Jim Dowling is a retired teacher and ex-railroad brakeman/conductor. He takes pictures, gardens and, on occasion, spins a decent yarn.

From the towns and the cities. From the hills of Tallahassee, the people shout with glee, “The Florida Scrub-Jay is the new state bird!”. If only this were true. The Florida Scrub-Jay ...

In fact, the anti-mockingbirders point out, both the scrub jay and flamingo are native Floridians. Flamingo supporters also argue their bird is widely associated with Florida, having been long ...

Florida lawmakers may revisit a proposal to replace the mockingbird, the state bird since 1927, with the flamingo, and designate the Florida scrub jay as the state songbird. Similar bills in recent ...

One example referenced in the study from the animal kingdom is the western scrub-jay, which catches and stores worms for future consumption. In order to choose this behavior, authors suggest the bird ...

The wetlands "have more species of amphibian than the Everglades do. ... When these wetlands decline, the whole ecosystem declines.” ...