It’s a bright Florida day as Captain Gabrielle Mercado reverses her Lady Luck Adventure charter boat out of the slip and motors towards the Choctawhatchee Bay. The emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico are just over the dunes in the intracoastal waterway, and she keeps a close eye on her GPS as she moves…
Audubon Florida – Jay Watch Celebrates 2019 Season of Monitoring and Restoration
At the end of November, Jay Watch volunteers from far and wide gathered at the Archbold Biological Station to celebrate another successful summer season of mapping Florida Scrub-Jay cooperative family groups at over 40 sites on the Florida peninsula. Florida Scrub-Jays are the Sunshine State’s only endemic species. A handsome bird, the jay is curious…
Audubon Florida – New Records of Banded Skimmers in Key West
As the sun set on Key West, Florida, Dr. Kristen Markovich spotted a mixed flock of Black Skimmers and gulls. Using the remaining light, she photographed the birds, zooming in to take a closer look. A green band attached to the bright orange leg of one of the skimmers caught her eye: “0B.” Through this simple…
Guest Post for Knit One Crochet Too: Baby Alpaca Socks
I set the skeins of baby alpaca on my kitchen table, one in light blue, one in cream. The strands felt soft to the touch, perfect for the long socks I had planned. The cuff would be yellow, as would the toes, a perfect lining between the skin and tall, knee-high boots. Only, in Northwest Florida I wouldn’t…
Audubon – Winter Brings New Birds to Walton County
Winter brings a sense of calm to our Gulf of Mexico beaches. A delightful chill means crisp, refreshing walks on the sand, or turning faces to the sun on breezy afternoons. Many of our summer birds have long since migrated, but an entirely new avian community moves in for the winter months. Read the entire…
Voices for Biodiversity – Livable Shorelines
Choctawhatchee Bay encompasses a large estuary along the Florida Panhandle, a watershed that stretches across Okaloosa, Walton, Washington and Holmes Counties before extending into Alabama. Fed mostly by the Choctawhatchee River — the third largest river in Florida by volume — the bay exchanges water with the Gulf of Mexico through Destin’s East Pass. Bordered…
National Parks Traveler – Shrinking Glaciers Podcast
Featured in this week’s episode: “Hurricane Dorian literally sliced up Cape Lookout National Seashore, creating more than 50 breaches in the park’s barrier islands. At Western Carolina University, Professor Rob Young says the hurricane’s damage was astonishing. How that damage will impact recreation on the seashore remains to be seen. Traveler also discusses this…
10,000 Birds – Wakulla Springs State Park
Moving means finding your new birding haunts. We all have them: our favorite places to take friends and family when they visit, the bird-friendly areas we pop in on when we have the chance, the landscapes that entrance us. Now that I live away from the beach, Wakulla Springs has become that place for me….
National Parks Traveler – Fisheries in the Smokies
In this episode: “‘Hiker Trash,’ a new book that examines hiker life along the Appalachian Trail through the sketches of a graphic artist, is the topic of our interview with author Sarah Kaizar. We also examine the fisheries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and comment on the long-running vacancy of a permanent director of…
Yarn People – A Hurricane Zone
The four of us sat in a Pensacola living room, eyes glued to the Weather Channel on my friends’ flat-screen television. Matt and Sabrina’s dog, oblivious to our circumstances, slept behind the couch, occasionally sending fart waves emanating in our direction. Their cat patrolled the house, but my two felines Buster and Missy had been…
National Parks Traveler – Bahama Parrots Podcast
In the newest episode of the National Parks Traveler Podcast: “How is climate change affecting fall colors? Stephanie Spera, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Richmond and a 2019 Second Century Stewardship fellow at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, is using citizen science to help answer that question. Erika Zambello…
Featured on Very Pink Podcast
From this week! “Casey’s interview is with Erika Zambello, communications director for Audubon Florida, and the volunteer coordinator for the National Parks Tempestry Project. To participate or keep up with this project, follow The Tempestry Project on Facebook, or email Erika directly at Nationalparkstempestry@gmail.com.” Click here to listen to episode 160!
