The Endangered Birds of Florida

The Florida Wood Stork
Mycteria americana

The Wood Stork is one of the largest wading birds in Florida

and the only true Stork breeding in the United States.

An awesome sight to behold, this great bird stands

 over three feet tall and has a five foot wingspan.

The Stork is stunning in flight, displaying as nearly all

white with black edging on their fully extended wings.

Their long legs and beak are dark,

 as are their heads, which are without feathers.

 The only other color on the Stork are its red feet.

Unlike some other large wading birds,

Wood Storks fly with their necks and legs straight,

which makes them look even bigger than they are.

A Florida Wood Stork
Blue Spring SP, Florida
Photo credit: M. Wanner
 

Their ancestral homes in South Florida, the Everglades

and the Big Cypress National Preserve, have been

nearly completely abandoned as the birds now look

further north for a better, less disturbed environment.

The culprit for this mass evacuation is habitat loss

due to water drainage and construction encroachment.

*Update September 2010*

A movement is underway by Florida Homebuilders to downgrade

 the status of the Wood Stork and the USFWS is looking into it.

If you object to this flagrant use of intimidation by lobbyists for this group,

 please contact the USFWS and tell them so......