A MENAGERIE OF WAYWARD BIRDS X
JULY 5, 1964
"Boy this mud sure is sticky!" Gilligan replied.
It was right after their encounter with the tree climbing crocodiles and both Gilligan and the Professor were having a difficult time walking through the thick mud and grass.
"It certainly is!" The Professor replied as he pulled his foot out of the mud.
After several more minutes of walking through the thick mud they finally stepped out onto a more solid damp mud. In front of them was a good sized mangrove with shrubs and tall trees growing from out of the water as well as several grassy mounds covered with sticks and branches.
"Hey Professor look at those over there!" Gilligan suddenly whispered as they began to hear dull croaking from all around.
The Professor looked to where Gilligan was pointing to and gasped. On top of several of the mounds were dozens of large white birds. They had black wings and black and grey legs with pink feet. Their heads were bald and dark brown with a black face and a curved dark yellow bill. It looked like there were two parents and their young ones some of which looked like they were ready to leave the nest.
"They're storks right Professor?" Gilligan asked as he took a sip of water from his canteen.
"Correct and by the looks of them Wood Storks," began the Professor. "Very interesting I didn't expect them to be here!"
"Uh-oh!" Gilligan suddenly exclaimed as he patted his pockets.
"What's wrong?" The Professor asked.
"I think I lost my pocket knife!" Gilligan explained as he tried to feel around in the water.
"Hmmm, we might not be able to find it in all of this!" The Professor replied as he helped Gilligan feel around for his knife.
They were about to give up after a few minutes when two of the storks flew up and landed next to them. One of them gave out a dull croak and bent down and put its bill into the water a few inches from Gilligan's hand. Amazingly it came up with his pocket knife. The Professor was dumbfounded as Gilligan extended his hand and the stork dropped his knife into his hand.
"Thank you Tampa thank you Orlando!" Gilligan replied as they flew back to their nest.
"Tampa and Orlando?" The Professor asked as they began walking again.
"Yeah I saw a ton of them in the Everglades when I was down in Florida for my recruit training!" Gilligan explained.
The Professor chuckled as they made their way back to camp.
A/N: The Wood Stork was once called the Wood Ibis even though it isn't an Ibis at all. It is the only stork that breeds in North America. They prefer to breed in marshes and wetlands in trees. They've been classified as a threatened species since June 2014.
A/N: This is definitely the last bird chapter I promise.
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