Monthly Archives: October 2021

By Amber Prinkey

Ghosts and goblins, jack o’ lanterns and black cats, these are some of the symbols of Halloween. But whoooooo’s the featheriest of them all? The owl! Here at Sawgrass Nature Center, we’ve got several species of owls, all rescued because of injuries. Let’s learn a little about each one so you can pick your favorite then come visit us to see it in person!

Great Horned Owl

Our largest owl here in Florida, the Great Horned Owl is also called “Tiger of the sky” for their ability to use their keen hunting skills to capture prey. This is pretty ironic considering the GHO we have here at the nature center is named “Pollo” (Spanish for chicken)! Pollo was named at his previous facility, Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, FL, for his timid nature. 

Barred Owl

Barred owls get their name from the vertical bars on their abdomen and the horizontal bars on their chest. They make the call that sounds like “Who cooks for you?” We’ve got two Barred owls and we are looking forward to them getting a habitat update soon!

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing owls are a mostly terrestrial species (on the ground). Instead of living in trees they spend time in burrows AND they are diurnal (awake during the day) instead of nocturnal! 

If you can’t make it to SNC to see Spike, our burrowing owl, check out Project Perch for a live webcam of burrowing owls https://www.browardaudubon.org/project-perch.html

Eastern Screech Owl

Eastern Screech owls are our smallest owl native to Florida and our most abundant owl here at the nature center. Most of our tiny owls have eye or wing injuries, possibly from being hit by cars. We can help all owls by not throwing trash on the side of the road which attracts mice which then attracts owls.

As we celebrate Halloween this year, we can thank owls big and small for their help controlling our pest populations. Since owls are adorable, I’m sure no one will have a problem with this. But there’s another critter that helps with pest control that some people do not find so adorable. Keep reading our blogs to learn more!

By Amber Prinkey

We have about 200 species of butterflies floating around in Florida and one very rare one is the Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala) which we see in Southeastern Florida and parts of the Caribbean. Having survived a harrowed past including near extinction due to over-harvesting of their host plant, the Atala has made a comeback.

On September 20^th we received a donation of Atala caterpillars which we placed on their host plant, the Coontie (Zamia integrifolia), around our nature center. 

While many of them disappeared and probably ended up being lizard food, (despite the fact that they are considered poisonous, who read last week’s Non-native lizard post?) we kept a few and raised them inside to ensure their survival.

They got very dark inside their chrysalises. Did you know they make a sound known as stridulation 10 days after their last “instar” (caterpillar stage of growth) which may coordinate their emergence with other pupates? 

Then emerged in all their glory!

Have you ever thought of creating a habitat for butterflies? The University of Florida can tell you how to do it at https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/design/types-of-gardens/butterfly-gardens.html.  But if you are just interested in helping our native fluttery friends, avoiding pesticides in your yard is one way you can make a positive difference. 

If you don’t live in an area with a lot of butterflies, come to Sawgrass Nature Center where we’ve seen many different species of these beautiful insects. We are open Tuesday through Friday 9-5 and weekends 10-3.

CORAL SPRINGS, FL – Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital has been selected to be the media partner for TAPinto Coral Springs, an original daily news website that covers Coral Springs.

Our center is part of the company’s new “TAPinto Gives Back” program that provides a local nonprofit free advertising and marketing services worth $6,000 per year. 

“This is a great opportunity for us to tell our story to a Coral Springs community,” said Robin Reccasina, executive director of Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital. “We’re grateful to TAPinto Coral Springs for allowing us to promote our activities and further educate the community about our services. We look forward to the partnership.”

Leon Fooksman, editor and publisher of TAPinto Coral Springs, said when it comes to giving back to the community of Coral Springs, there are many nonprofits that make such an incredible difference in all of our lives and it is incredibly difficult to select just one. 

“We are excited to select Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital because of how much impact the organization has in Coral Springs and surrounding cities  – including the fact that over 1,100 animals are brought to wildlife hospital every year and the center’s staff and volunteers provide educational presentations to nearly 7,000 students,” Fooksman said. “We look forward to working with them.”

To receive TAPinto Coral Springs’ free daily newsletter, click here. (select Coral Springs).  To learn more about marketing your business or organization on TAPinto Coral Springs, click here.  And to read independent, unbiased news about Coral Springs 24/7, visit TAPintoCoralSprings.net.

By Amber Prinkey

Here at Sawgrass Nature Center, we see our share of non-native species. Some, like the Green Iguana, are considered invasive which means they are causing harm to our native species. In fact, Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) recently placed these reptiles on the “prohibited” list, meaning it is now illegal to breed, sell, or own them without a permit.

Green Iguana

 Others, like the Brown Basilisk, Northern Curly Tailed Lizard, and Giant Ameiva are smaller than iguanas but also don’t belong here. The Curly Tails were brought to Florida in the 1930s to control sugarcane pests but now may eat our native anoles.

Northern Curly tailed Lizard

Brown Basilisk

Giant Ameiva

You may wonder, how did all these non-native lizards get here? Although some animals were brought here by well-meaning farmers trying to control their field pests, FWC reports that many species end up here from the pet trade. But you can help! Before committing to a new pet, do your research to be sure you can take care of it. Also, never release unwanted pets into the wild. And since these wild lizards are already here, come check them out at our Nature Center! You may see them scrambling through our Orchid Garden which is where most of these photos were taken.

By Amber Prinkey

If you love birds like we do here at Sawgrass Nature Center (I know, we say that all the time but it’s true!) then maybe you’ve heard about “Big Days.” These are citizen science days for birders all over the world to report the birds they see which then helps scientists track which birds are moving and where. Cornell Lab began involving us normal folk (if birders can be called “normal” Ha ha!) just a few years ago in 2015 with the release of the app eBird, which allows you to enter data on the birds you’ve seen and look up which birds were seen in other places. Since its release, hundreds of thousands of birders from around the world have recorded more than a BILLION observations! The app is FREE, so go ahead and download it and get in on the fun. You will be amazed at the number and variety of birds all around you.
There are now two Big Days each year, one in May and one in October. This month’s happens this weekend, on October 9th. Gathering this information is so important in a time when birds are threatened by climate change, habitat destruction, and human intervention such as skyscrapers and other window collisions. The numbers are staggering, if you don’t believe me check out this article from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and also to see how you can help.

This Yellow-Crowned Night Heron showed up at Sawgrass Nature Center’s wetland area at an unusual time, according to eBird!