Dateline Florida

By Times Wires
Published January 4, 2008

FALCON SPOTTED IN LARGOBUT STILL ON THE LOOSE

Bobby, the partially blind falcon who escaped from the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, has been spotted. The bird was seen flying into a screened-in pool and other stationary objects along Harbor Hills Drive in Largo. Sanctuary members confirmed it was Bobby because witnesses described the leather straps still attached to his legs. "We're so happy because that means that he is still alive," said sanctuary spokeswoman Michelle Simoneau. The bird has been missing since 5 p.m. Tuesday, when he escaped while being transferred between enclosures. If anyone finds Bobby on the ground, she offers this advice: Throw a towel or blanket over him and place him in a well-ventilated box.

Graham turns author with spy novel

Former Sen. Bob Graham is writing a spy novel. The former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says his as-yet-untitled novel has a main character named Tony Ramos, who works for the State Department's Intelligence and Research Bureau, which Graham describes as an elite intelligence agency that has been more savvy and accurate than other U.S. spy agencies. Graham doesn't have a publisher yet, but said the book is far along. The plot: Ramos, a 30-ish resident of Hialeah, "ends up with the task of saving the world."

Ghost orchid lost, so were they

Two men intent on finding the elusive ghost orchid in the Fakahatchee Strand on New Year's Day walked the wrong way and got lost in the swamp, the Naples Daily News reports. The pair spent nine hours trying to get out. A Collier County dispatcher helped guide the men out of the swamp using a Global Positioning System and their cell phone signal. The ghost orchid, made famous by Susan Orlean's book, The Orchid Thief, and Adaptation, a 2002 movie, grows only in South Florida and Cuba.

[Last modified January 3, 2008, 23:58:38]