The Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Since most of my job here in Florida focuses on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), I figured I might as well put up some photos. We band a segment of our population because it allows us to answer some important questions that we could only make assumptions about if we couldn't relocate known individuals. Also, one of our management strategies involves moving young individuals from highly successful groups in densely populated areas to areas that are currently unoccupied by the woodpeckers. All of that said, we have to catch the birds to band them, and that gives me the special privilege of seeing the birds up close and taking some close-up photos.


This is a male showing the red "cockade," which was historically a term that referred to a special type of ornament worn on the side of a fancy hat. With rare exception, only the males have the red patch on their heads, and it's usually covered up by black feathers. They usually reveal it when trying to show off what an impressive male they are... or when they're pissed off because someone is holding them.



This one might be a little hard to see unless you enlarge the photo, but it shows the nets we use to put up to the woodpecker hole to catch them as they fly out. Sometimes getting the net up there before they fly out is the trick; other times getting them to fly out at all is the trick.



If you know the size of my head, then this photo will give you an idea of how large/small the woodpeckers are.

Spear fishing

Spear fishing has been my most recent hobby addition. I dig it. I'm not very good yet, but some fish take less skill to shoot than others, so I don't have to be a pro to eat. So far, I've made fried fish, lots of fish tacos, and Indian fish curry with roasted local chestnuts added. This photo is from last week when I went with a couple guys that I've met that are good at this. I shot two of the spade fish (the silvery, long-finned ones). Tonight, we'll be eating fresh snapper shot in the bay out from our apartment (this statement only applies to the day I'm posting this, and hopefully many other random nights).

Little Metalmark

I recently went out into the field with a neat woman who does a lot of work on butterflies in this area. I got to see some local rarities, along with what is apparently not rare in these parts, Little Metalmarks (Calephelis virginiensis). I love metalmarks, which are really pretty tiny, especially the "little" ones. Click here to see some photos that do better service to the silvery markings on their wings for which they get their name.

Life in the Sunshine State

Well, it's official. I have a Florida license plate on my car, a FL driver's license in my wallet, and I'm officially registered to vote in the country's most populous swing state!

Don't be fooled, though. I am still a Midwesterner, and it shows. I wear capris when it's 95 degrees and 70% humidity outside, and I bring my zip-up hoodie sweatshirt with me everywhere I go just hoping for an excuse to wear it--which there frequently is, since every building is over air-conditioned to compensate for the boiling temps outside. I have to ask people to repeat themselves--and vice versa--since I'm still not used to the Southern drawl (of course, it's *me* that has the accent and talks too fast, according to the locals), and since I'm not willing to get skin cancer just because I changed my zip code, I'm as fair-skinned as ever, and will probably stay that way.

We have been enjoying the Southern hospitality, though--everyone we've met has been extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. Kelly has already caught fresh fish for dinner off our pier (snapper!), and he's anxious to put his scuba certification to good use as well. We take walks on the beach at night and have a hurricane-preparedness brochure stuck to our fridge. (Okay, not exactly, although during an extreme thunder storm that woke us up in the middle of the night about a week ago, I asked Kelly, "Do they have a hurricane siren here?" Which, of course they don't--another of my Midwestern "lost in translation" moments [I mean, come on, I'm used to hearing the practice tornado siren going off every Friday at 11:00 a.m.]. Since we don't have TV, either, we've asked our over-protective grandmother-ly neighbor to let us know if one is headed our way.)

The best part is strolling around our neighborhood in the evenings...which of course, brings us to scenes such as this:





We seriously feel like we take a mini-vacation whenever we go to the beach. It's easy to forget that we actually *live* here!

Some cool Florida arthropods

I know they get a bad rap, but when you take the time to get a good close look, "bugs" can be pretty awesome. Here are a few of my favorites from the past week or so. The grasshoppers get quite a bit of the attention here, and that's because they've been grabbing my attention lately.


Golden Silk Spider (Nephila clavipes) Almost every time I see this species, there's a male and large (sometimes 4+ inches long including legs) female in the web together. I wonder if it's a seasonal thing. Their silk really is a golden color instead of white or cream.


male rhinoceros beetle (Strategus antaeus) Males of this impressive species use those huge "horns" on their thorax along with their strong legs to fight each other for mating rights.


Handsome Grasshopper (Syrbula admirabilis) A fitting name in my opinion.


female Eastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea guttata) This is a hulk of a grasshopper, with its width equal to that of my thumb.


unidentified grasshopper - Even if I can't figure out what someone named this thing 100 years ago, it's still an attractive enough animal to include here.


Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) I've seen this species in other states, but I just really like hairstreaks. I mean, look at the black and white striped legs and antennae, along with the obvious cool wing markings when you blow up the photo. What is there not to like? As an interesting natural history note, the caterpillars of this species feed on dead and decaying leaves on the ground rather than living leaves that are still attached to the plant. Definitely not a "garden pest."

Some cool Florida herps

Sarah and I have been pretty busy so far, but I've gotten to see some neat things already without spending much time or effort on it.


Juvenile Southern Black Racer


Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake


Juvenile Eastern Cottonmouth


Southeastern Slimy Salamander


Southern Toad


Florida Bog Frog (one of the species I'll be working with on Eglin Airforce Base)

From Pacific Coast to Gulf Coast

After having a blast moving around a lot last year and experiencing so many new and amazing things, we decided to settle down a bit and get permanent, full-time jobs. Kelly was offered a great position through Virginia Tech coordinating their field research project on endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers at Eglin Air Force Base on Florida's Gulf Coast. We were able to find a great little place in a small town called Shalimar, just minutes from Fort Walton Beach. We're still working on getting moved in, so we'll post pictures of our new place and our beautiful surroundings as soon as we can!

Patty Griffin LIVE!

The weekend before we left Texas, Kelly and I got to see Patty Griffin, one of my favorite musicians, performing live in her hometown of Austin, TX! It was an amazing concert, although they didn't allow cameras into the venue...so I don't have footage of the show we were at, but I've included a video from a different show of her playing "No Bad News" from her brand new album, Children Running Through.

One of the highlights of the night was meeting the couple standing next to us throughout the concert. They are kindreds. Check out their blog, Fools that Dream, for some great photos and thoughtful commentary on the beauty and intricacy of "ordinary life."

Late season netting

As we're nearing the end of the season, the birds are not maintaining their breeding territories, so we've been moving from target netting specific birds to a more general netting strategy. Consequently, we're more likely to catch more than just Golden-cheeked Warblers.



The Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapillus) is the other federally endangered bird species that breeds on Fort Hood. I've gotten to see a few of them, but it was a real treat when I caught one this week. This is a 2nd year male.



This is a White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus). They're one of the most common birds on the fort, and they have a lot of personality. They don't usually poof up their head feathers this way, but this one's patience with me was waning, and he gave me a good bite on the knuckle right after I took his picture. If you zoom in on this photo, you can see the "hooked" bill that is typical of vireos.

Around the (Big) Bend

Kelly and I have been excited to visit Big Bend National Park since we knew we were coming to Texas, and last weekend, we finally had the chance to go! Our friend Kirk came down and went with us, and we spent four days camping, hiking and birding around the park, including an inadvertent 18-mile hike in one day! (We had prepared for 10 miles up and down a mountain. We then decided to go on a "shorter" hike later that evening, but our path ended up winding around for another eight unexpected miles, and we had to book it in order to make it back before dark. Needless to say, we were completely exhausted.) Kelly was excited to see the Colima Warbler, whose only North American population is at the top of the Chisos Mountains (hence our original 10-mile hike). We also got to see a Lucifer Hummingbird, which is another Big Bend specialty. All in all, Kelly got more than 20 birds to add to his life list.

One of the best experiences all weekend was finding two owls on our last night in the park. We got so close to them that we were even able to snap a few photos! I think they were disoriented by our lights, so they just sat and stared at us for a few long minutes before we decided to stop bothering them.


The sparrow-sized Elf Owl is the world's smallest owl. It's only 5 3/4 inches long from head to tail! It was so cute and curious when we spotlighted it in this tree just a few feet from our tents.


This Western Screech Owl is also a little cutie. Every time this one or its mate let out a hoot, it's feathers would fluff up at its throat and its wings would flare out just a bit. We could barely tear our eyes from it.


This broad-banded copperhead was on the road at Fort Hood, where we went night driving for snakes before leaving on our trip. It's coloration is more reddish-orange overall than the gray and brown northern copperheads we're used to seeing in Indiana.


This young individual exhibits less orange coloration, and a brighter yellow tail tip that is typical in juvenile snakes in the genus Agkistrodon. They use it to lure potential prey.


Kelly was excited to see this Couch's spadefoot toad on the road on our way into the park.


Since it was about 100 degrees in Big Bend while we were there, and since we had gotten into the park so late the night before, I got sleepy after eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich while waiting for pairs of Gray Hawks and Common Black Hawks to fly by (we had been tipped off by the park ranger that it was a consistent spot to see them). Anyway, I laid my head down on the picnic table for a few minutes, and I guess it was just long enough for the circling vultures to either think I looked tasty, or to think I wouldn't bother them if they tried to steal the rest of our food!


Our unexpectedly long hike after our mountain climb at least brought us to some gorgeous scenery. This is called "The Window," and we saw it just as the sun was setting behind the mountains...and then we had to race four miles back to camp before all our light was gone! :)