Rice’s Whale, Gulf Coast Wildlife and Waters
Map
Map
Story & Experience
Birds of a Feather Project creates giant puppets of Gulf Coast wildlife to parade at local environmental events. We brought our Rice’s Whale, Mysticeti, as well as our new king snake, iconic great blue heron, and many shorebirds, warblers, manatees, and possum mama to parade in the park early in the morning of June 15. Our group shared our love of Gulf Coast animals: herons, gopher tortoises, sea turtles, jelly fish, dolphins, hawks and ospreys, and manatees. We talked about the recent identification of the Rice’s Whale as a unique whale found only in the Gulf of Mexico. There are 51 surviving of this endangered and seldom seen species. Our waters in all their forms are dear to us here. Several participants grew up on local bayous including Texar and all of us live within a few blocks of a bay or bayou or in other towns on the Gulf. The beautiful Gulf is predominant in our lives. Sharing our love of our fellow creatures, our shared dependence on our waters, and how we experience the healing of the waters as well as ongoing threats was a meaningful experience for us all.
Birds of a Feather Project creates giant puppets of Gulf Coast wildlife to parade at local environmental events. We brought our Rice’s Whale, Mysticeti, as well as our new king snake, iconic great blue heron, and many shorebirds, warblers, manatees, and possum mama to parade in the park early in the morning of June 15. Our group shared our love of Gulf Coast animals: herons, gopher tortoises, sea turtles, jelly fish, dolphins, hawks and ospreys, and manatees. We talked about the recent identification of the Rice’s Whale as a unique whale found only in the Gulf of Mexico. There are 51 surviving of this endangered and seldom seen species. Our waters in all their forms are dear to us here. Several participants grew up on local bayous including Texar and all of us live within a few blocks of a bay or bayou or in other towns on the Gulf. The beautiful Gulf is predominant in our lives. Sharing our love of our fellow creatures, our shared dependence on our waters, and how we experience the healing of the waters as well as ongoing threats was a meaningful experience for us all.
Why this Place?
Bayview Park over Bayou Texar viewing Pensacola Bay - Florida
Bayview Park overlooks Bayou Texar and the Pensacola Bay which flows out to Santa Rosa Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. The park was chosen for proximity to water and shade and level ground for the health and safety of participants. The morning at 8am was already in the 90s Celsius. The waters in our area have been called “the poster child for the Clean Air and Water Act” and since the 1970s there has been a concerted effort to restore the waters. Some efforts have been successful with many of our bayous and bays, though not Texar, passing clean water tests again, but there is continued threat from manmade disasters like the BP oil spill, the damage to restored oyster beds by unsecured barges during Hurricane Sally, pesticides and fertilizers seeping into the waters, and changes from the rising temperatures in the waters.
Act of Beauty
Our act of wild beauty and radical play was parading our Rice’s Whale through the park as well as playing with our other reptiles, birds, land and aquatic mammals.
Additional Photos
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