Black skimmers and other shorebirds at Alligator Point.

Shorebird Watching at Alligator Point’s Phipps Preserve

Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, , , , , ,

At the John S. Phipps Preserve on Alligator Point, we observed a wealth of shorebirds, including many which had recently migrated into the area…

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

It’s mid-September at the John S. Phipps Preserve on Alligator Point, and I’m walking the beach with Audubon Florida in search of migratory shorebirds.  Almost as soon as we start, we find a tall, pale wading bird dancing in the low tide area.  Its general shape suggests either a great blue heron or reddish egret, but the color’s not quite right for typical adults of either species.  Bonnie Samuelson uses this as an exercise in bird ID.  Great blue herons do have a white morph, and reddish egrets are pale as juveniles.  At a glance, it could be either.  But this dancing behavior gives us the clues we need to identify the bird. Continue reading Shorebird Watching at Alligator Point’s Phipps Preserve →

Multiple dead fish in marsh grass, found in the Apalachicola River delta after Hurricane Michael.

Fish Kills on the Apalachicola Possibly Linked to Sewage Spill

Apalachicola River and Bay, , , , ,

If you see fish kills on the Apalachicola or other waterway, report it to Florida Fish and Wildlife online or by calling their hotline at 800-636-0511.  We will continue to follow the story as new information becomes available.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

Saturday (10/20/18) Update

Riverkeeper Georgia Ackerman has been in touch with Alex Reed of the Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water Resource Management, located in Panama City.  After Hurricane Michael, the Division is operating at Gulf Coast Community College with limited phone and wifi connectivity.

Per Alex Reed, DEP and FWC are working together to gather data at points upstream and downstream of the sewage spill.  They’ll be sampling for a variety of contaminants, salt, and oxygen levels.  While a sewage spill is a likely cause for fish kills, these events are common during hurricanes.  For an explanation of how a strong storm can affect fish, continue reading.

Original Story

Researchers with Florida Fish and Wildlife suspect that a sewage release is partially responsible for fish kills in Gulf and Franklin Counties.  The source of the sewage is a treatment plant in Wewahitchka, on the Chipola River.  Earlier this week the plant was reported to have released 80,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater after losing power during Hurricane Michael.  FWC has received several reports of dead fish in the Apalachicola River delta downstream of the spill. Continue reading Fish Kills on the Apalachicola Possibly Linked to Sewage Spill →

Jack Rudloe stares ahead, the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab research dock wrecked behind him.

Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Recovers After Hurricane Michael

Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass, Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, ,

We head down to Panacea, Florida to check in on the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab as Jack and Cypress Rudloe, along with GSML staff and volunteers, get things back in order.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

I’m standing on a boat ramp on Dickerson Bay just two days after Hurricane Michael passed through.  In the storm’s immediate aftermath, the Florida panhandle is in shambles.  But it’s hard to reconcile that with what I’m seeing now.  It’s a near cloudless day.  A willet wanders on a sand bar, letting fiddler crabs get thick a few feet away before plunging in for a snack.  Common buckeye butterflies sun on Spartina alterniflora, marsh cordgrass, and on the adjacent sand.  There’s not a single human built structure in sight. Continue reading Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Recovers After Hurricane Michael →

Striped skunk woth dirt on its face, after burrowing.

Striped Skunks | The Tallahassee Museum’s Mysterious Residents

Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, , ,

How many of you have seen the striped skunks at the Tallahassee Museum?  Have you ever seen a skunk in the wild?

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I’m in the Florida panther enclosure at the Tallahassee Museum, and I’ve never been more scared of an animal.  Here at the Museum, I’ve been in with a pack of red wolves.  Last year, I spent a day in the forest with Bruce Means and an eastern diamondback rattlesnake.  And like any Floridian who likes water, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in proximity to alligators.  Those are all animals that could seriously hurt or kill me, but that’s nothing compared to right now.  Right now, a striped skunk is running directly at me.

Continue reading Striped Skunks | The Tallahassee Museum’s Mysterious Residents →

two day old snowy plover chick- cotton ball with legs.

Banding Snowy Plover Chicks at Deer Lake State Park

Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, , ,

A couple of weeks ago, we visited the “snowy plover factory” at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, and learned about the bird’s nesting habits.  Today at Deer Lake State Park, two newly hatched chicks get banded.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

“It’s good just to act like beach goers,” says Marvin Friel.  “Just looking for shells.”  We’re approaching a snowy plover nest at Deer Lake State Park, and we’re acting casual.  The nest is up by the dunes, and we’re walking along the water.  We look ahead at the waves, not wanting the parents to see us eyeing their chicks.  Marvin takes a few sidelong glances before radioing Raya Pruner, “I think we’re going to approach now.  Are you ready?” Continue reading Banding Snowy Plover Chicks at Deer Lake State Park →

The Snowy Plover Factory | Visiting Shorebirds on St. Joseph Peninsula

Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, , , ,

Today, we head to the remotest part of St. Joseph Peninsula State Park for some beach time.  Here is one of the most productive snowy plover nesting areas in north Florida. In a couple of weeks, we go to Deer Lake State Park as Florida Fish and Wildlife bands newly hatched chicks.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

When the shoot ends, we ride back along the beach.  I sit in the back of the UTV facing out, watching the tip of St. Joseph Peninsula recede behind us.  I’m a life long Floridian, and I’m seeing something I’ve never before seen in our state: uninterrupted miles of sand dunes.  There are no condos or hotels towering behind them, and no boardwalks crossing over top of them.  It’s no wonder snowy plovers like to nest here.

Continue reading The Snowy Plover Factory | Visiting Shorebirds on St. Joseph Peninsula →

The Tallahassee Museum's female red wolf pup looks out from behind a tree.

Saying Goodbye to (some of) the Tallahassee Museum Red Wolves

Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, ,

At a critical time for the red wolf wild population, some of the Tallahassee Museum’s red wolves are leaving us.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

Today, the female red wolf pup didn’t like me.  With every visit I make to the Tallahassee Museum to shoot the pups, I see something new from them.  Last time I was here, they all came and marked their territory in front of me (video I chose not to share).  Today, the girl pup looked at me and kind of grunted, half charging me (I was on the boardwalk above her) and then running to the fence with the other pups.  She did this maybe ten times. Continue reading Saying Goodbye to (some of) the Tallahassee Museum Red Wolves →

How do Tupelo Trees and Crawfish Help Apalachicola Bay?

Apalachicola River and Bay, Rivers and Streams, Swamps and other Wetlands, Waterways Big and Small, , , , , , ,

Perhaps no swamp tree captures the imagination more than the ogeechee tupelo.  But altered river flows on the Apalachicola River are causing a decline of this critical plant in the river floodplain.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

I have to state, for the record, that it was Georgia’s idea to do a segment where she learns to drive the Riverkeeper boat.  Georgia Ackerman is one of the most experienced people I know out on the water.  In a kayak.  But as the new Apalachicola Riverkeeper, she needs to drive the boat.

I wanted to cover the transition between herself and Dan Tonsmeire, and I had two requests.  First, take me (and the WFSU viewers) somewhere we’d never seen before.  Second, I wanted some last nuggets of wisdom from Dan, as he handed the reigns to his successor. Continue reading How do Tupelo Trees and Crawfish Help Apalachicola Bay? →

Refuge Archeology 2 | Discovering the Spring Creek Village

Archaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous Cultures, , , , , ,

Earlier this month, we delved into archeological mysteries on the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge.  Today, we return to the Spring Creek section of the Refuge with the same archeologists as they predict the location of a village over a thousand years gone.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

There are no ancient stone temples in the St. Marks Refuge.  It would be easier for archeologists if there were.  But the people who lived here for thousands of years lived in wooden homes that long ago turned to dirt. Continue reading Refuge Archeology 2 | Discovering the Spring Creek Village →

The Underground Lives of Ants in a North Florida Forest

Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology, Wildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small, , , , , ,

Dr. Walter Tschinkel has developed a novel way to explore ant nests.  We travel with him to the Apalachicola National Forest for a brand of research that creates works of art, in collaboration with the ants themselves.  You can see an exhibit of this art at the Tallahassee Museum through June 10, 2018.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Public Media

I think all of us at some time have stepped on a mound of dirt, uncovering scores of scurrying ants.  Immediately, we brush them off our feet before they can bite us.  When we see lines of ants crossing grass, we chose a different spot in the park to have our snack.  And we’re definitely unhappy to see them in our house.  When we see ants in our world, they’re pests. Continue reading The Underground Lives of Ants in a North Florida Forest →