Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge
Reflections Newsletter, October, 2021
Refuge COVID-19 Virus Update

As most of you are undoubtedly aware, the concerns about COVID-19 have changed almost all of our day-to-day activities that we normally take for granted. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, there are no tours, classes or other events scheduled at the Refuge.

Visitors are NOT allowed access to the Visitor Center at this time. However, at the VC parking area, a phone number is posted to call (850-925-6121) regarding entrance fees and passes. A staff person will then meet you at the VC ramp entrance to assist. For any payments, we suggest credit card use to avoid contact with cash.

Restrooms at the VC are therefore not open as well. However, the Mounds' restrooms are still open, and there is a portalet in the VC parking lot as well as at the salt water boat ramp. Thank you.

For a more complete Refuge report and to stay updated about the federal government message about activities at the Refuge, please visit the Refuge Public Health Update.
Monarch Butterfly Festival Canceled

Due to health concerns related to the ongoing COVID virus, the Monarch Butterfly Festival has been canceled this fall. HOWEVER:

  • The Refuge is open. You can hike, bike, fish, and put your boat in!
  • The Visitor Center is closed, but you can shop at the Online Nature Store.
  • The restrooms at the picnic area are open and clean. There's a porta-potty near the main gate
  • Bird migration is in full-swing, and they're waiting for you.
  • We'd love to have you visit.






Just a Few More Reasons Why There's a 35 mph Speed Limit at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Photos, Phillip Pollock
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Watercolor Bird Bookmarks Set 2 — Available for Pre-order at the Online Nature Store Now

The Friends of St. Marks (NWR) are thrilled with the sales success over the past several weeks of the first set of bird bookmarks that were created from original watercolors by Phillip Pollock. In fact, we were so excited about the public's response that we are now taking advance orders for set two.

Set two features our, seemingly, resident American Flamingo, along with a Great Blue Heron, American Goldfinch, and Cedar Waxwing.

We will have these beautiful bookmarks ready for delivery approximately October 19 so that you have them in plenty of time for holiday gifting. These bookmarks are printed locally by Harvest Printing on medium weight watercolor paper with bird species and artist information on the back. The Friends are excited to be able to offer these reproductions of Phillip's distinctive paintings. Remember that all proceeds go to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.


Shop on the Wild Side!
Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge Nature Store


Text and photos courtesy Friends Board of Directors members, Rita LeBlanc and Phillip Pollock.
Biological Interns Prepare for the Fall/Winter

Recently, the biological team has been working on multiple projects with the goal of aiding in the recovery of the Refuge's Frosted Flatwoods Salamander (FFS) and Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) populations. The Refuge is in between the breeding seasons of these species, as RCW breeding, banding of chicks, and re-sighting fledglings ended in August and FFS migration to their breeding ponds start as rainy cold fronts come through. However, there is certainly still much work to be done!

We have been catching unbanded juvenile and adults RCWs in the past few weeks and putting on bands to have a better assessment of our population. This work is primarily done in the evenings, and it gives our interns the opportunity to become comfortable using a spotting scope to identify colored-band combinations on RCW legs. As the birds fly into their cavities in the evening, we find which cavity the unbanded bird is living in and set up a net. We then work as a team to pull down the net once the bird has flown in and secure the bird. Our interns then get the opportunity to band the birds, gather information about them, and release them back at their cavity. 
To prepare for the FFS breeding season, we have been getting the fence surrounding our research ponds ready for trapping adult salamanders moving from the uplands to the pond basin. Repairing funnel traps, fixing fences, and setting up camera traps have all been done, so now we are waiting for the ponds to dry up and for fronts to start moving through. Salamanders lay their eggs on land under vegetation to keep them moist and safe from predators, so they will lay their eggs in the dry pond basin as we get drier fall weather. We have also been refreshing our tanks for head-starting salamander larvae by gathering new organic material and replenishing plankton stocks. By providing wild-caught salamander larvae and eggs with plentiful food, no predators, and controlled environmental factors (like having enough water to not dry up), we hope to raise salamanders at a much higher success rate than they would have in the wild. Eggs will be laid in the pond basins in the late fall, and we will work on gathering them then.

As always, we could not do all the vital work we are able to accomplish without our wonderful interns supported by the Friend's group. We have been able to give them experience with resighting, catching, and banding RCWs, tagging newts for a research project in coordination with USGS, managing the impoundments for seasonal migratory birds, learning how to perform sea turtle nesting inventories, and using radio telemetry to track red wolves at our sister refuge, St. Vincent NWR. We hope to make the internship a rich experience for them with many opportunities to learn about and aid in wildlife conservation.

Through the continued generosity of Friends Dr. Ed and Hilda Carney (Red-cockaded Woodpeckers) and Jeff VanderMeer (Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders), funding for the interns is made available each year. The Friends and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge thank these donors for their contributions.

Caption, Madie Stein at top holds a Red-cockaded Woodpecker ready for banding, while both interns, Madie and Holly Keating, perform the banding.

Text and photos courtesy Chloë Dubben,Biological Technician at the Refuge
Photographers Capture Their Subjects . . .
But Quietly Leave Them Behind

It's rare that a visit to the Refuge doesn't involve photography. A photo can result from your SmartPhone (used for photo at right), or it can be a very distant (or medium-distance) photo like the ones at top and bottom taken with very sophisticated camera equipment.

Here, Tom Strazulla (right) and Greg Holder seek out two eagles perched side-by-side nearly 200 yards in the distance. The photo at top is what Tom saw through his lens and captured beautifully. Below, Greg set his focus at ground level to photograph this sleepy-looking Green Anole.

Photographers at the Refuge enjoy pursuing their passion. Tom and Greg freely share their camera knowledge with others, either through direct conversations with passersby or with others online through the Northwest Florida Nature Photography Group / Meetup.

Come out to the Refuge and point YOUR camera at all the beautiful sights. Take home a memory.

Text courtesy Phillip Pollock
October 15 Reminder
Last Date For Hand-Launched Boats in Refuge Pools

The Refuge pools are open to hand-launched small boats powered by electric trolling motors and paddle craft ONLY from March 15 through October 15. All pools are closed to boat traffic the remainder of the year to protect wildlife. Please observe this important wildlife reminder.

However, there's lots to do and see from the shoreline. Enjoy the cool months ahead.

Text and photo Phillip Pollock


The Spoonbills Are Back and the
American Flamingo is Still Here

The always showy Roseate Spoonbills have been treating visitors with their presence at the Refuge for at least the last month. Their brilliant, primarily, pink coloration is a key in identification, along with their bill shape. Our seemingly resident American Flamingo is continuing to stay with us, as well. The flamingo is very distinctive in appearance.

Sensitive nerve endings in the bill of both the flamingo and the spoonbills make them successful in their hunt for crayfish, shrimp, crabs and small fish, as they sweep their heads back and forth through the shallow water. Interestingly, their pink coloration is the result of an organic pigment called carotenoids, which are contained in many of the foods they prey on, primarily shrimp and other crustaceans.

The spoonbills have been seen in numerous locations at the Refuge over the past weeks. The flamingo is a bit more static, but still seems to move around quite a lot. So it's difficult to predict where you might see him/her by the time you read this. Safe to say, the bird has been seen mostly in and around Stoney Bayou and the Mounds Pools, though one day recently it was seen all the way down by the lighthouse. Best to ask others you see along Lighthouse Road for the latest sighting or call the Refuge at 850-925-6121. Enjoy your Refuge.

Photos (top to bottom) courtesy Karen Willes, Lisa Baggett, and Phillip Pollock


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 August 2021 "current" entry and copy the link.

Phillip Pollock
Bird Reports Assist Visitors

Don Morrow and Matt Johnstone, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge volunteers and expert birders, lead in-depth bird tours at the Refuge frequently throughout the year. Their tours are currently on hold until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deems it is safe for groups to gather. However, both Don and Matt keep us up-to-date on what we can see from week-to-week. To see what THEY see, so that YOU can as well, check out their sightings on our website.

Keep in mind that just a week ago from this newsletter publication, Migratory Bird Day was celebrated nationally. This brilliant Yellow Warbler is one of the migrants that has been ushered in at the Refuge, along with other birds that pass through the St. Marks region. Keep your eyes open. You never know what you may see on your next visit.

Photo and text, Phillip Pollock
Have you considered including the Refuge in your will? We would appreciate hearing from you if so. 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
Both the newsletter and the web site provide members and the public information about volunteer activities and events at the Refuge.
Reflections editor: Phillip M. Pollock

Reflections Editor, Phillip M. Pollock