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City names preserve in honor of tireless Audubon volunteer
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST -- It's almost
dark and Fran Ford and a group of bird watchers eagerly await the
awakening of a group of velvety free-tailed bats from the Monroe County
School District's maintenance building.
They are not the only
ones waiting for the bats. A small hawk, a kestrel, perches above the
bats' doorway waiting for its dinner. A small bat flies out and the hawk
gives chase. The bat is quickly snatched in the talons of the bird and
whisked off for an early bird special.
Ford gathers there
nearly every evening. She marvels at the hawk's skills tonight. Earlier
in the day, she scoffed at the bird's marksmanship, calling him a "dumb
cluck" that usually misses the first couple before snaring one.
While the snatching
may seem sad to some, it's the harsh reality of life in the wild,
something Ford is keenly familiar with. She has dedicated much of the
last 30 years to learning about and protecting Keys wildlife.
Last year, she lobbied
to keep the school district from covering up the hole to the bats' home,
which would have forced out the 1,200 bats -- one of a handful of
colonies of that species in the United States. None have been found
north of Marathon, she said.
School district
officials feared rabies and other diseases, myths that plague bats. Ford
and other members of the Florida Keys Audubon Society started a campaign
to educate the school board and others about the benefits of bats, such
as controlling the mosquito population. Local plumber Tony Barroso built
a shelf to collect the guano and Ford now distributes it to neighbors
for fertilizer.
Her dedication to
bats, birds and other wildlife has earned her name a permanent place in
city history. Mayor Jimmy Weekley presented her with a plaque on Monday,
naming a small preserve for white crown pigeons off Government Road in
her honor.
Ford has worked with
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and researchers
with the University of Florida to track white crown pigeons.
"FranFord, a longtime
Key West resident and conservationist, has been a tireless and dedicated
worker for environmental preservation and education," the mayor's
proclamation reads.
The honor is a long
time coming, according to people who know her.
"She is the closest
thing to an angel that I have ever met," said Tom Wilmers, a U.S. Fish
and Wildlife biologist currently tracking pigeon migration patterns in
the Caribbean. "She has done so much for bird life and other animals
down here. She just keeps giving and giving and giving. She is just an
amazing lady."
Ford's reaction to the
proclamation was humble.
"If it helps bring
awareness, that's great," she said. "It's like my mom said, 'Fools'
names and fools' faces are often seen along public places.' But the best
part is that it's a preserve."
Ford has been active
in the Audubon Society, Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust, Garden Club,
Botanical Garden Society and Monroe County Environmental Education
Advisory Council since retiring in the Keys in 1963 with her husband,
Navy Cmdr. William Ford. She has established an annual scholarship fund
for local youth who want to study biology and botany, and who plan to
return to the Keys to practice their trade.
When not volunteering
her time locally, she travels the world to work with exotic birds and
animals. She has tromped through the rain forests of Costa Rica, the
deserts and mountains in Mongolia and the plains of Africa.
Her love for birds and
animals began when she was a child growing up in Rhode Island, spending
summers on the family's rural farm. She became interested in birds after
her brother, a Boy Scout, asked her to identify her first bird, a
sparrow. The bird is still one of her favorites.
At 80, Ford shows no
signs of slowing down. She has the energy level of a teenager, actively
trekking through the brush on bird walks and riding her bike nightly to
the bat house.
The couple's home is a
daily meeting spot for the bird crowd. In the morning they gather over
coffee, pastries and other breakfast goodies and talk about what new
woodpeckers, kestrels and other birds have moved into the neighborhood.
She often refers back to her signed copy of Peterson's Field Guide and
other bird reference materials during the conversation.
"We're just people who
like nature," she said. |
