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A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
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Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
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The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
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      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
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      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
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    • Gardening Web Resources
Apalachicola River and BayEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and Streams

Paddling and Wildlife Watching Around the Apalachicola River

by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 22, 2012
by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 22, 2012 6 comments

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV

IGOR chip- human appreciation 150In the video above, we spent a day hitting Apalachicola River WEA Paddling Trail System and Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail sites. Luckily for me, I had Liz Sparks and Andy Wraithmell to show me the cool spots and tell me what animals I was looking at. With spring approaching, birds will be migrating back through the area, and the warmer weather makes for better paddling, greener trees with flowers blooming, and more appearances by other critters like alligators and turtles. In other words, it’s time to start planning your own adventures.

The Apalachicola River WEA Paddling Trail System map. The question marks are where the trail may or may not be there, depending on rainfall. The exclamation points signify that you may encounter larger watercraft, and to be cautious.

If you’re planning an adventure in the Apalachicola Wildlife and Environmental Area, or any other Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission managed land, you can of course visit their website to download or request paper copies of a wealth of materials- maps, bird lists, and various informative guides.  The maps and guides have important safety information (what do you do if you see a bear?) as well as some suggested day trips.

Whether you’re as clueless as I am or an old pro like the people who guide our EcoAdventures, you should always plan your trip (especially if you’re heading into one of the question marks).  The map you saw in the video above is available as a pdf download at the link a couple of sentences up, or you can call 850-488-5520 to request a free hard copy.  It’s printed on waterproof paper and has a map of the general area as well as maps of individual trips you can take and a ton of information.

Greg Blakney shows WFSU producer Rob Diaz de Villegas his camping ready recipe for chicken and dumplings.

Staying with that theme of planning your adventures, our next EcoAdventure (Wednesday, February 29 at 7:30 PM on WFSU-TV) will look at preparing for kayak camping. What do you bring? How should you pack your kayak? What will you EAT? Georgia Ackerman and Rick Zelznak of the Wilderness Way have some answers for you. Also within the next couple of weeks, we’ll look at an app that aims to help you recognize what birds you’re looking at if you happen to be out there without an Andy Wraithmell or George Weymouth.

Music in the video by Philippe Mangold and Trafic de Blues.

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Apalachicola RiverApalachicola Swamps and FloodplainappreciationCaspian TernFreshwater MarshGraham Creeklongleaf pineOgeecheepaddlingRed Cockaded WoodpeckerWFSU Newswildlife watching
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Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now in its tenth year, the Ecology Blog recently wrapped its most ambitious endeavor, the EcoCitizen Project. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

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6 comments

Kevin Mims February 22, 2012 - 11:10 pm

This is terrific, Rob! Tate’s Hell and all of Franklin County is such a special place. Shout out to the fine folks at FWC for all the hard work they do. 🙂

WFSU In the Grass, On the Reef February 29, 2012 - 3:38 pm

[…] the Apalachicola Wildlife and Environmental Area Paddling Trail System (which we covered in our last EcoAdventure).  I also want to clarify something in our kayak camping video that airs tonight- camping is legal […]

Rick Buie March 14, 2012 - 9:52 am

You have done a great job with your site, Rob!

Often over-looked, Madison, Florida, is a beautiful area for bird watching. Located in the north-central part of the state, Madison has a low population density and minimal industrial development. The county is the home of three rivers, numerous swamps, lakes and springs and the Lidell Brothers Nature Center, a site on the Great Florida Birding Trail. The trail is located on the campus of North Florida Community College and is open year-round to visitors.

Rob March 14, 2012 - 1:48 pm

Rick, thanks for the info! I don’t often make it out to Madison County, so I’ll definitely have to look into these spots. We have one or two more spots to book for Spring and then we take a break until Fall- though I may try to sneak some Summer shoots in. Is there a time of year where any of these spots is better than at any other point in the year?

WFSU In the Grass, On the Reef April 11, 2012 - 1:22 pm

[…] can watch our EcoAdventure along the Apalachicola, where we hit some Birding Trail sites, here. We saw birds, but it was winter and many species had migrated south. With that in mind, […]

WFSU In the Grass, On the Reef October 8, 2012 - 1:25 pm

[…] south of the river, in the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area (which we covered in this video).  Fellow paddler Georgia Ackerman will chip in updates.  Every day will end with a wrap-up post. […]

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iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

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My Garden of a Thousand Bees features renowned wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn, who, with the world in lockdown during the summer of 2020, turned his exceptional macrophotography filmmaking skills on his own tiny backyard and the surprising number of wild bee species that live there.

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