cormier_nature's Journal

All around a decent start to my weekend walks around campus. Started with hearing a large amount of northern mockingbird calls, one of which is seen on my observations. I spotted my first Atala, sitting up in a treetop. I came to the unfortunate find of a dead Common yellowthroat, most likely dead from impact against the window it laid next to. I had spotted some white ibis walking further out on a distant facility, while I listened and attempted to spot a catbird that was calling. Upon my enter into the botanical garden, I was greeted with a Northern Cardinal and an American Redstart, neither of which I was able to get a good picture of. It ended off on a quiet note with a species of orbweaver I cannot identify that had made its web between 2 trees.

First post for the Florida Tech botanical species list. Hoping that I won't be the only one posting into this project, but it doesn't matter much. A small list of species found roaming the botanical. The Great Blue Heron was an unexpected find for the turtle pond. All other species are decently common dwellers of the garden.
Currently Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are in breeding season, and I have made it my duty to make sure any pairs I spot are incapable of finding a place to start the next generation. These insects need to be dealt with on a larger scale by more students, as their population on campus will steadily increase as they feed on the garden that we value so much. They're especially problematic because of their toxicity when being consumed, meaning that birds and turtles that eat these insects may be at risk.
Brown Anoles have also have a strong population in the garden, which results in a lower number of insects found roaming, and a lower number of competing species of predators.
I'm hoping to be able to identify more species of butterflies while I stay here, as a healthy number of pollinators secures the safety of our garden's flowers and plants.