I noticed this gecko on my windowsill and no it was not trying to sell me insurance! Instead I was in awe of its various qualities as an immigrant to FL. This is an Indo-Pacific Gecko (Hemidactylus garnoti) that lives […]
Author Archives
Interesting natural history tidbits sometimes come in the strangest ways. I was down at the river with one of my grandsons, Sam, who was fishing. A boat pulled out at the ramp and one of the fishermen offered to give […]
I was trimming some weeds along a fence and noticed an interesting phenomenon taking place in the bushes. Bumblebees were visiting the flowers of Carolina rose ( Rosa carolina ), a beautiful native species that can be mistaken for the […]
One of my favorite things to do is to stroll quietly around our six small ponds and watch for interesting things to happen. Yesterday I noticed a large water snake foraging for frogs, a group of eastern tailed blue […]
During the visit of the BRMN to our farm on Sunday some eagle-eyed hikers spotted not one but three baby box turtles along a trail adjacent to Solomon Creek. This is an extremely rare observation since young box turtles […]
I came across an interesting dragonfly yesterday in a field and wondered what it was. After comparing the photo (above left) to a book I realized that it was an old acquaintance, a female common whitetail. I was irritated […]
In the course of my wanderings in the woods, fields and wetlands I encounter many natural objects that cause me to ask, what is that thing? Indeed these little puzzles provide a never ending source of wonder about the […]
The evolution of parental care in males- or “Mr. Mom” of the animal world. One of the more interesting and highly predaceous invertebrates that you will encounter in fresh water habitats is a large water bug or hemipteran in […]
One of my favorite times of day to be abroad and exploring the natural world is soon after dawn and during that early period when the dew is heavy and it is not yet hot. It seems like a […]
No matter where you happen to live, it is very useful for your ecological perspective to go somewhere else for at least a brief period. It is surprising how one can become jaded and accept some amazing things as […]
I watched this great blue heron with a small mangrove water snake it had caught for about 15 minutes at Stump Pass State Park, FL. It just kept handling the snake, flipping it around, and avoided eating it as if […]
I noticed an old friend, Stumpy, recently in our backyard in Florida (Englewood area), a white ibis with a broken leg (see photo) that has been foraging periodically in our area for at least three years. You need to […]
Well can you believe that it is the end of June already and the Summer is flying by? One of the more interesting things that happens this time of year on the farm is cutting and baling of the […]
This time of year the milkweeds are starting to bloom or nearing this stage. It is an interesting time to view some of the specialist herbivores that can feed on the poisonous milkweed and use the toxins to protect […]
I am fond of making the point that toxic/poisonous insects are brightly colored to warn potential bird predators, and others such as some moths have eye spots to scare off birds. This indicates how important intense avian predation is in […]