Photographed by Bette Jackson
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Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Have you seen a little olive bird with a thin pointed bill, bright yellow under its tail, a rusty cap, thin yellow eyebrow, and a long tail that pumps up and down as if keeping time to music? Forget the rest, just watch for that tail pumping up and down. In mid-winter in Florida, what you're likely seeing is a palm warbler. Maybe it was on your sidewalk, or in the mowed grass, or perched on a shrub just outside your window. Palm warblers can be abundant in Florida's manicured landscapes as they search for tiny insects and occasionally berries and seeds to satisfy a seemingly insatiable appetite. Small flocks often spread out across the lawn with individuals spaced six to ten feet apart. They're just visitors to Florida, real snow birds. Palm warblers nest across Canada in sphagnum bogs and spruce trees. Just as people arrive in Florida from throughout the north country each winter, so do palm warblers. If you haven't seen it yet, take a closer look at the world around you. That tail-pumping palm warbler is hard to miss.'With the Wild Things' is produced at the Whitaker Center in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. For 'The Wild Things', I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson.