For the week of Spring Break, I spent my time on Sanibel Island off the gulf coast of Florida. Scientists believe the island sediment rose from the sea and was shaped by centuries of storm activity. We visited many places on the island by bike, which provided a great opportunity to see a significant amount of species biodiversity and human land uses on the island (specifically restaurants and shops). We briefly visited the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, known for its bird diversity, however, I selected my phenology spot at the Gulfside City Park Beach because that is where we spent a greater amount of time so I could study it best.
The tree I found most fascinating was the Gumbo Limbo, bursera simaruba, because of its peeling bark which reminded me of birch. I also saw many different types of palm tree, specifically the Paurotis Palm, acoelorraphe wrightii, which I have attached an image of below. For wildlife, we saw bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus) in the water, brown pelicans (pelecanus occidentalis) flying overhead, and marsh rabbits (sylvilagus palustris) eating in the bushes. I also managed to find a starfish near the edge of the water as the tide went down (image below), but have not been able to identify what type it is. I saw tracks all along the water’s edge from spotted sandpipers (actitus macularia) who constantly plunged their beaks into the sand looking for a snack. I also saw prints of domestic dogs in the soft sand further away from the water while searching for seashells (which were in extreme abundance).
This phenology spot is completely different from my spot in Centennial Woods. The palms and flowered plants of coastal Florida are not suited to survive the cold, snowy Vermont winters like Centennial’s oaks and pines are. The wildlife is different, too, considering I looked at marine habitat animals, which do not exist in Vermont. I enjoyed getting the chance to explore these alternate-climate species because the species at my home in New York have always overlapped greatly with the natural world in Vermont, so this was greatly different.
As usual, all photos are my own!