Bill Dunson, born in rural Georgia, skipped 12th grade and went directly to Yale. Bill subsequent-ly received a PhD in Zoology from the University of Michigan, studying softshell turtles. Bill is Professor Emeritus of Pennsylvania State University thanks to a career spent entirely at that institution, teaching and doing research on the physio-logical ecology and ecotoxiciology of reptiles, amphibians and fish. Always curious about nature, Bill has dedicated his life to learning and sharing his knowledge with others. He has served on many advisory boards here in Southwest Florida to preserve the water that gives life to our region.

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Click for Larger View of the Pelicans • Here for the Inset Left • Inset Right

Some Backyard Birds in Florida

While the weather remains somewhat less than ideal in VA/NC you folks up North are starting to see some really nice birds and are beginning to experience early Spring in a way that is beginning to excite my envy. When the Spring peepers start calling there, I will really begin to be anxious to return to the mountains.

For the moment we must content ourselves here in Florida with the usual backyard birds- in this case a pair of eagles that sat over our house this morning and made a big fuss about something. There is a former osprey nest in the top of this Norfolk Island pine, which was converted to a great horned owl nest for a while, and then the owls seem to have left. Now the eagles have been visiting occasionally and we do not know exactly what is going on. It does illustrate again the interest that various raptors have in these tall exotic trees that provide them with excellent perches and potential nest sites. This roaming pair of eagles may be from a nest that was built this Winter in a Norfolk Island pine about 2 miles south of here, but which apparently failed to produce young.

In my boat on the way back from a walk on a barrier island I passed a group of white pelicans (see photo) resting on a sand bar. They will soon be heading back to the Western US for their breeding period. But for the moment there is little indication of Spring migration.

Bill Dunson
Englewood, FL