The WFSU Ecology Blog
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      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
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  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
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        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
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        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
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        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
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      • 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
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
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      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
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      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
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      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
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      • Backyard Blog February 2019
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      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • 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
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Kayak and Canoe Adventures
RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River
Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

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
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • 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
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • 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
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Author

Rob Diaz de Villegas

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 he spends time exploring north Florida's forests, coasts, waterways, and the endlessly fascinating ecosystem that is the backyard garden. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyThe Red Hills of Florida & GeorgiaWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    The brown-headed nuthatch– a twenty year study of bird choices

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 20, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 20, 2023

    Tall Timbers Research Station studies the family choices of a charismatic cooperative breeding bird– the brown-headed nuthatch.

  • Florida's CoastsSalt Marsh Ecology | In the GrassWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Rail search: deep in the marsh, a firebird hides

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 21, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 21, 2023

    Tall Timbers scours north Florida marshes for two fire dependent and very secretive bird species: black and yellow rails.

  • LakesThe Red Hills of Florida & GeorgiaWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Lake Jackson through the seasons— in photos

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 5, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 5, 2023

    Lake Jackson is a dynamic water body. We track wildlife as seasons change and the lake dries and refills. Will update periodically.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf Pine

    In the longleaf ecosystem: more fire, more carbon stored?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 31, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 31, 2023

    Longleaf pine habitats burn, which releases carbon into the atmosphere. But might this ecosystem actually store carbon?

  • Florida's CoastsOyster Reef Ecology | On the ReefSalt Marsh Ecology | In the GrassSeagrasses and Sand Flats

    How to Protect Florida Coasts from Hurricane Storm Surge

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 11, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 11, 2023

    The University of Miami SUSTAIN Lab combines engineering and ecology as it searches for ways to protect coasts from storm surge.

  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    Backyard Blog 2023: Another year of stalking insects with a camera

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 31, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 31, 2023

    Our Ecology Producer photographs his backyard ecosystem, witnessing seasons change through his plants and the insects that eat them.

  • EcoAdventuresLakesThe Red Hills of Florida & GeorgiaWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Is birding better at Lake Jackson when it’s dried down?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 21, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 21, 2023

    Lake Jackson has some of Leon County’s top birding hot spots. Some of the lake’s most diehard bird watchers show us why.

  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 29, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 29, 2022

    A year of life and death struggles, mating, caterpillars, and several new pollinator visitors to the yard of WFSU’s Ecology producer.

  • EcoAdventuresPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PineThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    Timberlane Ravine: learn to love dead trees (and trillium!)

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 26, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 26, 2022

    Tallahassee’s Timberlane Ravine Trail through the seasons- trilliums, funky mushrooms, hearts a bustin’, and the beauty of dead trees.

  • In the GardenPollinators and GardeningWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    The strange and dangerous love lives of zebra longwing butterflies

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 28, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 28, 2022

    Witness how zebra longwing caterpillars go crazy for passionvine, and how, as butterflies, go crazy for each other when it’s time to mate.

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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.

iNaturalist


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  • The brown-headed nuthatch– a twenty year study of bird choices
  • Meet Buddha, a Florida panther at the Tallahassee Museum
  • Rail search: deep in the marsh, a firebird hides
  • Lake Jackson through the seasons— in photos
  • In the longleaf ecosystem: more fire, more carbon stored?

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