Research and conservation staff assemble highlights from their fieldwork each month. Here are some reports from October:

Conservation

• Work in the restoration sites continues in the Sanctuary backcountry. With the water levels currently up, Land Management staff is using an airboat in order to efficiently access and do their work in these otherwise difficult to reach areas.
• At Panther Island, the treatment of grasses and broadleaf species continues.
• Improvements to the well area at the Six Ls entrance have been completed, simplifying and updating the old system that was in place there.
   

Research

• The research team continues to work with Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to monitor the status and health of Florida Panthers in the Sanctuary
• Essential field activities continue for research staff while staff are working from home on data entry, data management, data analysis, and other computer-based projects.
• The hydrologic modeling project that will help us better understand the causes of Corkscrew’s hydrologic changes continues. Preliminary data are becoming available and we are working to complete data analyses in November.

Hydrology Update

Water levels remained high through October which is good for growing populations of aquatic prey. We expect water levels will begin falling more quickly in November and December which are typically our least rainy months of the year. We’ve begun to see a few Wood Storks in the area and hope these sightings will become more frequent in November. As always, we are hopeful that hydrologic conditions will foster Wood Stork nest initiation in the Sanctuary in December.

Wildlife sightings

• A small herd of white-tailed deer was seen in the restoration area in CSS backcountry
• A pygmy rattlesnake was spotted near the library
• Blue-winged Teals have returned to Panther Island!
• A Solitary Sandpiper was observed at Panther Island for a few days