Three Rivers State Park: Wednesday, Feb 15th

Atamasco Lily

Switch Cane is in the bamboo family of grasses and is the only bamboo native to Florida.

Camouflaged American Bittern among the reeds

A winter visitor more often heard than seen

Blowdowns!  Why?

The limestone is only inches beneath the topsoil.  This means that the roots cannot get deep enough for a good foot hold.  

Therefore, the roots that must support the tree spread horizontally instead of vertically.

A raft of American Coots on the lake

They tend to walk on the water as they try to get airborne

 Common Grackle roost tree

Prescribed fires help maintain an open understory and exposes the soil.  This supports seed growth and provides a variety of plants which are an important food source for wildlife.

A low intensity prescribed burn (done here 7 days ago) is slow moving and rarely hurts the wildlife.  Mother Nature has already started the rebirth as these grasses and lilies shoot upward.

Prescribed fire helps prevent wild fires by reducing natural fuels on the forest floor.  The Longleaf Pine is the most fire tolerant of the pines.  It's armor-like bark, high sap content, lack of lower limbs, and needle protected buds keep it safe from fire.


Great Egret

Interesting floral note:
The Southern Magnolia is the oldest recorded flowering tree dating back some 70 million years.



The Limestone ecosystem is unique in Florida.  Many plants owe their existence too the fact that the limestone is so close to the surface.  This feature helps maintain rich damp topsoil.

Handsome Pine Warbler

True to its name, the pine Warbler is common in many eastern pine forests and is rarely seen away from pines.

This one is chowing down on a nasty-looking Centipede.

Most warblers leave the continental U.S. for the winter, but the Pine Warbler stays in the Southeast and is one of the first to return north in the spring