WWW – 02.24.2021
Walking at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
A friend and I agreed to meet early one morning to drive through the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. Talk about a comedy of errors! First, we planned our adventure for a day that the Drive is closed. Next, the park where we were to meet has closed the part of the park that allows access to the trail we had hoped to walk on. But we found that the St. Johns Water Management District had already come up with a solution that really worked in our favor, and if you click the link you will find that we needn’t have gone stumbling blindly around, because the WMD works hard to get us the information we need.
Continue reading “Walking at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive”WWW – 02.17.2021
Collier Seminole State Park
Collier Seminole State Park offers a great spot from which to base many adventures on the western edge of the Everglades. With so much water around, it is apparent that you are in the middle of a swamp, and the traffic noise from the Tamiami Trail is always present, but all in all, I’d recommend this park with no hesitation at all. It is clean, clean, clean. There are some interesting features (the last remaining Bay City Walking Dredge, the Barron Collier memorial, a replicated Seminole village) and a great location for exploring Ten Thousand Islands, Big Cypress, National Panther Wildlife Refuge, and more. You might even run across a skunk ape, but that’s doubtful. What you are guaranteed, though, is a wide variety of natural wonders, and maybe even a glimpse of heaven.
Continue reading “Collier Seminole State Park”WWW – 02.10.2021
Hogmanay Hike at Flat Island Preserve
Since our New Year’s Day hike was such a success, we followed it up with a Hogmanay Hike at Flat Island Preserve. Led by by Tracy Hauserman and Marc Crail of the Lake County Water Authority on a day that was gray and dreary, we had an otherwise ideal morning for hiking — low humidity, a breeze in the open areas, and perfect temperature. Our group numbered 17 including Tracy and Marc. They did a great job wrangling us, and Steve and I had fun talking with different members of the group and realizing what a diverse group we were.
Continue reading “Hogmanay Hike at Flat Island Preserve”Great Backyard Bird Count
Great Backyard Bird Count
Calling all birders!
The 2021 Great Backyard Bird Count will be held from Friday, Feb. 12 through Monday, Feb. 15. This event, co-hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Birds Canada, is a great opportunity for birders of all levels to contribute to our understanding of bird populations.
https://ebird.org/homeTo participate, you will need to have a free eBird account, which is quick and easy to set up. During the count, observe and record birds using either the Merlin or eBird app for at least a 15 minute stretch. You can observe birds in your back yard but data submissions aren’t limited to around the house – checklists from anywhere are welcomed for the event.
In 2020 there were over 250,000 participants worldwide who observed over 27 million birds! That seems like a high benchmark to beat but participation has been increasing year after year – let’s make 2021 the best year yet! You can follow along with the count’s progress using Cornell’s live map of eBird submissions.
For more information on how to participate, head to BirdCount.org for more detailed instructions.
WWW – 02.03.2021
Women Naturalists of Color
I wanted to observe Women’s History Month with a list of women naturalists. While there are long lists of white women and their contributions, I was surprised at how much effort it took to find non-white women and their contributions. But: there’s no shortage of exciting reading about the contributions of women of color naturalists and environmentalists if you’ll take the time to look, and so, for Black History Month, I present to you this brief list of women of color naturalists.
Continue reading “Women Naturalists of Color”WWW – 01.27.2021
