by terranovabay
The antics of the squirrels and other wildlife using the bird feeder one morning at (Pelican Island) Audubon House located at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) in Indian River County, Florida.
Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, bird feeder, Florida, Indian River County, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Red-bellied Woodpecker, squirrel
by terranovabay
Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures have been visiting me at work the past few mornings at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). My view out the office window is of these lovely birds—and I mean that genuinely—relaxing up in the trees or atop the poles around the parking lot. The real fun is when they fly onto the roof, landing with a loud thud, then walking around with a clomping sound that leaves me looking amusingly up at the ceiling […]
Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, Black Vulture, Cathartes aura, Coragyps atratus, Florida, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Turkey Vulture, Vero Beach, Vulture
by terranovabay
It must be getting close to summer since the Swallow-tailed Kites are back! This Kite was seen around 1:00 p.m. over Audubon House soaring in the stiff wind blowing off the Indian River Lagoon. Note the branch the bird is carrying. Most likely to do a little home building for the future family.
Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, Elanoides forficatus, Florida, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Swallow-tailed Kite, Vero Beach
by terranovabay
The University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) and Pelican Island Audubon conservation stewardship class ended this past weekend after six Saturday afternoon sessions. The class featured a tour of FMEL where the latest in mosquito research was showcased and where I channeled my inner Rod Serling to cast the tour photos as sixth dimensional cousins of the The Twilight Zone. In the FMEL Boathouse, Dr. Nathan Burkett-Cadena, a research scientist at FMEL, gives an introduction to FMEL prior to […]
Categories: Dog's Tail • Tags: Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, FMEL, Indian River County, mosquito, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone, University of Florida
by terranovabay
A White Peacock butterfly (Anartia jatrophae) lounged lazily in the native plant garden at (Pelican Island) Audubon House on Saturday. A few other insect pollinators were hanging around but the overcast day had everybody in a dreary mood so there was not much going on.
Categories: Nature • Tags: Anartia jatrophae, Audubon House, butterfly, Florida, Indian River County, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Vero Beach, White Peacock
by terranovabay
Sitting at my desk at (Pelican Island) Audubon House I was happy to look out the window and see this Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) exploring the breezeway. Being close to the Indian River Lagoon and surrounded by wetlands it came as no surprise seeing this little guy show up. What was surprising, and a little disconcerting to actually see him doing it, was the Crab decided it needed a more elevated view of its surroundings and proceeded to climb […]
Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, Blue Land Crab, Cardisoma guanhumi, crustacean, Florida, Indian River County, Land Crab, Pelican Island Audubon Society
by terranovabay
A short video montage of the opening of Pelican Island Audubon Society’s Audubon House on Oslo Road, 195 9th St. SE, south of Vero Beach in Indian River County, Florida held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on April 25, 2015. Audubon House is located in the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) next to the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL). The audio is from the opening ceremony and features excerpts by Graham Cox, Bob Bruce, and Richard Baker. […]
Categories: Dog's Tail • Tags: Audubon House, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Oslo Road, Pelican Island Audubon Society, PIAS
by terranovabay
The stalwart Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) volunteers, aside from their regular duties battling the invasive plants to keep them under control, have been constructing a short loop trail through the lush hammock behind Audubon House. Eventually this trail will identify for visitors the many native Florida plants — and the many sneaky, exotic, invasive plants — that make up the landscape. Sam and I have been walking the trail occasionally as it is being constructed in the final weeks […]
Categories: Scenery • Tags: Audubon House, dog, Florida, hammock, Indian River County, invasive plants, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, PIAS, Sam, Vero Beach
by terranovabay
Dr. George O’Meara, professor emeritus of Physiology and Ecology at the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) in Vero Beach, Florida, was the guest speaker at the 14 February 2015 FMEL-Pelican Island Audubon conservation stewardship class. His talk on Life in the Pits and the Treetops focused on critters that live in the water that pools in epiphyte plants — the treetop part — and those that live down in the burrows […]
Categories: Nature • Tags: Cardisoma guanhumi, Crabhole Mosquito, Deinocerites cancer, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, FMEL, Great Atlantic Land Crab, Mangrove Rivulus, mosquito larvae, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Rivulus, Rivulus marmoratus, UF, University of Florida
by terranovabay
Those who stuck around long enough after the field trip portion of Saturday’s Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory-Pelican Island Audubon Society conservation stewardship class were treated to the sight of two adult Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and a juvenile Bald Eagle soaring overhead above the Audubon House located at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. Juvenile Bald Eagles, like the one pictured above, don’t attain the classic Bald Eagle appearance until four to five years of age when they molt into their […]
Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, Bald Eagle, Eagle, Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, FMEL, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Oslo Road, Pelican Island Audubon Society, PIAS, UF, University of Florida, Vero Beach
