Date: 3/4/25 12:27 pm From: <featherhead58...> <featherhead58...> Subject: Re: [NFLbirds] The last field trip
Oh Don!! I have learned so much from you thank you for so many wonderful
outings!! I hope you find more lifers in your future adventures! Lisa
Lazarus
On Tue, Mar 4, 2025, 3:23 PM Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> wrote:
> I am not sure how long I have been leading the refuge’s winter wildlife
> tours, but for at least twenty-five years my annual schedule from October
> through March has included a monthly day at the refuge with three-hour
> field trips starting at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
>
> There is no standard agenda for these field trips. I try to find a route
> that has a good chance of showing off what the refuge offers in winter;
> ducks, shorebirds, gators, otters, bobcats, and nesting eagles. My routes
> usually go out on the levees, but may also snake down Lighthouse Road. I go
> wherever I think there might be something interesting.
>
> I have led car caravans, driven an 18-passenger van and used a Wakulla
> Transportation bus that came with a driver who would surreptitiously keep
> me updated on college football scores. For years we used the “people
> mover,” an open wagon pulled by a refuge pickup truck. This year, I have
> been driving the refuge’s seven-passenger van.
>
> There are people who have been coming on my field trips for years and,
> always, new people that I have never before met. I have always had birders,
> some experts and some beginners. I have learned identification tips on the
> job from some very good birders and taken pleasure in teaching others the
> fundamentals of duck identification.
>
> Over the years, as digital camera technology has improved, I have had more
> and more photographers looking for that perfect shot. I have tried to
> balance giving them time for photos with moving the field trip along.
>
> I also get folks who just want to get a ride around the refuge and see
> something new. There are no skill requirements or entrance tests to come on
> these tours. Everyone has always been welcome.
>
> Leading field trips requires patience and thought. There’s the basic
> logistics. What route to take. How long to stay at each stop. Finishing up,
> sort of on time. I have tried to ensure that everybody gets something out
> of the trip and that questions are answered, even if the answer is “I don’t
> know.”
>
> I have led several hundred refuge field trips and taken a few thousand
> people out to see their refuge. My time leading the St. Marks winter
> wildlife Tours has, however, come to an end. Last Saturday afternoon, I led
> my last winter field trip for the refuge. Like all field trips, it had some
> highlights; a pair of mating eagles in a pine tree, a White-faced Ibis and
> a Glossy Ibis standing near each other for comparison. It was a good way to
> end things.
>
> I will still be doing field trips at the refuge for birding groups and
> perhaps an occasional refuge event. I have, though, decided that it is time
> for someone else to take over the winter wildlife tours. I am hoping that
> the refuge will choose a younger and, perhaps, more diverse voice to
> replace me. Regardless, whoever is chosen will, I am sure, do a great job.
>
> I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to lead these trips. It has
> been a great ride.
>
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