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- A replacement road being built on the upper beach of Blind Pass
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- The western saline lagoon at LCWP on November 2025 2025
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- The same area at LCWP five years before during construction
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- A natural salt marsh converting to mangroves at Tippecanoe 1
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- A rare golden leather fern at Tippecanoe 1
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- A very rare native cotton plant at Tippecanoe 1
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- The bright red fruit of the saline tolerant Christmas berry
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- A Liatris or blazing star
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- An ancient catface used to extract pine sap for turpentine at Tippecanoe 1
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- Female flowers of the salt bush
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- Five different pollinators on a single area of seaside goldenrod
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- A monarch finds nectar on a necklace pod flower
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- A milkweed specialist queen butterfly on a tropical milkweed flower
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- A band winged dragonlet
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- A small female gag grouper tat lives in estuaries
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- A southern leopard frog limited to fresh water
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- A ctenosaur iguana which lost its tail to a predator
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- A juvenile red shouldered hawk- the most likely predator on iguanas
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- An osprey watching for invading eagles
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- An adult bald eagle perches on an osprey nest tree
Middle November seems to be a “halfway house” for weather. One day it will be cool in the morning and moderate in the afternoon then it will be very hot and humid for a day. So it can be a time for a lot of fluctuations which require adjustments in behavior by animals and humans. I have made arrangements to lead a total of 15 nature walks this season so must get serious about walking the many trails to find out if there are any problems with access due to the many storms in recent years. Many boardwalks and bridges are damaged to varying degrees and the counties and state have been slow to make repairs.
One of my closest parks, Blind Pass/Middle Beach just to the north of my home on Manasota Key has a road being rebuilt after numerous washouts by hurricanes. In my opinion such an expense is foolish since it will only last a short time in this period of rising sea levels. The populace and their elected and hired representatives are slow to adjust their plans for the inevitable massive changes in coastal living that are coming. Unfortunately sea turtle nesting will be severely negatively impacted by this road.
The impacts of rising sea level are visible but not negative in the usual sense at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve where white mangroves are starting to dominate the shorelines of the constructed tidal lagoons. Just look at the same area five years ago to see when it was completely cleared of plants. The recolonization in early succession by only white mangroves is a remarkable example of the predictable but surprising effects of land clearing on tidally influenced plants. A salt marsh in Tippecanoe 1 Preserve has not been cleared by machines but by occasional fire; it is now showing regrowth of white mangroves first, followed by black and red. The rare golden leather fern is also seen at this site in considerable numbers. A rarely seen wild cotton was found in the nearby oak hammock.
Fall is a time for fruits and the Christmas berries and Yaupon hollies are showing bright red colors. The blazing star Liatris is also an impressive color in the pine flatwoods. A sole reminder of the former glory of the forests of this area is a single remaining “cat face” which was the scar cut into the trunk to collect sap from the turpentine days There were undoubtedly impressive forests in the region prior to massive lumbering followed by turpentine and chemical wood extraction. By 1920 very little was left of the original forest.
Some flowers are very characteristic of Fall. Salt bush (white female and yellowish male) flowers are widespread and attractive to insect pollinators. The yellow flowers of goldenrod are emblematic of Fall and attract many insects- this one small photograph shows 3 species of bees and two flies on one small flower head. Monarchs are feeding on many flowers including this necklace pod. Rarely I see a queen butterfly, usually on milkweeds such as this non-native Mexican species. Dragonflies are seen in a few wetlands such as this band winged dragonlet.
My family guests have amused themselves fishing and among many species caught there were several small gag grouper. This is a popular sports fish but few will realize its unusual sex life. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycteroperca_microlepis ) in which the small inshore fish are females some of which change into larger males later, which live off shore.
A frog I encountered at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve was the southern leopard frog which I do not often see, A group of them were concentrated in a small fresh water pool just above the tidal zone during this drought period. They normally will be heard breeding during winter rains.
I have previously mentioned my experiences with non-native ctenosaur iguanas and how I have found them interesting and not causing much trouble yet in my gardens. Indeed this week I found that my local red shouldered hawk apparently attacked the large resident male and ripped his tail off. I also suspect this hawk feeds on the juvenile iguanas and keep them within some population bounds.
The never-ending disputes between our local osprey pair and bald eagles continues. An osprey has been occasionally attacking the eagles but lately has been perching several hundred yards away while one eagle perches on top of the osprey nest tree. Tune in for the latest observations!
There is never a dull moment for the nature lover who watches the ebb and flow of natural events. The hardest thing may be to remain an observer and not to take sides and interfere unduly with nature.