Friends President's Message

Text and Photo Courtesy Katasha Cornwell

Everyone knows the old adage about those two things “guaranteed in life”, but I would argue there might be a few more things we can count on, at least in our neck of the woods.

The first is change. The Friends Board of Directors has seen its share of change so far this year. We owe Craig Musgrove a thank you for his service on the Board as he steps down. At the same time, we congratulate Robin Will as she steps into her role as Secretary. And, we welcome Chris Akins as a new Board member at large. There is also change in the Nature Store with fun new items you’ll want to check out. We’ll keep riding the waves of change to support the Refuge to the best of our ability. 

The second is campaign promises during election season. No matter which side of the aisle you lean toward, everyone’s candidates make promises; some kept and some not. And while the Board is not in the business of campaigning, we do have some initiatives in the works that we hope make good on soon. As you’ll see in this edition, Chris is bringing some exciting focus to our social media outreach to help keep our Friends up to date about Refuge happenings. Over the remainder of the year the Board will also be concentrating on enhancing our website, preparing for the Monarch Festival, coordinating with the Refuge Manager regarding any support needed for the Lighthouse, and aiming to bring Sunday talks back at the beginning of the new year. So, we’ll make this promise to you…we are all working hard to provide improved communication and to have engaging opportunities at the Refuge.

Last is that no matter what, a visit to the Refuge is worth the trip. You’ll find that ring true in the summer biology interns' in-depth report of the highlights of their time at St. Marks, even during this grueling time of year for field work. Check out the link to Don Morrow’s bird reports to see that even though we have a way to go before the height of migration season, there are still birdy things to enjoy during the last several weeks of summer. And, even amongst the heat and humidity the Refuge is always worth a visit. Come out and see if you can identify a new species of butterfly or dragonfly, or maybe an early migrant passing through.

Don’t forget to save the date, Saturday, October 26^th for the Monarch Festival being held from 10 am until 2 pm. And, as always, invite your friends to become our Friends! 

Refuge Report - Summer Days with the Biology Interns

Text and Photos Courtesy Jay Besse and Austin Stewart

We’d like to start off by saying… THANK YOU. Through your generosity and commitment to preserving St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge, we have been able to grow our careers while also growing as people. After applying to many, many internships, we were hired on not really knowing what to expect. After working this summer, which seems to have flown by, it’s safe to say that this was the best place we could have ended up. We have had the opportunity to meet so many great people who care deeply about the refuge, its species, and each other. It is inspiring to see a place this special early on in our careers. It all started on the 20th of May… we were expecting a big, exciting day full of adventure, exploration, and saving the world. Instead we spent about two hours getting a short tour until Amanda (Refuge Biologist) had meetings she had to attend and we did online training in the trailer for the rest of the day. That didn’t stop us from conducting our own personal tour of the refuge, where we searched for snakes (we both like herping) and watched a gorgeous sunset on the refuge.

Beautiful Sunset and RCW Eggs on Nest Peep Camera

Day 2 is when things took off. Amanda tasked us with our first mission of going to a bunch of ponds to take pictures of water across the landscape. This ended up being important for a summer long project where we monitored the effects of altering hydrology via water control structures on salamander ponds in the refuge. The rest of the week we were trained in various things we’d be doing this summer, including ATV/UTV with Jason from Lower Suwanee (everyone seems to love him and it’s evident why) and RCW monitoring with Amanda. We found our first RCW eggs and wrapped the tree with tin foil and duct tape (very advanced snake deterring technology). It was very rewarding to find the eggs, and we could see from Amanda’s reaction how exciting it is to be able to help protect an endangered species on the refuge. For the rest of the summer it was a small celebration whenever we found RCW eggs or hatchlings (also because it meant we didn’t have to go back to that cluster…or so we thought…).

Early on in the summer we spent a majority of our time monitoring RCW status in St. Mark’s and out in Panacea. While the focus was on our endangered woodpecker, Amanda taught us a lot about the landscape, the plants and animals, and history of the area.

One thing that this position allowed us to do was get experience with different people and agencies. One of our favorite parts was going out with Ezra and Katie, who work for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Our first time going out with them was so much fun. We went out on a boat to do American Oystercatcher surveys/banding. The American Oystercatcher is a threatened species in Florida, so it was great to get experience working with such a cool species. Ezra and Caity took us out on a boat and gave us a little tour on the way to the island. When we reached the island where there were some chicks we stayed a little ways away from the water trying to locate the chicks. When we spotted the chicks we gunned it full speed to get the chick before it disappeared in the marsh. After hitting land Ezra jumped out and netted the chick. We got to help get measurements and band the bird before releasing it back on the island. Not many people get to have hands-on experience with threatened and endangered species which we are so thankful and lucky to have opportunities like that so early on in our career. Getting out in the field with Ezra and Caity to do Wilson’s Plover surveys was always a good time exploring some harsh marsh environment (it gets nasty hot out there). 

The interns had various bird banding opportunities with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Staff

Another task we were fortunate to be able to be a part of was doing black rail (pic to the left) surveys with Jim Cox, a researcher from Tall Timbers who was trying to get population data here on St.Marks. The Black Rail is a very cryptic bird that many birders never get to see in their life. Amanda had heard many on surveys but had never seen one in her life until this year. When conducting the surveys we would meet with Jim and his team right before dark. It was such a cool feeling going out to the marsh at night. The refuge would come to life during the surveys. The buzz of the cicadas would fill the air and Pig frogs could be heard all around while walking. My favorite noise was listening to the night hawks dive and hearing their secondary feathers creating a boom sound. Usually we would just use the moon light to move around. We would have an audio device that would be playing calls and we would listen for the black rail to call back. I remember the first time hearing one and I could feel the excitement go through my body. The first time we went out we heard a couple, however, we were unsuccessful at catching one. We did have a change of luck the second time. That night we walked for a while without hearing a single call. Toward the end of the night we finally started hearing calls. We started trying to catch this one that both Amanda and I missed with our net before it escaped in the grass. Finally one of Jim Cox's people was able to net it, and we were able to band and get measurements on it before safely releasing it. Getting to see a bird that some people try their whole lives to see and never get a chance was such a humbling and great feeling. I am very thankful to have had such an opportunity.

Another great part of this internship has been the opportunity to participate in intern swaps to gain even more experience working with other organizations or supervisors. The best experience had to be going out to St. Vincent NWR to assist biologist Bradley Smith. After hearing stories about the man, we were excited to meet him, and he surely lived up to the hype. Bradley is very passionate about his islands and the projects going on out there. The day started early with a drive out to St. Vincent where we got to take a short boat ride over to a massive island. We walked and rode a UTV on beautiful forested Florida beach, searching for sea turtle crawls to hopefully locate a nest. It was one of the best feelings ever after digging around in the sand to actually find a Loggerhead Sea Turtle nest with eggs in the chamber. Immediately we set up a cage to protect the site from potential predators. There was so much to see out there, with the beautiful beaches, historic cabins, hunt stations, and historic cabins. We also got to practice using radio telemetry to locate the red wolves on St. Vincent Island, a very useful skill that we may need to use later on in our careers. Like everyone we have met during our time here, Bradley was passionate about his work and took the time to answer any questions because he loved to share his knowledge. That is one thing we hope will continue in our career; having the best supervisors (nobody will ever top Amanda).

Red Wolf Track and Sea Turtle Nest on St. Vincent Island

This is not everything we got to do, just a little peek. We did so many other cool things besides the topics we wrote about such as getting our wildlife firefighter type 2 certification, trapping hogs, catching pygmy rattlesnakes for a graduate student or habitat restoration in the salamander ponds. This position has been such an incredible experience. We were able to learn so much and get experience in such a broad range of areas especially since Amanda would reach out to people and try to let us experience all these things. It goes without saying this position will benefit us in our future career, But more importantly it has given us memories and experiences that will carry with us for the rest of our lives. We can not put in words how much this position means to us and all of this was made possible because of you guys. Thank you so much for investing in the refuge and the interns coming through. We are so grateful to you and hope that we helped improve the refuge for our short time here.

I will always have a special place in my heart for St.Marks - Austin

I’ll always carry the memories of St. Mark’s and it’s staff with me - Jay 

Welcome Chris Akins to the Board of Directors

Text and Photo Courtesy Chris Akins

Chris loves the St. Marks NWR.

Growing up in Crawfordville and now living in Tallahassee, Chris over the past few years became a regular visitor to walk trails and practice wildlife photography. His favorite subjects: alligators and bald eagles.



He sees the Refuge as a destination for growth, renewal, and reflection; as a connection to our daily lives, whether through history, through education, through wildlife, through conservation, through recreation, through the economy, or through environmental benefits provided to our region.

Chris serves as the Executive Director of the Corrections Foundation, a non-profit direct support organization for the Florida Department of Corrections. He also serves as an Assistant Clerk on election days for the Leon County Supervisor of Elections. Chris owns Akins Creative, LLC, building websites for small businesses.

Chris graduated from Wakulla High School in 1993, from Tallahassee Community College (now Tallahassee State College) in 1996, and from Florida State University in 1999 with a degree in Political Science. He earned his webmaster certification from the FSU Center for Professional Development in 2007.

What he's most proud of: his daughter Nancy.

We’re Increasing Our Social Media Presence

Text Courtesy Chris Akins

Friends are increasing our social media presence to better and more quickly communicate with you to provide relevant content. 

We’ll share news, events, and activities, introduce interns and volunteers, share information and photos of flora and fauna in the Refuge, post educational content, and highlight photos from our visitors and guests.

Please like or follow us on Facebook and Instagram:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmarksrefuge/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stmarksrefuge/

And, please visit us on YouTube. We have close to 100 videos covering all sorts of topics from red cockaded woodpeckers, salamanders, monarch butterflies, and much more!

• YouTube page. https://www.youtube.com/@StMarksRefuge

If you have ideas or suggestions for posts and pictures, please email board member Chris Akins at akinschris440@gmail.com.

A Little Buggy and A Lot Muggy – But Still Worth a Visit

Text and Photos Courtesy Katasha Cornwell

August can be a tough time of year to enjoy. It is the midpoint of summer when the heat and humidity seem hard to bear after 10 am. Usually the mosquitos and yellow flies can make it impossible to hike or even bike on the levees and trails at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. But this year, there is a slight break in the bugginess and if you can tolerate the heat, walking along in the woods still offers some much-needed respite from the daily grind.

Recently I’ve been out on Tram Road, Road 200 (off of Wakulla Beach Road), and along one of the levees off of Lighthouse Road. Each outing provided its own enjoyment and adventure, paired with a fair dousing of picaridin (good alternative to deet if you haven’t tried this form of “bug dope” yet) before leaving the trail head. While the butterflies and skippers don’t seem to be at the height of their population size yet, you can find swallowtails of various species, buckeyes, and the sulfurs are starting to make their way back. Did you know sulfurs also migrate like the monarch butterflies, just not as far. You can learn more here: US Forest Service. Other fun flying critters to observe are bumble bees, and dragon flies. The darners range in colors across the rainbow and it’s fun to see how many different hues you can encounter.

Even though this time of year can be less birdy, I have recently observed common gallinule chicks, a green heron, osprey, and a number of belted kingfishers also making their late summer journey to the Refuge. Wild turkey chicks are getting bigger, but are still noticeably smaller than their mama and it’s exciting to see them rambling through the woods. Help the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by reporting all wild #turkey sightings from now until August 31: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/3ae7f9f @MyFWC #Florida.

After a nice sweaty adventure, its always comforting to get back in your air-conditioned vehicle. And it never hurts to take a slow drive down to the lighthouse to see what else you might spy from the car window. Or stop in the Visitor Center and Nature Store for a nice cool break with some friendly folks to swap stories about your sightings. The Refuge is always worth the visit no matter the time of year. Come out and enjoy it soon.

Friends of St Mark's Wildlife Refuge Supporter Portal

Manage Your Account Here

https://stmarksrefuge.app.neoncrm.com/login

Become a member of the Longleaf Society today by clicking this graphic. Your monthly giving provides a tremendous boost to the Friends of St Marks Wildlife Refuge to keep providing the programs and services you have come to expect from this award winning organization.

We Encourage our Friends to SHARE!

As almost all of you know, the Friends give 100% of their support to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. An important way for you increase that support is to share our message. Therefore, when you get this newsletter, we encourage you to send it on to a friend. You can share it via email or through various other social media. Here's the link to the Friends Newsletter page. Scroll to the "current" entry and copy the link.

Text Courtesy Phillip Pollock

Bird Reports Assist Visitors

Don Morrow and Matt Johnstone, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge volunteers and expert birders, create concise bird-sighting reports on a week-to-week basis. Read their current and past reports here.

Photo Courtesy Katasha Cornwell

Have you considered including the Refuge in your will? The Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge can provide information and guide you through the process. Just call the Refuge at 850-925-6121, and ask to be contacted by the Friends' Development Committee, or email us.

Reflections newsletter is a benefit of membership for Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge.

It also serves as an important supplement to

the Friends' website.

Both the newsletter and the web site provide members and the public information about volunteer activities and events at the Refuge.

Reflections editor: Katasha Cornwell