Many animals will perch or climb onto floating logs in ponds, protruding rocks, or sticks that hang out from the bank of ponds. In the case of reptiles such basking behavior is an important part of their maintenance of […]
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Much of human life in Florida revolves around beach activities and we tend to forget that it is a habitat for many animals. We think of the beach as a happy place to relax and enjoy the sun and surf. […]
Whenever I am in the vicinity I always stop by Amberjack Preserve (Charlotte County, FL) to see what birds are on Lemon Lake. There can be large numbers or not, depending mostly on the depth of the lake which varies […]
Yard plantings are a very effective way to attract birds since they provide cover and food; birdseed can also be useful in moderation. For example our prized painted bunting is fond of white millet presented in a “jail bird” feeder […]
My Christmas present arrived one day late this year. While walking on the beach at Knight/Palm Island on Dec. 26, I encountered a flock of 32 red knots feeding in the surf just after dawn. I scanned them carefully since […]
Our most important and complex sense organ, the eye, serves as a window to the world around us, but in many animals it may be the primary means by which predators recognize and subsequently direct their attack of prey. Thus […]
Young butterflies and moths are of course caterpillars which eat and grow rapidly, pupate, and then emerge as adults. This total metamorphosis is very familiar to us and we sometimes fail to realize how remarkable it is. It enables […]
So much of our ability to learn about nature is due to perception. Thus the large showy butterflies receive a lot of attention because they are obvious. On a recent walk at Wildflower Preserve I certainly noticed some very […]
Everyone is familiar with the lowly armadillo (the “little armored one”) that shuffles around with its face in the dirt snuffling for buried insects and other prey. But what do you really know about it? It is probably an exotic […]
It is that time of year again when those of us that migrate southwards from our summer homes begin arriving in SW FL. The transition from northern plants and animals to FL biota is abrupt and somewhat jarring to […]
Butterfly watching has become a popular past time and the amount of variation within and between species provides a challenge in identification. Some species vary between the sexes, may have several color morphs, and may vary seasonally in color/pattern. One […]
If you seek to expand your skills as a naturalist and learn more about identifying animals and plants, you will encounter one of the more interesting phenomena in biology. This is the fact that there are considerable numbers of […]
In early fall the naturalist’s thoughts turn mainly to the southerly migration of animals. In addition to birds, millions of insects including butterflies and dragonflies fly south. The most famous of these is the monarch butterfly whose populations in […]
My nature excursions have been much curtailed lately since I had a knee replacement three weeks ago. Yet it is a tribute to the profligate life of fall that I have been able to enjoy a wide variety of […]
My older brother (James Dunson) is a chemical engineer who worked for DuPont in Delaware. In one of his unusual and often humorous stories of the application of chemistry to everyday life I found the following anecdote: “Jim was […]
I imagine most of you have observed dragonflies and damselflies in the so-called “tandem position” in which the male grasps the female with the tip of his abdomen and the two fly around together. I had a good opportunity to […]
I found this interesting and somewhat menacing insect on my back porch recently where it must have been attracted by the lights. It was scary but after I took a closer look and I realized that it was not […]
I have to admit that I am a huge fan of hibiscus flowers. My first love was the rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) which provides a spectacular flower display in coastal marshes of MD and VA. Later I became aware […]
How do you maintain a grassland prairie or meadow? In most eastern locations these would return to a forested condition naturally by succession unless some disturbance such as mowing or burning intervened. In wildlife refuges it is desirable to […]
One of the more intriguing aspects of the constant warfare between predator and prey is the use of pattern and color by insect prey to confound and repel predators. Insects which are not toxic sometimes use eye spots to […]