New location for our blog!

There is a new blog for Omni Amelia Island Plantation!  Click on the link below to see.  It contains information about different activities on and around the Plantation.  If you want to see just the nature posts, click on "nature" at the top of the page.

click here to check it out:
Amelia Island Plantation Blog

Wildflowers!

Firewheel or Indian Blanket flower

Here in Florida we are lucky enough to have flowers blooming most of the year. Spring brings a bright array.  Here are some native flowers that we've enjoyed recently.   



The firewheel (or indian blanket) is being used more in landscapes around Florida because they are drought-tolerant.



 

We have beautiful magnolias that are also in bloom right now. What strikes us is that in all of it's stages, the flower is so beautiful. All of these photos were taken at the same time of flowers on the same tree. 

The photos are of a new bud, one just opening, one in full bloom, and an older bloom. They were all on the same tree.


New bud



Flower just opening

Fully open bloom

Past its prime, but still beautiful!

Coral bean is also known as Cherokee bean, and it attracts hummingbirds. From Wikipedia: Native American people had many medicinal uses for this plant, varying between nations and localities. Creek women used an infusion of the root for bowel pain; the Choctaw used a decoction of the leaves as a general tonic; the Seminole used an extract of the roots for digestive problems, and extracts of the seeds, or of the inner bark, as an external rub for rheumatic disorders.

In Mexico, the seeds are used as a rat poison, while a fish poison is made from the bark and leaves. 

Coral bean

Carolina Wren chicks

Every year we have Carolina wrens that nest on the back porch of the nature center.  Both parents have been working hard the past couple of weeks to keep their FIVE babies fed!  We saw them constantly flying in and out of the nest box, and now the babies have fledged.  Mom and Dad will help them find food for a short while, but they are pretty much on their own now.  Maybe the parents will fly on over to our Spa next for some well-deserved R & R ! 

mini me blue crab

I had a crab grab tour a couple of weeks ago and a boy caught this baby blue crab with one of the little shrimp nets.  It was hanging onto something floating near the dock.  The other blue crab in the bucket is the average size we catch with our lines.  We decided to keep the little guy for a while because it was so cute, and now he likes to hide in one of our saltwater tanks and is growing fast.  We'll release him soon. 

This past week Amanda and Levi partcipated in a 3-day training to obtain ACA Level 1 and 2 instructor certification.  This course teaches various kayaking strokes and techniques that are essential for safe paddling in open water and coastal enviornments.They were taught rescue and safety skills that we use during our kayak tours.  This class was very demanding both physically and mentally.  They both passed and now are ACA certified instructors.

Paddle Float

Self Rescue with Paddle Float

Towing two people at once!

Neil the Eel

About a month ago a resident caught an American Eel in a baitrap and brought it in.  We decided to let it live in the same tank as Flapjack, our softshell turtle.  We werent' sure how it would do, but the two seem to be getting along just fine. Both animals like to hide in the rocks.  Come see us and we'll point them out to you!

Maize's Fan club

Maize, our Miami corn snake, has lots of fans who come by the nature center on a regular basis to see her.  This is Elizabeth Foster, a local 11 year old who loves to stop by and visit Maize.  She is really excited to attend our summer nature camp this year and spend more time with our animals and out in nature. 

Earth Day Nature Festival

On Earth Day weekend, the Nature Center invited a few friends to come and celebrate nature.  We had Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, Wild Amelia, Jacksonville Zoo, Forestry Service and Catty Shack Wildlife Sanctuary just to name a few.  All the tables were beautifully set with their own way of promoting Earth Day to our guests. With the steel drum band and snow cones we were set to go for a great party! Enjoy the pictures and hope to see you all next year for this fun occasion! 

Sea Turtle Watch

Wild Amelia

Who wants to celebrate with a giant Giraffe?

Jessica with a Timicuan! 

Useful game for all to learn!

Nature Center Earth Day learning table 

Jacksonville Zoo with the famous screech owl 

anyone for a baby alligator?

face painting :)

Heron vs. Snake

Yesterday we had a crazy start to our birding tour.  In the pond behind the nature center, we saw a Great Blue Heron trying to eat a big snake!  It was a southern water snake, about 4-5 feet long.  It was wrapped around the heron's bill, and the heron was trying to shake it and dunk in under water, but the snakes head kept popping back up.  Not sure if the heron was shaking it to kill it or to get it off it's bill.  We watched for a while, but then went on to see other birds (including two male painted buntings!).  Christina kept checking on it for us, and she saw it get the snake down its throat only to have it come back up again.  We're not 100% sure what the end result was, but we think the heron bit off more than it could chew and the snake got away.  I've seen a heron eating an eel during one of our kayak tours, but nothing like this nature battle before! 

Tanner and Tuesday

Omni-Amelia Island Plantation has a new mascot!  Meet Tanner the Turtle. Tanner loves to meet our guests and helps read stories during Tales with Tanner at the nature center. He also gives out treats by the pool and beach.  On Tuesday, he helped to rescue a baby raccoon that was found all alone nearby.  Way to go Tanner! Tanner thought that his new little friend, who a guest named Tuesday, might have fleas or ticks, and recommended a bath.  The poor baby's face shows you what he's feeling!

Tuesday felt much better after the bath, though.  Here he is all dry and fluffy.  Although we hated to see him go, we thought it would be best to hand the little guy over to the Wildlife Rescue Coalition in Jacksonville.  They got him hydrated but are still having a little trouble getting him to eat.  Sometimes it just takes time for them to realize that even though it's not from Mama, it's still good! 

Crab Grab is back at Walker's Landing!!!

Walker's Landing is now open! After a long winter this part of our property is now back open. These are some shots of Crab grab on our brand new docks. With the opening of the park we can now do our kayaks on property again also. This crab grab was a slow one but with warmer weather moving in so should the blue and stone crabs. While we use the old method of crabbing on our tours we still let the kids have some fun with nets and catch different creatures around the docks. Come visit the nature center to see some of our new animals we have collected so far on our tours.

Beautiful Bugs



Last week I saw this beautiful moth.  It was hardly moving, so I brought it back to the nature center to ID and so it wouldn't get stepped on.  When I opened my hand to look at it again, it flew up high into a tree.  Turns out it is a Giant Leopard Moth.  I didn't know we had such beautiful moths, besides the Luna Moth, which is a bright green. 

Tent Moth Caterpillar

The next day I saw some "bugs" with pretty patterns, so I thought I'd photograph them, too. 

Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Tussock Moth?

That just got me on a  roll, and since I almost always have my phone with me I've been taking photos with it of all of the interesting "bugs" I see.  Then if I don't already know what it is, I try to look up the identification.  Not easy when there are thousands of species in Florida! 


Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle pupa

Eastern Carpenter Bee

possibly Acrea Moth (Salt Marsh Caterpillar)?

Crablike Spiny Orbweaver (crab spider)

Squash Bug laying eggs

You can have fun and learn a lot just by observing the small critters around your neighborhood like these.  Kids love to learn about them, too.  A good idea is to keep a nature journal with drawings or photos and observations.  Good resources I've used are Audubon Guides to Florida Nature (there's an app for that, of course!) and also the website bugguide.net.  Maybe while the kids are looking for Easter eggs, they can see what else spring has brought!

Springing Forward into Spring!

The weather has been a perfect sunny 83* and what better way to enjoy it than Kayaking! During the winter months, Walker's Landing bulkhead was under repair so all kayak tours were off property. We got the word today that Walker's Landing is now open for kayaking!! Yay! So come in and enjoy a 2 hour relaxing paddle and learn about Amelia's beautiful marsh land.

Kayak tours include a brief instruction for beginner kayakers. This is a perfect experience for experts and beginners alike! During this paddle through the Salt Marsh, there are a few visitors you may encounter... Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Egrets, Herons, Sea Turtles, Manatees, Dolphins, crabs, live conchs, sting rays and SO MUCH more. Every tour is different so even if you have experienced our kayak before, come join us to paddle Walker's Creek again.

You never know who you will meet.. like these dolphins who swam up to say hi!

Squirrel visit

Our bird feeder broke the other day and we left it in our back room overnight.  The next morning we were a little startled by some scurrying noises, and then we saw this squirrel who was enjoying the feast.  She was not too concerned about us being near her.  Perhaps she's one of the ones we've raised and released?   

What you looking at?!? 

Anybody Got A Back Scratcher?

I was in the office and I heard something rattling in the other room and had no idea what it was. Then I caught sight of Baby T doing this. Sometimes you just need a good scratch!

Local Birdnapping!

Today on Amelia Island Plantation, Jessica and Amanda were segwaying the beach scoping out shore birds during a routine bird survey when they came across an injured Laughing Gull limping helplessly across the sand. Being the big-hearted naturalists they are, sat for a moment to assess the situation. Two segways, no extra hands, bird survey clipboard, no extra bags, and neither of them were brave enough to stick a bird down their zipped jackets for 30 minutes during the ride back. However, Amanda got a bright idea... what about the
bag on the front of the segway? Zip it up 3/4 way and he can have a nice warm comfortable ride back to the nature center. That was the best idea they had at the moment and

decided to give it a shot. After easily catching the gull, Amanda gently folds his hanging broken wing to his side and gently eased him into the segway bag, zipping it up enough he can't escape; perfect. Jessica and Amanda finished up the bird survey with their new friend in tow. The Laughing Gull was dropped off at BEAKS, a local bird

sancutary, to be fixed up and released back into the wild. Needless to say, Mr. Gull will have an interesting story to tell his friends when he gets out. "I swear! There were these 2 legged aliens riding these machines and they birdnapped me and took me away in their spaceship!!! I barely escaped alive."