Campers meet Miss Poser the Florida Pine Snake
“Sometimes things fit together so well you wonder why you didn’t think to try them earlier,” says Dustin Angell, Archbold Biological Station’s Education Coordinator. He is referring to Archbold’s ongoing collaboration with Costa Farms (formerly Delray Plants), to offer a science camp for their employees’ children. “This was our third summer running this custom program. It is our last week of camp, and I look forward to running it all season.”
Collaboration is the key to successful science and conservation. Most of Archbold Biological Station’s research collaborations occur at local or regional scales, involving working with other scientists or institutions who can offer complementary expertise, or share facilities, resources, or study sites. Some questions, however, are best answered through larger collaborative networks. The Nutrient Network (NutNet) is bringing together grassland researchers from around the world to contribute location specific data to a multi-year planet-wide ecology experiment, and Archbold is part of the project.
Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Photo: Dustin Angell
Newcomers to Highlands County are often impressed with the local bird life. Sandhill Cranes, Roseate Spoonbills, and Great Egrets dazzle with their size and beauty. Wood Storks feed in roadside ditches and Osprey nest in trees and on utility poles. Locals appreciate the delicate beauty of Tree Swallow flocks in the evening and know to await the appearance of Swallow-tailed Kites as one of the first signs of spring. Over 200 kinds of birds can be seen in Highlands County and some are better known than others. “There is one bird in Highlands County that most people who live or visit here have never heard of, and that’s unfortunate, because it’s Florida’s rarest and most imperiled one,” says Archbold’s Education Coordinator Dustin Angell. He aims to change that with a new photo essay called “Saving the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow.” Continue reading
Reflections on 1721’s Ordeal: 1721’s ordeal sparked strong emotions among Archbold researchers and other staff, the first obviously being a sense of outrage, not to mention extreme relief upon her safe return. For me, this was also mixed with a large dose of frustration. I am not naïve enough to think societal attitudes and cultural practices change overnight. However, I wish we could find ways to expedite human behavioral changes in response to new scientific knowledge. (Click here for Part I of this story)
Her Narrow Escape: On Tuesday 8th November 2016, while our country was holding national elections, Gopher Tortoise #1721 was grazing along the entrance drive to Archbold Biological Station in Venus, Florida. She was sporting a painted “1721” on her shell, for easy observation, and also had a small transmitter glued to her shell—so Archbold scientists could monitor her whereabouts.
Florida cattle ranches provide more than beef and beautiful views. Cattle share the land with a rich mix of wildlife, including birds like Crested Caracaras, Wild Turkeys, and Sandhill Cranes. Some ranchers are even helping solve Florida’s water management problems. They are working with the state government on controlling the flow of water on ranchlands to make things safer for people and wildlife downstream. Researchers from Archbold Biological Station are helping with the science. Continue reading
Imagine a species so rare and endangered that the person who named it thought it was extinct. What if you were one of the scientists chosen to save it from extinction? For the last ten years, that’s been the story for Stacy Smith, one of Archbold Biological Station’s plant ecologists. Last month she brought me along to see some science in action. Continue reading
If you have trouble imagining what it’s like to be an ecologist, try thinking of it like this: The job of an ecologist is like putting together a giant puzzle, only all the pieces are hidden and the puzzle keeps changing. Continue reading
If you want to find one of the rarest birds in America, you have to start early. You also need to train your hearing. The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is hiding in a field of palmetto and grass, and the only way you’ll find him, without scaring him away, is to listen for a call that sounds remarkably like that of a grasshopper. And to catch him, you must convince him you’re another male, come to claim his territory.
There’s incredible beauty in nature; often you just have to get on your hands and knees to see it. While working at Archbold Biological Station, I often took walks that required me to step around a large puddle. It was probably because I was too preoccupied with not getting wet that it took me two months to realize that I had been tiptoeing over my favorite plants in the world: carnivorous plants. Continue reading
Exploring nature with an artist is like seeing the world with new eyes. Last week I brought Conservation Artist Mollie Doctrow to one of Archbold’s oak hammocks. Continue reading
Flowers are much more than a pretty sight. Did you know that they can be a death trap for unsuspecting insects? Continue reading
My most memorable moment as an intern at Archbold came as a complete surprise one morning. I was walking to the Learning Center, like I did every day, but this morning there was something very very different. Continue reading
We love sharing our nature and conservation stories from Florida’s heartland! That is why we started The Scrub Blog in late October. Since then we published 10 posts, and received 1,500+ views from 29 countries! Thanks so much for your support. Please subscribe and share our posts with friends. Continue reading
Most people think of Florida’s scrublands as high and dry, but field biologist Becca Tucker knows that’s not always the case. Part of her job is to monitor some of the 350+ wetlands found at Archbold Biological Station. Exploring seasonal ponds is one of my favorite things to do with students, so when Becca offered me the chance to tag along, I didn’t hesitate to grab my camera and a pair of rubber boots. Continue reading
It’s a cold, windy morning at Archbold. The sun has not yet risen and the clouds are tinted purple. I’m riding with Dr. Reed Bowman, director of Archbold’s Avian Ecology Program, on the morning of the November 2014 Florida Scrub-Jay Census. This particular census is much colder and windier than usual, and Dr. Bowman and I are chilled even in our jackets and gloves. We know that finding the jays is going to be tough in this weather. Our mission is to locate all members of 18 scrub-jay families, using only a truck, binoculars, a notebook, and a jar of peanuts. In total, the census team is trying to locate over 200 birds in 85 families, all in one day!
As I was going for a sunset walk one evening I spotted a flower that I never thought I would get to see. I was so excited that I got up before sunrise to go photograph it the next morning. Meet the Dicerandra frutescens, aka Lake Placid Scrub Balm, one of the rarest plants at Archbold with one of the most amazing pollination stories. Continue reading
Did you know that perched atop the highest point of Highlands County, Florida, there lives a well-studied colony of Gopher Tortoises? Twice a week, an Archbold biologist locates 18 adult tortoises that are part of a study on the movements and social behaviors of this threatened species. But how does she find 18 tortoises in a field the size of a baseball diamond? Keep on reading to find out! Continue reading
You never know what you’ll observe during a walk at Archbold. As I was walking around the Explorer’s Loop one morning, I noticed some commotion in the distance. Looking with my binoculars, I saw a Blue Jay and a juvenile (young) Red-headed Woodpecker harassing an American Kestrel. I’m so glad that I was carrying my camera, because the battle about to begin was epic. Continue reading
When I got back to my room yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find my face covered in black soot. My eyes still stung from the smoke and my cheeks felt slightly stiff from so many tears drying on them under the intense heat of fire. I put down my camera, which had been damaged by either smoke or heat, and took off my blackened Nomex jacket, which smelled strongly of burnt palmetto. I had participated in my first controlled burn. Continue reading
Here is a great example of a species common at Archbold Biological Station but found in few other places. Continue reading
One of the most striking insects you might find at Archbold Biological Station, but watch out! Continue reading
Definitely our most famous animal at Archbold Biological Station, but with good reason… Continue reading
Aka: Anolis carolinensis, Carolina Anole
If you’re walking on one of the trails here at Archbold Biological Station and you hear a dry rustle and seen a green flash out of the corner of your eye, you’ve probably stumbled across a Green Anole, one of our most beautiful lizards. Continue reading
