Florida Ecosystems Class Trip - Day 2 PM, Tall Timbers Research Station

Our morning bird hike yielded a good list of birds - some of which will be additions to my life list.

Bachman's warbler
Purple martin
Wood duck
Carolina chickadee
Pine warbler
Blue gray gnat catcher
Red shouldered hawk
White eyed vireo
Eastern towhee
Red-headed woodpecker
Fish crow
Swallow-tailed kite
Brown-headed nuthatch

Just before noon, our group met up for a wagon tour of tall timbers.  As we drove, Ph.D research scientist Theron Terhune made it clear just how important fire was for quail management.  Tall Timbers has fire plots ranging in age from one year to approx. 75 years.  With side by side plots, it was possible to tell exactly why quail preferred the two year burn interval.  It was also fun to see large coveys of quail flush out of the grass as the wagon drove by. 

One of the highlights of the wagon tour was our stop at the Jones Tenant house.  This African American family had worked the land near Tall Timbers for many generations.  On southern quail plantations such as this, it was the African American tenants who guided hunts, handled bird dogs, and practiced wildlife management.

Red-cockaded woodpecker nesting hole.

Detail shot of door hinge at the Jones Tenant house, Tall Timbers.

Corn crib at the Jones Tenant house, Tall timbers.

An old bottle in the Jones Tenant house, Tall Timbers.

A lizard on the metal roof of the corn crib, Jones Tenant house, Tall Timbers.

Prescribed burn for quail management at Tall Timbers.