Date: 3/4/25 12:51 pm From: N.Fontaine <nfontainester...> Subject: Re: [NFLbirds] The last field trip
I'm glad that you will continue to write. I love reading your summaries.
Cheers,
Natasza
On Tue, Mar 4, 2025, 3:42 PM Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> wrote:
> I'll still be writing and will continue doing shorebird and duck surveys
> at the refuge. I am just allowing someone else the opportunity to lead the
> Winter field trips.
>
> Don Morrow
> <donaldcmorrow...> <donaldcmorow...>
> Tallahassee, FL
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM Robert Crawford <rlcrawfd...> wrote:
>
>> I will sure miss your reports.
>> On 3/4/2025 3:23 PM, Don Morrow 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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>>
>> --
>> Robert L. Crawford
>> Thomasville, Georgia
>>
>>
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>>
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