So I was having a call and response with an owl in my back yard when I heard a chorus of what almost sounded like monkeys? Obviously I know they have to be some kind of birds, but what even could they be? For context, I live in the deep south about an hour from the Florida and Georgia state line.
Also sorry for the loud whirring noise, our AC unit was running
Watch This Amazing Spider Get All Cleaned Up introduces a video of a white banded fishing spider cleaning itself after getting wet.
This morning I found this beautiful, young white banded fishing spider (Dolomedes albineus) in the sink where I clean my surgical instruments. Of course, it couldn’t stay there (it wouldn’t have liked either the soap or the running water), so I rescued it and took it outside. When it was safely in our hedges I expected it to quickly disappear, but instead it sat there and cleaned itself for…
This is Suzyn Squirrel, affectionately called Suzy. I have been feeding her since spring, and it’s not uncommon for me to pet her as she sits on my knee. This morning my brother Thomas went outside with a cup of nuts to see if there were any squirrels around. Suzy shimmied down a tree, ran straight to him, and began eating. After a few minutes he began to pet her. I’m so sorry I missed seeing her get her head scratched.
For years now, this wild grey whale has come to this boat captain to have its lice removed at the calving lagoon of Ojo de Liebre, Baja California, Mexico.
"When considering the great victories of America’s conservationists, we tend to think of the sights and landscapes emblematic of the West, but there’s also a rich history of acknowledging the value of the wetlands of America’s south.
These include such vibrant ecosystems as the Everglades, the Great Dismal Swamp, the floodplains of the Congaree River, and “America’s Amazon” also known as the “Land Between the Rivers”—recently preserved forever thanks to generous donors and work by the Nature Conservancy (TNC).
With what the TNC described as an “unprecedented gift,” 8,000 acres of pristine wetlands where the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers join, known as the Mobile Delta, were purchased for the purpose of conservation for $15 million. The owners chose to sell to TNC rather than to the timber industry which planned to log in the location.
“This is one of the most important conservation victories that we’ve ever been a part of,” said Mitch Reid, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Alabama.
The area is filled with oxbow lakes, creeks, and swamps alongside the rivers, and they’re home to so many species that it ranks as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, such that Reid often jokes that while it has rightfully earned the moniker “America’s Amazon” the Amazon should seriously consider using the moniker “South America’s Mobile.”
“This tract represents the largest remaining block of land that we can protect in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. First and foremost, TNC is doing this work for our fellow Alabamians who rightly pride themselves on their relationship with the outdoors,” said Reid, who told Advance Local that it can connect with other protected lands to the north, in an area called the Red Hills.
“Conservation lands in the Delta positions it as an anchor in a corridor of protected lands stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Appalachian Mountains and has long been a priority in TNC’s ongoing efforts to establish resilient and connected landscapes across the region.”
At the moment, no management plan has been sketched out, but TNC believes it must allow the public to use it for recreation as much as possible.
The money for the purchase was provided by a government grant and a generous, anonymous donor, along with $5.2 million from the Holdfast Collective—the conservation funding body of Patagonia outfitters."
youtube
Video via Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, August 7, 2020
Just wanted to leave a quick note that I have published a new wildlife video with a few clips of the bald eagles and other wildlife I’ve encountered this year so far! I know I’ve been a bit remiss in making video clips this year and I hope to remedy that!
Additional Products and Services
If you enjoy this content and find it useful or educational, please consider shopping the additional…