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Whether you live on Sanibel Island or in a completely different environment in faraway places like Louisiana or New Jersey, we want to see what you're seeing in your habitat while you are staying safe at home.
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| Thank you to Janet Zylstra from Whitefish Bay, Wisconisn, for sharing this image of a Cooper's Hawk from her backyard.
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Please email your nature photos so we can share them in "Ding" on the Wing and by social media. Include details about the photographer and where the photo was taken.
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Refuge Update
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The Refuge has announced changes to scheduling due to the lingering effects of the pandemic. Starting Sunday, January 3, the Visitor & Education Center will be closed every Sunday until further notice. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the front information desk and flagship Refuge Nature Store will be open in the center. All hands-on exhibits remain closed.
The center's restrooms will stay open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wildlife Drive will continue with its seasonal schedule of Saturday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tarpon Bay Explorers recreation concession tours and rentals will operate according to their regular schedule. Keep up-to-date on Refuge re-openings and postponements during the pandemic at our dedicated web page.
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Now is the time to give back to nature what we have received through these difficult times. As 2020 draws to a close, year-end giving allows us to express gratitude for the role the Refuge has played in our survival these long months. Please take a moment to read our Year-End Solicitation Letter and make a tax-deductible donation that serves your health as well as the health of our environment.
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Read more about becoming part of our monthly giving program.
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Happy New Year! 
May we all look forward to 2021 with optimism, hope, and the joy of nature to sustain us. To all our friends, we wish you the happiest New Year, filled with good health, happiness, and the warmth of family and friends.
NOTE: The Visitor & Education Center will be closed December 31 and January 1 for the holidays. Restrooms, Wildlife Drive, Bailey Tract, and Tarpon Bay Explorers
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On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Refuge and DDWS hosted free open houses and tours of our Wildlife on Wheels (WoW) urban mobile classroom. Staff and interns made sure visitors kept distanced and that hands-on displays were disinfected after each use.
Families learned about the four local ecosystems through age-appropriate scavenger hunts.
Bilingual Education Intern Alfredo Carbajal demonstrates one of WoW's four outdoor exhibits. The Sea Turtle Skee-Ball teaches about the hazards facing hatchling turtles born on our beaches.
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The DDWS staff has been busy bringing the healing sunshine and beauty of the Refuge to the public through 30-second social media videos. Follow on Facebook to see our #DailyDoseofDing, brief virtual visits to the Refuge for those who can't make it. 
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 Today is the last day to make a year-end tax deductible gift to benefit conservation efforts at the Refuge. Read More about the CARES Act for philanthropic giving. |
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Remember, profits from all Nature Store sales go directly to the Refuge for educational programs, wildlife research, and overall conservation efforts.
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Last winter, Haley Miller joined the Refuge biology team as an intern from Clemson University, South Carolina. We recently received a letter thanking DDWS for its support of her internship.
To the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society,
I am writing to thank you for providing me with the opportunity and support to be a biological intern with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the past year. Living on the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge and working with the Refuge staff have been invaluable to me as resources, as I've been working on my thesis research in the mangroves for my master's degree. Even through a year as different as 2020, I made lifelong friendships and connections READ MORE
Learn more about Refuge internship programs. DDWS supports more than a dozen interns each year. Your donations help with this important program and you still have time to make a year-end gift electronically or via mail as long as the envelope is postmarked Dec. 31, 2020.
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The past months have proven how important interaction and relationships can be to one's health. 2020 has shown us how quarantining, isolating ourselves, and social distancing can impact our physical and mental well-being.
One relationship that continues to be consistent throughout these unprecedented times, is our relationship with nature and wild spaces.
To some, nature has always been a constant comfort. To others, nature has become READ MORE |
Disposable Facemasks Add to Plastic Ocean Dilemma
COVID-19 has brought more than the scourge of disease to our planet in 2020. Marine environmentalists estimate that 1.56 billion masks have found their way into our oceans this year. Made with thin fibers of plastic, the disposable masks have resulted in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tons of marine plastic pollution.
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| | Help save wildlife with your purchase of reusable facemasks. |
And the masks aren't going away anytime soon in 2021. Do your part to keep them out of our oceans by disposing responsibly. When possible, purchase reusable face coverings such as those sold at ShopDingDarling.com. Profits benefit wildlife, so you're doubling your earth-friendly stakes.
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'America's Best-Kept Secret'
In each issue of "Ding" on the Wing, we showcase one of the more than 560 refuges across the U.S.A. that is open to the public.
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| | Images courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. |
Location:
34,724 acres southwestern Louisiana
Totemic Fauna:
White Ibis, American Alligator
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White Ibis
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Visitor's Tip:
Start your visit at the refuge complex center at Cameron Prairie NWR to learn about the area.
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| | | Photo by Sylvia Guarino | |
Click HERE to see this week's wildlife sightings.
Tricolored Herons have recently have been spotted at the Refuge!
Contrary to its name, the Tricolored Heron consists of more than just three colors, and its plumage changes drastically during life stages. The "multicolored heron" might be a more accurate name for this bird.
To see more wildlife photos click on our social media links:
If you have taken any beautiful, interesting, or just plain goofy photos at the Refuge, send them to Development Officer Sierra Hoisington, for a chance to be
featured in upcoming newsletters.
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Volunteer Training - January 14, 2021
Go Wild for Jeopar-Ding - TBA
Earth Day at the Refuge - April 22, 2021
Niki Butcher Photographic Exhibition - Mid-November-December 2021
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These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our website to learn more!
Sincerely,
"Ding" On The Wing composed by Chelle Koster Walton. Designed by interns Cait Nalley and Hollis Hatfield
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