Swamp Angels: A Family of Limpkins is the true story of one family of limpkins. These rare and fascinating birds live along fresh water in Florida and the tropics. They feed on snails and are famous for their strange and wonderful calls. The limpkin family - Waylon, Olympia, Angelina and Luigi - are at the center of the story and action. An intimate photographic journal illustrates the life history of this limpkin family.
The story begins with the arrival of South American apple snails, followed by the limpkins, to a swampy lake in Florida. The adult limpkins found each other in the darkness through eerie and astonishing calls, and a month later the chicks hatched. Both parents together raised the five charming babies. The story tells about the disappearance of three chicks and follows the two surviving young birds as they grow up and start families. As the story is told, there are also comparisons among the natural histories of snails, limpkins and humans.
Swamp Angels can be read aloud while enjoying the photographs and the writing style is meant to make the story enjoyable for both young readers and adults. The story, and the appendix, Mo Science, are at the fourth grade reading level. The appendix contains additional science, curious things about limpkins, snails and humans, as well as questions to encourage thinking and imagination. The manuscript was reviewed for scientific accuracy by biologist and limpkin expert Dana Bryan, PhD.