Nomination Statement for Danny Bales, Recipient of the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s 2020 Citizen Conservation Award

Danny Bales has been volunteering for the St. Johns River Water Management District to monitor the endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers at Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park in Orange County for over a decade. Danny is a gifted wildlife photographer.  He uses his stealth to get close to the woodpeckers without disturbing them.  This often involves wearing a full camouflaged ghillie suit in the Florida heat and crawling on his belly through tick infested palmetto underbrush.   He then uses his amazing photography skills to photograph every individual woodpecker on Hal Scott Preserve.  The woodpeckers are banded with colored leg bands as nestling to help identify them, but these small bands are difficult to read on a fast-moving woodpecker, even with a good spotting scope.  Danny assures he gets clear photos of each leg of every bird on an annual basis.  This makes it possible for biologists and land managers to monitor changes in the population dynamics.  Red-cockaded woodpeckers are cooperative breeders with a complex social system.  Through Danny's keen observations, managers are informed about changes in breeder positions, number of "helpers", fledgling success, juvenile survival rates and other changes within each clan.  Changes in population dynamics can be indicators of ecosystem management issues, so this information in invaluable to the successful management of an endangered species and the pine flatwoods habitat they depend on.  

In addition to his woodpecker identification work, Danny also reviews all his photos closely for any sign of bird health issues or leg band problems.  He has identified many such issues.  District staff have then been able to capture these birds and tend to their needs, saving many woodpeckers lives.  In a small population of endangered birds, every life matters.  Danny also assists with the locating of the cavity trees where the birds live.  He maps the trees and marks them in the field.  He also assesses their level of activity and determines if they are in use by adults or juveniles - often down to the individual bird that calls that cavity home.  Finally, Danny assists with bird captures and banding efforts.

Danny Bales is very passionate about his work with red-cockaded woodpeckers. He does not see this as a casual hobby to kill some time after retirement.  He takes it very seriously and will spend 20 or more hours per week in the mesic flatwoods from March to July each year.  If there are additional assessments needed at other times of the year, he is always eager to tackle those as well.   Danny does not do this for recognition, and he makes no money off his fantastic photographs - he donates them without copyright restrictions to the District and multiple other agencies and organizations that have requested them.  He spreads the word about the importance of protecting these woodpeckers and the longleaf pine ecosystems that sustain them.  He is a true conservation hero.

Here is as example of one of Danny’s emails regarding a woodpecker with a cast of its broken leg.  This really shows Danny’s dedication:

“Well... I'm worried about my buddy in C Colony. I don't want him to lose his breeder position and run off. He and I have a good rapport. So I went there this morning for a visit. We danced around the area while he fed horizontally on tree limbs. He did not mind me at all, and the others did not seem to care about my presence. Anyhow cast looks good. He seems to be more adept in feeding with it than he was the last time I saw him. In fact he's pretty dog gone good at it. Looks to me like he's getting termite larvae, and pigging out on it. It was very chilly this morning, and I was not dressed for it. So I cut my visit real short. If the female can hang in there I think when the cast comes off he'll be able mate. This bird was the best helper I've seen at Hal Scott. When he became breeder he was good in that title too. I got an excellent video of him feeding this morning. View it at www.flickr.com/photos/mudhen/16876692595.”

Here is a link to Danny’s red-cockaded woodpecker Flicker Account.  Another example of his dedication and great photography skills:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/mudhen/albums/72157619942592612/