In the mid-1800s there was a massive emigration of humans from the Old World to the New World – brought on by tough economic times. It was the unemployed, the farmers, and others seeking a new life in the “promised land” of the United States. They knew little about that land except that they could start a new life. They brought with them what they could – including birds that they relied on for pest control – English Sparrows – now known as House Sparrows. Wagon trains headed west and ships doing trade around the world took cages of these sparrows.

The Florida Scrub Jay finds itself thrust into the middle of a lawsuit designed to protect its habitat in Charlotte County.

Anhingas are birds found in warm areas of North and South America. These fish-eaters have a unique way of capturing their meals – they swim in rather shallow water and spear swimming fish. Then they emerge at the surface and flip the fish into the air in order to catch it head first. If successful, they then swallow the fish. If unsuccessful, they try again. Natives in South America saw them do this and believed that the Anhinga was “playing” with the fish and in their language the Anhinga was known as the “Devil Bird”. The name “Anhinga” apparently comes from the Tupi Indian language. Other natives saw the Anhinga swimming with only its head and long neck out of the water and thought it was a snake – hence their name for it was the equivalent of “Snake Bird”.

The Muscovy Duck is an American bird – mostly South American in the wild, but an introduced exotic bird in Florida and elsewhere around the world. These large ducks were domesticated by humans in South America at least by the 1500s. Once discovered by humans from elsewhere, they were taken to humans around the world as a source of meat and eggs. Muscovy Ducks are large, were used to living with humans, and they quickly became popular.

Miami-based photographer and author Kirsten Hines spends her life immersed in the natural world. She started off as a wildlife biologist but found herself more interested in talking pictures of the natural world than doing science with it. She has now published nine books in all, the latest of which is “Birds of Florida.” It’s a guidebook featuring 310 birds you can find in Florida, with photographs she took and brief descriptions she wrote that provide insight into the various species, and tips on where to find them.

Winter is when many Florida plants become dormant and lose their leaves until spring. In contrast, most of our ferns remain a vibrant green through the winter. This is in part because ferns are plants that live in moist environments and the water buffers them from the cold. A winter visit to a marsh, swamp, or other wetland can be refreshing on a cold winter day in south Florida. While other plants lose their leaves, ferns generally have a more intimate contact with their wet environment. Fern diversity in wet areas can be spectacular – each species occupying a somewhat unique niche, thus minimizing competition with other species.

Gray Squirrels are our most common squirrel and are with us year-round. They have a diversity of adaptations for survival and are sometimes considered a scourge if they nest in an attic, munch on fruits, or take the food we put out for wintering birds. They vary seasonally in color – mostly gray in winter, more brown in summer allowing them to better blend in with seasonal changes in vegetation. The openness of winter habitats and the proliferation of bird feeders often make these squirrels easier to observe.

An eaglet hatched at the active bald eagle nest along Bayshore Drive in North Fort Myers on Saturday afternoon with a second egg being watched.The official hatch time for the eaglet named E24 was 4:01 p.m.The new eaglet is the offspring of mated pair F23 (short for Female 2023) and M15 (short for Male 2015).A pip, or initial crack, was confirmed Sunday in the nest's second egg.

The Black Skimmer is a very unusual shorebird – in part because of its exceptionally long, knife-like lower bill and much shorter, slightly-curved upper bill. The knife-like lower bill isn’t for cutting, but for slicing through calm surface waters near shore and in shallow ponds and lakes. When the lower bill strikes a small fish, the fish slides up the bill and the upper bill clamps down on it.

Wild Turkeys are birds that most of us know on sight because of their large size, habit of foraging in groups in relatively open areas, and the display of a male with his tail held up and fanned. Of course we know them because of their prominence at our holiday dinner tables – and in holiday advertising -- especially at Thanksgiving. Males are larger than females – even when not “puffed up” and displaying. Males also have iridescent plumage, multiple colors on their mostly bare head and neck, and a prominent fleshy structure called a snood on the forehead that becomes enlarged and more colorful during interactions. Females are smaller, have duller, non-iridescent plumage, only a blue-gray head and neck, and a smaller, less colorful snood. Studies suggest that females prefer males with longer snoods and that the snood may indicate a resistance to some diseases.In this week’s Wild Things we’ll talk a bit about the behavior and ecology of Wild Turkeys, the origins of their name, and our relationship with them.