Nature

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Learn about wildflowers of Walton County April 14

Enjoy the beauty of our local wildflowers with Snookie Parrish On Wednesday, April 14, the South Walton Community Council is sponsoring a presentation, Wild Flowers of Walton County, at the Seaside Repertory Theater at 7 p.m. The program will be presented by Snookie Parrish, a well known local landscape consultant and nature guide. Ms. Parrish is a Master Gardener, Master Naturalist and has guided landscaping at Watercolor and ALYS Beach. The program will feature photos of the many types of...

Springtime boasts new life in Chickadee nest

Six Carolina Chickadees about to hatch On April 3, a good deal of activity was stirring at a Carolina Chickadee nest in Freeport, as six new eggs are about to hatch. Both Chickadee parents were close by as Joe Wyatt, naturalist at Hammock Bay checked the bird box for its progress. As Joe approached the box, the female chickadee flew out of the nest and perched herself on a nearby tree branch and chirped in discontent for the intrusion. The...

Crucial nesting season for sea turtles begins after hard winter

Sea turtle nesting in Northwest Florida begins May 1 Sea turtle nesting season has begun on some of Florida’s beaches and will begin in earnest all over the state in the coming weeks. On some southeastern Florida beaches, endangered leatherback sea turtles are already laying eggs. This is good news after a winter that saw thousands of cold-stressed sea turtles successfully rescued and returned to the sea by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), with the assistance of...

FWC monitors Northwest Florida forests for reticulated flatwoods salamanders

Endangered species monitoring an ongoing process As an ongoing study started two years ago, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), has been monitoring for the endangered reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) in the Point Washington State Forest, Pine Log State Forest, and the Carter Tract in the Econfina Wildlife Management area. The reticulated flatwoods salamander is a split from the frosted flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum), which is found east of the Apalachicola river. Both species can only be found...

Spring means sharing the beach with shorebirds

Watch for nesting shorebirds this spring As Florida’s residents and visitors venture out to the beaches, so do the state’s abundant and unique shorebirds. But there’s a big difference between the two beachcombers in Florida. Shorebirds depend on those narrow stretches of sand to survive, not only in the short term, but to survive as a species. Without the proper nesting sites and feeding habitat, the number of shorebird species may decline. Some species’ numbers are already stressed, so accidentally...

Hello first day of Spring

Spring is officially in the air in Walton County! The Black titi (Cliftonia monophylla) is also known as the buckwheat tree. Found common in our wetland areas, it is an evergreen shrub or small tree to 30 ft; smooth bark, gray to grayish-brown; simple alternate leaves, evergreen, short-stalked to sessile; flowers white to pinkish in short racemes, clustered; winged fruits....