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As a loyal Florida Gators football fan, I always root for the Gators and anyone playing against Florida State. It’s never easy watching your favorite team on a losing trajectory, especially after living through their glory years, including National Championships in 1996, 2006 and 2008. So when in 2025 University of Miami defeated Florida State football team, I rooted for the Miami Hurricanes. When Miami found itself in the 2026 National Championship, I was leaning toward Miami, but open to Indiana whose quarterback Mendoza has deep Miami family ties, and is a very good guy. It was a good game, ending with Indiana winning after intercepting a Miami pass, stopping a Miami scoring drive. Not particularly fond of the Hurricanes quarterback, I figured the good guys won.  The scarlet ibis has a long, curved bill which it uses to probe in the mud for insects, crustacean, frogs and fishes. The Miami Hurricanes mascot is the White Ibis named Sebastian. Though Sebastian looks a bit like a duck, an ibis is a way better mascot than a “hurricane.” What kind of dance would a hurricane do? Would it run around and expel wind? The mascot was chosen by the student body in 1926. According to legend, the ibis exhibits bravery (or stupidity) as it is the last bird to depart the area in advance of a hurricane. As the storm passes the ibis is the first to reappear, exhibiting resilience. The ibis is often called the hurricane bird, or the storm bird, as they keep an eye on the weather. They are an unofficial storm warning system, especially when you see a lot of them flocked together.  Wading in shallow water, in search of marine worms and other aquatic creatures. The White ibis (Eudocimus albus) is the most numerous wading bird in South Florida and in the Everglades. It is found from the southern half of the US East Coast (Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia), along the Gulf Coast states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas) and south through most of the Caribbean coastal regions of Central America. Their breeding range runs along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and the coasts of Mexico and Central America. The White ibis doesn’t mind being in urban settings. It is becoming more of a suburban bird, and can be found almost everywhere the Florida Keys, Homestead, Redlands, Naples, road margins, artificial ponds, downtown Miami, and, yes, at the University of Miami campus where they congregated long before there was population in Miami to attend one.  Juvenile and mature ibis. The ibises call sounds like a foghorn… nothing pretty about it. They croak and quack, like a duck with nasal congestion. They walk in shallow pools, slowly with their heads down, sweeping their bill from side to side, looking for crabs, crustaceans, marine worms, frogs, fish and other wetland creatures. They traverse backyards and road shoulders, probing as they go, capturing by touch worms and insects found in the ground cover. Thousands nest annually on a small island at Crandon Park near Key Biscayne. In the morning and evening you can see them flying overhead, heading to and from their feeding grounds in yards and parks. Within eye and earshot of a bustling populated Miami, these ibis are a testament to adaptiveness.  Reflection of a juvenile while ibis. Adult White ibis are easy to recognize by their bright white feathers, pinkish-red bill, and curved posture. Immature White ibis are brown with a white belly. There is another ibis who is cousin to the White ibis called the Scarlet ibis. The Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) looks exactly like the White except is is bright red, and is the only shorebird with red coloration in the world. It is the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago. It is numerous in Central and South America, and the Caribbean.  Ibis are social birds, traveling in groups. They are spooked by my presence and the camera. The Scarlet ibis is red because they eat of lot of red crustaceans. I photographed the Scarlet ibis at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. The aviary there is 20 foot tall and 4,000 square foot, and visitors walk among the birds as they wade in ponds, and roost in trees within the enclosure. Natural threats to the ibis include jaguars (haven’t seen to many of them lately…unless you are referring to the vehicle) and birds of prey. A greater threat is due to population growth and loss of habitat, though they are adapting. Or if you are a Miami fan, the White ibis was overpowered by the “red” of Indiana. Go Gators. I actually think my Florida Gators can jump out of the water and chomp on the ibis… but that is for another year.  A flock of mature white ibis.
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There's a bird that is everywhere, but is generally under appreciated... it's the seagull. This group of 47 species is one of the most recognizable, despite there being no such species as a “seagull”. These members of the gull and tern family are common near coastal beaches and waterways. If you mention “seagull” to a Keys resident who likes to fish, they’ll tell you if you see a line of seaweed, with flocks of seagulls flying over it, chances are there will be mahi or tuna nearby.  Close-up of a “Laughing Gull”, a year-round resident of South Florida. My photos of the Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) were taken from the stern of a sightseeing boat, while touring the wooden stilt houses of Stiltsville in Miami about a mile and a half offshore Key Biscayne. These birds are named for their calls that sound like a laugh. Gulls are opportune feeders, adept at fishing and scavenging. The passengers were throwing saltines into the air, to the gulls in our wake. These superb flyers managed to catch the cracker before it (or the bird) hit the water. Key Biscayne is connected to Miami by a causeway called Rickenbacker Causeway, named after Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, the legendary WWI flying ace, Commander of the 94th Aero Squadron and innovative fighter pilot who devised new ways for how American pilots engaged the enemy. The nation cherished Capt. Rickenbacker, and he was a true American hero. After the war he started a car company, founded Florida Airways, purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Carl Fisher, and founded a comic strip called Ace Drummond. Eddie’s nickname after World War I was the ‘Ace of Aces’. But all those accomplishments pale in the eyes of Capt. Rickenbacker who was grateful for a seagull that saved his life and the lives of 6 other men who survived 21 days adrift at sea.  January 1935: Capt. Rickenbacker assisting Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, after completing her first extended flight aboard Eastern Airlines. He revolutionized air travel. In October 1942, Eddie boarded a B-17 Bomber in Hawaii headed to see General Douglas MacArthur. Capt. Rickenbacker was a passenger and envoy on this secret military mission, when the plane had a navigation malfunction, got lost, ran out of fuel, and ditched in a remote part of the Central Pacific Ocean. The crew was adrift aboard three rubber life rafts; food and water ran out after three days. On the eighth day of being lost, Rickenbacker fell asleep only to be awakened by the feel of a seagull that had landed on his head. He reached up, grabbed the bird’s feet, wrung it’s neck and it became dinner for the men. The intestines were used for bait and by using the bones as hooks, they were able to fish and survive for 13 more days. After 21 days and 400-500 miles floundering at sea the men were rescued. Capt. Rickenbacker had lost 40 pounds and was too weak to stand when he was lifted aboard the rescue plane.  Gulls are opportune feeders, adept at fishing and scavenging, even catching saltines in mid-air  He recovered and went on to achieve personal and financial success. But despite all his accomplishments, and the accolades of a nation, Rickenbacker never forgot that incident, and chose to be grateful for that one bird… a seagull… who gave hope both physically and spiritually to the survivors.. For the remainder of his life (he lived till age 82), part of “Old Ed’s” routine every Friday evening about sunset was to go to a South Florida pier with a bucket of shrimp to slowly and methodically feed the seagulls. He’d reflect on events of that fateful day a half decade earlier, and express gratitude to the bird who gave of itself without a struggle. He’d walk to the end of the pier alone, but soon would be surrounded by dozens of seagulls, screeching and squawking, flapping and fluttering and in a few short minutes the bucket was empty.  These superb flyers managed to catch the cracker before it (or the bird) hit the water. As the sun goes down, the old man whispers “thank you - thank you” to the gulls, as he lingers in thought, transported to another time and place, then turns and slowly walks home. To the unknowing, his actions would appear strange or unusual. You never know about the quiet old souls, and the great things they have done during their lifetime. Miami was grateful for Capt. Rickenbacker. In 1935, Eastern Airlines was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade. Eastern Airlines was the first airline to operate without a subsidy from the Federal government. Rickenbacker revolutionized air travel.  The Rickenbacker Causeway, opened in 1947, made possible public access to Key Biscayne and Crandon Park, expanding Miami-Dade’s parks and recreation opportunities. On Nov. 9, 1947 the Miami Commission dedicated “Rickenbacker Causeway,” the road connecting Miami with Key Biscayne. Rickenbacker’s good friend and commissioner Charlie Crandon was instrumental in the acquisition and expansion of parks throughout Miami-Dade, including his namesake park (Crandon Park), and the new causeway made public access possible. Rickenbacker would feed the Laughing gulls on Key Biscayne Beach until his death in 1973. Guess he had the last laugh when his prayers were answered in 1942 when the seagull saved his life.  My photos of the Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) were taken from the stern of sightseeing boat, while touring the wooden stilt houses of Stiltsville in Miami about a mile and a half offshore Key Biscayne. One of the things I appreciate most about living in the Upper Keys is the amount of birds and wildlife seen here every day. Everywhere I look there is life; it’s almost like nature could be taken for granted. In stark contrast to the urban areas to the north, and even in the Keys, just 100 miles south and west in Key West, there are far fewer critters. So why is it when folks visit our tropical archipelago, the first thing they want to do is go to Key West because it is on their “bucket list.” There’s a lot Key West has to offer that we lack here, such as traffic and parking problems, tacky t-shirt shops, touristy bars, and people-watching… why do you think they call it Key Weird?  Side view of an alert Blue Jay at the seed table. Yes, there is the diving and snorkeling, and the Dry Tortugas are a must see, but let's face it, what Key West is truly lacking is the Blue Jay. Cornell Ornithology eBird database lists only two reported sightings of Blue Jays in the Key West/Stock Island area in the last 10 years. The Blue Jay is one of the most familiar and recognizable birds, and is a permanent resident of eastern North America, all the way through Florida, ending at Marathon in the Florida Keys.  Blue Jays scare away other birds and devour the sunflower seeds and wild bird food provided,  Their tendency to “cache” or stash their bounty near their breeding sites, ensures against going hungry, which is why they return to the feeder for multiple helpings. So why are Blue Jays rare in Key West? It has to do with the Blue Jays’ diet. They like acorns… so much so that Blue Jays have been credited with the proliferation of oak forests in their range. The natural range for oaks in Florida ends at the mainland near Homestead. There are scattered live oak trees in the Middle and Upper Keys, these oaks having been planted since oak trees are not native here. Key West has zero oak trees and therefore no acorns. (Though I’m sure there’s a few nuts down there.)  John James Audubon painting depicted bluejays raiding a mourning dove's nest. The majority of their diet consists of seeds and insects, but they do occasionally prey on bird eggs and hatchlings. Part of the reason they can survive here is that Blue Jays are omnivorous; they have a varied diet consisting of fruit, seeds, nuts, insects, spiders and small living creatures such as mice and the eggs and hatchlings from bird nests. John James Audubon depicted jays raiding a mourning dove's nest--but stomach analyses show eggs and chicks comprise an insignificant portion of their diet.  Blue Jay close-up Anyone who has ever watched a Blue Jay at a bird feeder understands that they are voracious eaters. Blue Jays disrupt the other birds, overpowering smaller and less aggressive birds, scaring away other birds near their food. In their pursuit of never going hungry, they can collect up to six acorns at a time using their throat as a pouch to transport their cache to their breeding grounds, where they bury the acorns. Because Blue Jays don’t remember where they hide every acorn, they have been credited with propagating oak forests. Blue Jays are beautiful birds. Did you know that it is nearly impossible to differentiate between a male and female Blue Jay since males and females share the same plumage? For the gender neutral crowd, Key West sounds like the perfect spot if you were a Blue Jay. One way you are able to tell males and females apart is by their size, since male Jays are slightly larger. The world is pretty confusing these days… Not everything is as it seems. Blue Jays are not really blue! The Blue Jays feathers are actually brown but we perceive them as blue because of a phenomenon called light scattering, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The pigment in Blue Jay feathers is melanin, which is brown. The blue color is caused by scattering light through modified cells on the surface of the feather barbs.  This is my seed table! Aggressive behavior toward another Blue Jay.  A quick loop to make sure the other bird got the message.  Now where were we? The Blue Jay resumes it’s meal. Jays have bright blue top feathers, with white underneath. Their wings and tail are streaked with black, their tail has white outer feathers. They have a black “chinstrap” from its ears down to its chest, and it’s head sports a blue crest which lays flat when the bird is at ease. The crest stands up when in an aggressive posture. Blue Jays lower their crests when they are feeding peacefully. The Blue Jays heavy neck muscles rival those of the woodpecker. It has a straight black bill which can pierce dense acorns or eat locusts and grasshoppers, fare usually to big for smaller birds to handle. The Blue Jay, also known as Jaybirds, are members of the crow family which explains why they are large, loud and domineering. It kind of reminds me of the characteristics we see too often in our fellow humans whom I try to avoid. What Blue Jays do is part of a natural balance and shouldn’t be judged as either good or bad.  JUST FOLKS BY EDGAR A. gUEST |
CAROL ELLIS
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