Month: November 2014

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Rufous Hummingbird photobombs video at St. Marks NWR

Shortly after the fresnel lens was extracted from atop the Lighthouse at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, as I recorded the scene of excited staff, volunteers, and media, I heard the exclamation “A Rufous just flew by!”

This quickly led to a discussion of whether it was a hummingbird or a large insect, since most hummingbirds have already migrated south for winter. The flash of mustardy coloration appeared more like the less common (in North Florida) Rufous Hummingbird than that of our common Ruby-throat.
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Fresnel lens removed from the lighthouse at St. Marks NWR

On November 20, 2014 the Fresnel lens was removed from the historic St Marks Refuge lighthouse for the first time in 147 years for cleaning and preservation.

The lens was extracted from the lighthouse by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association and staff and volunteers from the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks to “Ring Power” for providing the “man lift”, personnel, and all their support on this project!

I recorded this event with a Canon DSLR and a GoPro Hero4 camera and created two YouTube videos: Part 1 and Part 2

Most of the images in this post are frames taken from the GoPro video.
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Prescribed fire at St. Marks NWR

On a recent visit to St. Marks National Wildlife refuge we got a chance to witness this impressive prescribed burn.

Wide view of prescribed burn near Stoney Bayou - St Marks NWR.

These controlled fires are essential to maintain a healthy forest ecosystem, especially here in Florida.

Fires help maintain the open woodlands that are needed by many of the local plants and animals, and by reducing the dead wood and undergrowth they lessen the likelihood of deadly wildfires.
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