The weekend of June 17th will be the last post before my annual summer writing hiatus begins. There is a lot on tap for this summer: need to do a minor revision on the Hyesim manuscript's introduction and go through a final proofing of the translated poems. The way things are going/have gone, I think it will be reviewed for publication this fall, and with any luck that manuscript will be out 2012. Have to finish final drafts of the 2 longer Nansorhon poems: "The Life of Immortals" (87 stanzas) and "White Jade Pavilion" I think it's called. "White Jade" will be a longish kind of prose poem which will serve I believe as a good introductory poem to the Nansorhon manuscript. Assuming I'm able to bring these translations to final draft (hey, anything is possible!) the project will be peer edited next fall and with any luck professionally edited next spring. Probably will try to send work out for publication too. I think the last time I sent anything out was November 2009. I don't feel bad about it though. Since that time I and my family have moved from Pusan, South Korea to San Antonio, TX, and then to Guam--our current place of residence. Reflecting on everything that has happened in between those series of moves as well as the moves themselves, well, I certainly can't deny that a vacation is in order!
I've been meaning to post this little gem of an article on the work of my uncle, Randy Havens. Part of my background is shaped by an enduring family interest in the outdoors and a respect for nature. My uncle works for the State of Florida's Division of Habitat and Species Conservation. I thought it nice to mention how a community can work well at the local level, despite coming from different places. The formatting below is a little off, but you can find the original article with pictures, instructions on how to build a kestrel nest-box, and some background info on my uncle in a .pdf file here. The article begins on pg. 3 of the newsletter.
HSC teams with Boy Scouts and utility company to provide kestrel nesting boxes in Big
Bend WMA, Tide Swamp Unit
When Perry, Florida Boy Scouts approached the FWC Big Bend WMA staff seeking projects that would credit toward Eagle Scout classification, HSC biologist Randy Havens had the perfect project waiting.
"We needed to construct and erect nest boxes for the Southeastern American kestrel, a state threatened species whose principal limiting factor has been identified as a shortage of nesting habitat and snags."
Randy explained that the WMA knows it hosts migrating kestrels, and he wants to determine if we have the non-migratory falcons.
“We don’t have documentation that this subspecies nests here, but I have been curious, because it looks like we have ideal habitat for them,” Randy said. “So, we needed to put up some nest boxes, monitor them and find out if we have Southeastern American kestrels.”
The Boy Scouts agreed to the project of constructing the boxes according to plans available on the MyFWC Web site. FWC purchased the untreated cedar boards and the necessary hardware to construct
the nest boxes.
“There are a host of problems associated with mounting boxes to live trees,” Randy said. “So our first
avenue of June 2011investigation was to call the Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Madison to ask permission to mount the nest boxes on existing power poles that run along the beach road between Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee.”
After a series of conversations with their manager of engineering, it was decided that a better approach would be for the utility company to donate surplus power poles and install them at designated locations on
the Tide Swamp Unit.
Tri-County Electric donated the poles, equipment and labor necessary to set the poles at 10 different locations. The company met Randy on site and installed the poles on March 2.
The local Boy Scout troop was asked to return to Tide Swamp to add predator guards to the nest poles and mount the nest boxes. The kestrel nest boxes and the Eagle Scout qualifying project were completed on March 26.
The project was completed with all 10 nest boxes up and each pole wrapped with a 3’ strip of aluminum
flashing to prevent snakes and a variety of meso-predators from reaching the nest box and preying upon
the eggs or young inhabitants.
The boxes were completed after this year’s nesting cycle. Monitoring will begin next spring. Randy hopes to acquire a peeper scope by that time.
Perhaps, next year, we will find Southeastern American kestrel chicks in one of the nesting boxes.
In the meantime, Randy is keeping an eye on the boxes and finds that we have a squatter.
A great crested fly catcher (pictured here with the nest box) has taken up residence.
“It’s first-come, first served. We’re not kicking out anyone,” Randy said.
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