Birds and Nature

Now that Hurricane Gustav is gone, another serious hurricane threat is moving towards the gulf coast--Hurricane Ike. At first it looked like Ike was headed toward Florida or at least the Florida Keys. Those who care for captive wildlife made preparations as noted in this story : "About 20 birds are bunking with humans at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, including Rosie, a roseate spoonbill, and Casey, a cattle egret. The center, which sits on about 25 acres among tangled mangroves, houses a few hundred injured pelicans, hawks, owls and other birds - most with broken wings or missing eyes. At the daily 3:30 p.m. feeding, dozens of wild birds huddled for the fish handout. "They are very, very nervous. They know it's coming so they eat as much as they can," hospital coordinator Melanie Londrico said. ...... Colorful insects could be seen fluttering within the 5,000 square-foot glass dome at the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservancy. Executive vice president Geor