Nature

Tag

A snowy plover family thrives at Grayton Beach State Park

2012 season proved best year ever for tiny shorebirds at South Walton State Park Photos by Jeff Talbert, Florida State Park Services Specialist 
Information gleaned from report by Raya Pruner, Biological Scientist, Florida Park Service, District 1 As we enjoy our wonderful beaches in South Walton, many visitors and locals are not aware that we are sharing vital habitat for a variety of shorebirds. Our dune systems and coastal dune lakes provide perfect nesting areas and foraging habitat for a...

Take a night hike at Topsail Nov. 7

See and hear the creatures of the night! Time: 4:45 p.m. There are many creatures that come out after the sun goes down. Come join the folks at Topsail for a night hike as we try and spot and hear some of these creatures. The walk begins by watching the sunset, then a 1 mile hike back to the day use parking lot. Meet at the Day-Use parking area at 4:45 p.m. and ride the 5 p.m. tram to the...

Learn about vultures at Topsail Nov. 2

Time: 1:30 p.m. Come learn about vultures at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park on Nov. 2. These often misunderstood birds play a vital role in the health of our forests. Meet at the Day-Use entrance off of Hwy 30A and take a short hike to the clubhouse. All programs require a $6.00 per car entry admission into the park. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is located at 7525 W. County Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, FL  32459 Phone: (850) 267-8330...

Walton ecologist educates children on monarch butterfly migration

Sharing the wonders of nature through education Joe Wyatt, ecologist at Hammock Bay in Freeport has been tagging migrating monarch butterflies for the last six years. As part of a study with the University of Kansas, tiny paper tags are placed on the butterfly to document its travel. Weighing less than a gram, the tag has unique alpha numeric number, a phone number to call if you recapture the butterfly, and a website address to Monarch Watch, the sponsors of...

Choctawhatchee Audubon events for November

November 1: A program titled, “The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, Instilling Environmental Stewardship through Monitoring, Education, Research, and Restoration,” will be presented by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance’s Director, Julie Terrell, at the November Meeting of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance of Northwest Florida State College (CBA) has been coordinating programs in Okaloosa and Walton counties inculcating watershed stewardship, estuarine education, and restoration of critical habitat in Choctawhatchee Bay. Ms. Terrell will describe CBA’s activities, including monitoring programs, both...