wildlife

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Have breakfast with a Park Ranger at Topsail Feb. 6

Learn about park wildlife at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park Location: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park on Scenic Road 30A Saturday, Feb. 6 – 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Come and join the Rangers of Topsail Hill and ask them all the questions you can think of about park wildlife.  To cover the cost of food please bring $4, which goes to Friends of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park to enhance the park or bring your own breakfast. Park at...

Living alongside wildlife: Searching for the indigo snake in Walton County

Longleaf pine forests and gopher tortoise burrows perfect habitat for threatened species It was Monday morning and Tropical Storm Ida was welcoming us to the new week. As the early chills of fall enveloped us, dark clouds gathered in the distance, ominously blocking out the sun. Perhaps seeing the look of concern on my face, Dirk Stevenson consoled me, “No worries, the indigos won’t mind.” Dirk is the Director for Inventory and Monitoring for Project Orianne, a large non-profit organization...

Learn about the Choctawhatchee dune mouse at Topsail Jan. 21

Learn all about the endangered mouse at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park Thursday, Jan. 21 — 2 p.m. Join the park folks for this beach mouse interpretive program and learn about their habitat and behavior. Park at the Day-Use area off of Hwy 30A and take a short hike to the clubhouse. A $3.00 park entrance fee is required. Call (850) 267-8330 for more details. Located in Santa Rosa Beach, the park is located 1/4 mi. south of U.S. Hwy...

Bald Eagle captured on video on Western Lake in South Walton County

A Southern Bald Eagle scans the waters of Western Lake in South Walton County Florida on Dec. 22. Locals and visitors have been enjoying the unusual sightings of the bald eagles the last few weeks. Local Jamie Conley first captured a great photo of an eagle last week perched on the same tree. According to park service specialists at Grayton Beach State Park, the raptors have been fishing on the northern portion of Western Lake since the outfall to the...

White pelican winter visitors arrive in the Florida Panhandle

Migrating American white pelicans spotted around the Choctawhatchee Bay With a wingspan as great as nine and a half feet, the American white pelican is one of North America’s largest birds. Unlike the brown pelican, which is found year-round in Florida, and non-breeding white pelican juveniles, healthy adult white pelicans are winter visitors to the state. In the summer, white pelican adults breed in colonies on lakes in the interior of western Canada and the northwestern United States. Winters are...

American bittern spotted on Lake Powell

Is this an American Bittern or a Green Heron? This beauty, was spotted perched on a dock along Lake Powell Sept. 6. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) Sun-gazer, the American bittern is called, as well as Stake Driver, Thunder Pump and Mire Drum. The names refer to the bittern’s call, a deep resonant oonk-a-lunk, which has been likened to the bellowing of a bull or a hydraulic machine. It’s odd that a bird this secretive makes such a racket. Since the...