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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
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    • 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

An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA

by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 4, 2022
An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA

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More Observations From the Field

We’re always on the look out for new outdoor spaces to explore with the kids. As we all know (I hope we all know), Tallahassee has no shortage of these spaces. But sometimes we like to go to where we’re less likely to see, well, anyone at all. That’s why I’ve been liking Wildlife Management Areas lately.

These areas of maintained habitat don’t typically have amenities beyond a few trails, which I kind of like. WMAs and WEAs (Wildlife and Environmental Areas) protect waterways and give space for animals to roam. The state maintains six million acres of these lands, which recreationally are most used by hunters and anglers. For this reason, do check Florida’s hunting seasons before deciding to go.

There are different entrances and trails on either side of I-10; we chose the one to the north. There aren’t really trailheads or parking areas of any sort. We drove around the loop looking for gated off roads, which I guess are the trailheads here.

Rained out trail on Ochlockonee River WMA.
Rained out trail on Ochlockonee River WMA, February 2021.

Here’s what one trail looked like when we came here a couple of months earlier. Lying along the Ochlockonee River, a lot of what we see is wet. hardwood forest. This was just after the winter rainy season. When we came in April, it was drier; plants were flowering or fruiting, and animals were active.

So Many Lizards at the Ochlockonee River WMA

My inner eight year old was delighted, as was my actual seven year old child. Last year when we hiked the Garden of Eden Trail, Xavi pointed out a few fence lizards. He has a gift for spotting them, even when they blend into their surroundings:

Eastern fence lizard hides in plain sight on a tree.
Eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) hides in plain sight on a tree.

Down the trail some, we come upon an open sandy area full of gopher tortoise burrows. I spot what I think is a skink hiding:

Six-lined racerunner hides in vegetation at Ochlockonee River WMA.
Six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus) hides in vegetation.

This is in fact the six-lined racerunner, and once it took off, it lived up to its name. As we walked around this little sandy area (looking for gopher tortoises), we startled several into running. One stopped directly in front of a tortoise burrow, deciding whether to seek shelter:

Six-lined racerunner before a gopher tortoise burrow.
Six-lined racerunner before a gopher tortoise burrow.

Gopher tortoise burrows are the place to be. Here’s where reptiles can spend cold winter days, where animals escape fire and shelter from predators. But I am not a predator.

Flowers in Bloom

Coral bean flowers.
Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea) flowers.

Next to the sandy area, coralbean was in bloom. So was one flower that was seasonally out of place:

Bluecurls flower in April, Ochlockonee River WMA.
Bluecurls flower (Trichostema dichotomum) in April, Ochlockonee River WMA.

Here’s a winter blooming flower showing itself in April. Several buds look like they might continue blooming into May. Curious.

American lady butterfly lays eggs on cudweed.
American lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis) lays eggs on cudweed.

The trail hasn’t been mown in a while; weeds and small shrubs have grown on it. Right in the trail, we see an American lady butterfly curling its abdomen on its larval food- a cudweed.

Silver croton (Croton argyranthemus)
Silver croton (Croton argyranthemus)

Down the trail aways is an upland pine area. The understory has been cleared by fire and a few things are starting to bloom. This is silver croton, a common shrub in this kind of habitat.

Trail Snacks

Xavi reaches for blueberries.
Xavi reaches for blueberries.

We saw blueberries in spots along the trail. Or maybe these are sparkleberries, which, like blueberries and cranberries, is in the Vaccinium genus.

Xavi picks blueberries.
Xavi picks blueberries.

Those weren’t the only snacks along the trail:

Xavi eats the tip of a Smilax vine.
Xavi eats the tip of a Smilax vine.

The boys will eat any smilax vine tips not already eaten by deer.

Very young muscadine grapes.
Very young muscadine grapes (Vitus rotundifolia).

If we’re up to a return visit in the hotter months, these muscadines will be ready for us.

Predatory stinkbugs in the genus Apoecilus, sitting on a muscadine grape leaf.
Predatory stinkbugs in the genus Apoecilus, sitting on a muscadine grape leaf.

I saw these stinkbugs on a grape leaf that had been nibbled. Stinkbugs don’t nibble leaves, and especially not these. iNaturalist’s best recommendation, which was confirmed, was that these are predatory stinkbugs. They eat the things that eat the leaves.

One last lizard before we go, and a prickly pear

Prickly pear growing right in the trail.
Prickly pear growing right in the trail.

Xavi really wanted a photo of this prickly pear. Now I share it with you.

Broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps)
Broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps)

This guy was right by the car when we got back. Unlike the broadhead skinks in our yard, he didn’t bother to move. The bright red head means this male is ready to breed. It’s that time of year. Over the summer, we will once again see baby skinks in our yard.

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More Observations From the Field

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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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