Liguus Snail (Liguus Fasciatus) Darkness envelops me as I step from the brightly lit marsh into a tree island, a pocket of hardwood hammock within the Everglades. I wait for my eyes to adjust, then begin scanning trees for arboreal snails. These terrestrial mollusks once glistened...
A lone male White-bellied Heron stands on its nest. Its breeding plumes flow elegantly in the wind as it gazes up and down Bhutan’s Puna Tsang Chhu (River). The bird stretches its neck high, puffs out its chest, turns from side to side, then diligently...
Old Faithful I see crowds gathering in front of Old Faithful Inn’s namesake geyser as I pull up to Yellowstone National Park’s famed historic lodge. I contemplate checking-in and catching the next eruption, but then I see it – a bison meandering across the basin. How...
Sooty terns and magnificent frigatebirds filled the air as I stepped off the ferry at Dry Tortugas National Park. I focused on a single tern as it swooped to the ground, landing out of view where I imagined it being greeted by a hungry chick....
Had I somehow gained some new bird-attracting ability? Two bird hitchhikers in two weeks felt like a sign. ...
From indigenous fisherpeople to Royal Palm State Park, here's a glimpse into the history of the Anhinga Trail area of Everglades National Park....
Spotting scopes, binoculars, telephoto lenses and cell phones were all trained up into the pines. I traced their gazes into the trees. A cloud of orange quivered in the wind, hundreds if not thousands of delicate wings folded within protective pine needles....
I sat there a moment, weighing the possibilities that this bird intentionally sought my attention. Could it be that this cardinal had noticed the glow from my laptop and understood it meant a person, a potential source of food, was there? Was it truly tapping...
A white tail, tall and skinny as a flagpole, bobbed above the leaves. This was like no tail I’d seen before...
With their unusual shapes, carnival-worthy colors, and the fact that they ensnare and digest insects, pitcher plants have always struck me as the type of fantastical creature that might’ve emerged straight from the pages of Alice in Wonderland. ...