The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
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    • 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
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    • 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
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 EcologyWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    To Downlist or not Downlist the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 25, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 25, 2022

    Proposal to downlist the red cockaded woodpecker gains protections- but should it lose its Endangered while still relying on human to nest?

  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    30+ Bee Friendly Plants for Your North Florida Garden

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 3, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 3, 2022

    A bee garden is more than wildflowers – though they are important. To attract wild, native bees, trees and shrubs are also key.

  • Apalachicola River and BayKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and StreamsSwamps and other Wetlands

    RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 16, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 16, 2021

    RiverTrek is a five day kayak trip down the Apalachicola River. We explore swamps, camp on sand bars, and meet some locals.

  • Kayak and Canoe AdventuresLakesThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 4, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 4, 2021

    We check out the Lafayette Passage Paddling Trail, kayaking Tallahassee’s swampiest lake: Lower Lake Lafayette.

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

    Help Nesting Bees By Learning to Love Dead Plants and Bare Soil

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 12, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 12, 2021

    We don’t see many bees during the winter months, but this is when we can help them by making sure our yards provide nesting habitat.

  • Apalachicola River and BayLongleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf Pine

    Apalachicola Lowlands Preserve: A Family’s Labor of Love

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 27, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 27, 2021

    We trek through the Apalachicola Lowlands Preserve five weeks after a prescribed burn, in search of the rare plants that define the region.

  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    Monarch Predators Revisited: A Beneficial Insect is a Beneficial Insect

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 9, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas September 9, 2021

    The question isn’t “how can we protect monarch caterpillars,” but “should we?” Recent research suggests a hands-off approach.

  • In the GardenPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PinePollinators and Gardening

    Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 23, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 23, 2021

    Some people are turned off by its thorns or its tendency to spread, but, as we see, pollinators go crazy for devil’s walkingstick.

  • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology

    Nokuse Plantation and its 300 Year Mission to Restore Longleaf

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 20, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas July 20, 2021

    Nokuse Plantation founder M.C. Davis had a vision for a 300-year mission: to restore 55,000 acres to native north Florida habitats.

  • Lakes

    Lake Report 2021: Leon County’s Cleanest and Dirtiest Lakes

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 24, 2021
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 24, 2021

    A summary of Leon County data on the health of its lakes, specifically their nutrients, metals, and fish advisories.

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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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