sounds more like a Latin dance than a Latin name.  Imagine this flamboyant bird shaking its reddish feathers and doing  a cha cha along the boardwalk.  The lovely pink primary feathers of the Roseate Spoonbill were once hunted for use in making ladies’ fans, in the early 1900’s.  Their population dropped to a low of less than 40 breeding pairs, until they gained legal protection. 

Spoonbills sound like a small jack hammer.  Ajaja ajaja.  Imagine a baby pounding a wooden spoon upon a wooden highchair tray.  Listen to the sound file on the All About Birds website, or read more about these curious birds at the National Zoo website. 

Can you identify the bird pictured directly below?  This one greeted bird watchers just a little further along the boardwalk.  Hint: It's an anagram of the word greet.
  
                                         
   

If you guessed Egret, good work.  The Great Egret we spotted was standing proudly atop a tree on a island of nesting anhingas.  It's long elegant white and wispy breeding plummage was wafting in the breeze.  Tall and regal with a yellow beak and black legs, this bird is one of the largest and farthest migrating of the heron family.  The Great Egret is also the symbol of the National Audubon Society, the leading organization in America for bird conservation.  You are bound to spot an egret along the wetlands of Rhode Island.  Listen to the the Great Egret’s not so elegant burpish croak by clicking to this sound file.  

                                
 
Out on the eastern stretch of boardwalk, two days earlier, I spotted an endangered Wood Stork, the only stork which breeds in North America.  While the large stork was walking upon a levee, typically they will wade in up to their bellies stalking prey.  Does the image of the stork conjures up the delivery of a baby.  In Christianity the stork represents holiness and vigilance.  So naturally, it's not surprising the bird is symbolic of the Annunciation to Mary that she would bear the Christ child.  The stork at the tail end of the following recording sounds like a baby crying.  Click here, then hit the play arrow, and listen.  
  
Another unusual sighting was the appearance of an Egyptian Goose that birdwatchers were chattering about having seen the day before.  The Egyptian Goose is actually a duck, or more specifically, a shelduck, bred in Africa.  I found it particularly curious that it appeared over here this week, during the political rebellion over in Egypt.  Was the bird seeking sanctuary over here in America, just on vacation, or here with some other agenda?  This bird is characterized by one source as pugnacious and aggressive.  
  
                                
 
With a pink beak and legs, the Egyptian Goose is distinguished by a brown spot surrounding each eye, lending it the character of a masked marauder.  It also a brown ring around the lower neck.  The sexes are generally distinguished by their sounds; males make a raspy hiss, while females produce a cackling sound.  In the following recording, however, they sound like a bunch of party blowers. – Click here to listen.  What could they possibly be celebrating?
 
Perhaps the most unusual sighting along our walk appeared at the end, a plump white peahen (female peacock), roosting in a tree.  We thought all peacocks were a Technicolor rainbow of iridescent colors, but apparently, there are also white peacocks.  The peacock is the national bird of India, where they are typically bred.  The iridescent hues, which shimmer and change with viewing angle, are created by an optical interference phenomenon. 
 
Because of the eye-like markings that appear at the tip of each tail feather, peacocks symbolize watchfulness and protection.  They are also associated with such attributes as Vision, Awakening, Immortality, and Resurrection.  Google the words “peacock” together with “symbol” to find more definitions online.  
  
  
 
One can only guess that the white peacock might represent a “purity” of vision or heavenly guidance and protection.  Can you imagine a peacock angel, alighting on a cloud and looking down?  The peacock has a sharp call.  Listen here to this.  I’m not sure how to describe this sound.  How would you describe it?  Tweet your thoughts to TrailLeader on twitter.

While we also saw many of the more common species - teals, moorhens, coots, ibis, anhingas, herons, and red-winged blackbirds – we were truly blessed with the incredible bonus of getting a close view of four astounding birds – the Roseate Spoonbill, the Great Egret with breeding plummage, the Wood Stork, and the White Peahen. Visit the Audubon Society of Rhode Island for information about local birdwalks. You are not likely to see a Roseate Spoonbill this far north, but you are bound to see and hear other amazing birds as they prepare for their Spring babies. 

Riddle #1: What do ducks like to eat for breakfast?  
Answer: Weedies

No seriously, there is a plant called duckweed that is a crucial link in the food chain. 

Riddle #2: What flower has no stem and no leaves?
Answer: Duckweed.

It is the smallest flowering plant, but has no stem and no leaves.  Read more about this curiousity at naturia.  Older kids might be interested in learning how duckweed can solve agricultural and environmental challenges by reading this report at the FAO - Food and Agricultural Organization - website.

If you are interested in reading another story about helping the environment, read Walking for Inspiration or you can read the next story in this mystery series that will lead you along a new Trail of Clues.
      
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Also follow National Wildlife Federation's Wild Animal Baby on facebook for preschool activity ideas.