On a recent visit to St. Marks National Wildlife refuge we got a chance to witness this impressive prescribed burn.
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.
Not all prescribed burns occur in the deep woods. Here is an image of a controlled burn at Lighthouse Pool very near the St. Marks Lighthouse.
Although prescribed burns are carried out as safely as possible sometimes there are unexpected consequences.
The image below shows one of the most well known bald eagle nests that was destroyed recently by a burning ember from a prescribed burn.
The loss of the nest was distressing both to the eagles and to the birders and photographers who frequent the area, and frustrating to the burn crew who took great care to avoid damage to the nest tree and nest.
Much like some humans who have lost a home, the eagles continued to visit and examine the ruins. And like their human counterparts the eagles seemingly decided to rebuild as seen in the images below.
Update: January 24, 2015
The eagles appear to be nesting in their rebuilt nest!
Life goes on after any fire. Below is an image of dragonflies mating the day after a burn in spite of smouldering embers nearby.
Here is a section of marshlands clearly showing burn marks to the palm tree trunk and lower fronds. Notice how beautifully the landscape is recovering.
If you are fortunate enough to meet any of the St. Marks fire crew please thank them for their dedication. They work long days under unpleasant conditions to help make St. Marks NWR a better place for wildlife.
To learn more about prescribed fire at St. Marks NWR please follow this link