Archbold Biological Station

10/09/2026

Do you check in on your friends every month to see how they’re doing? Our Avian Ecology team does something similar with Florida Scrub-Jays!

Each bird in our study wears a unique combination of colored leg bands, allowing our researchers to identify individuals from a distance. During census, our team uses those bands to keep track of who's living where, which birds are paired up, and how territories change over time.

Since 1969, Archbold researchers have tracked more than 6,000 individual Florida Scrub-Jays across generations, building one of the longest-running continuous studies of any bird species in the world. By tracking individual birds throughout their lives, our researchers can better understand how scrub-jay populations change over time and the factors that influence their survival and reproductive success.

10/01/2026

A little wild Florida for your feed 🌿

09/24/2026

Looking for signs of fall at Buck Island Ranch now that it’s officially here… but we might be waiting a while 😅🍂

09/16/2026

Getting a better look at a prescribed burn sometimes means getting a few hundred feet above it.

Our GIS team uses drones to collect detailed aerial imagery after prescribed fires, helping map where fire moved across the landscape and where it didn’t.

From above, the team can clearly see the charred landscape and document the patchiness of a burn. That patchiness is important for Florida’s fire-dependent landscapes and the plants and animals uniquely adapted to them. The resulting maps help land managers and researchers understand relationships between fire history, habitat conditions, and species outcomes, informing management decisions that support rare and endemic species while adding to Archbold's long-term records of fire across our landscapes.

This work doesn’t stop at Archbold’s borders, though. We also work with conservation partners, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, to map prescribed burns on other managed lands. In 2025, the team mapped 47 burns across Archbold properties and another nine for FWC. The team is also capturing post-fire aerial imagery across the Everglades Headwaters watershed, mapping burns supported by Archbold's Headwaters Ecosystem Management Team, The Nature Conservancy's fire team, and other land managers throughout the region. 🔥

09/12/2026

Double the Florida Scrub-Jay science coming your way next week! 🪶 Join Avian Ecology Research Interns Anna Boodée and Conor Moses on Wednesday, September 16 at 3:30 PM as they present their findings.

Anna will share research examining how translocation may affect Florida Scrub-Jay donor populations over time, drawing on 45 years of demographic data from Archbold, and Conor will explore whether we can predict where Florida Scrub-Jays will nest from year to year by looking at factors including social interactions, territoriality, and vegetation and environmental characteristics.

📅 Wednesday, September 16
🕞 3:30 PM
📍 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89826884750?pwd=evlFdETDPuLjkKMRuuEXTTRyNM2Lks.1

09/09/2026

A lot of Archbold bird science made its way to Massachusetts this summer! 🐦

Members of our Avian Ecology Program recently traveled to Amherst for the 2026 American Ornithological Society meeting, where they shared seven posters and three talks spanning the ecology, evolution, and conservation of birds.

Much of that work grew from decades of research with Florida Scrub-Jays at Archbold. This year's presentations explored everything from mate choice and helping behavior to relationships between climate and scrub-jay morphology, conservation planning, and findings from the recent Florida Scrub-Jay translocation.

AOS also brought a couple of firsts! Research Assistants Steven Thyme and Shelagh Lynch each gave their first talks at a scientific conference. Along with Archbold interns and other RAs, they had the opportunity to share their research and exchange ideas with ornithologists from across the field.

Long-term research continues to give us new questions to ask about Florida Scrub-Jays, and meetings like AOS give our researchers the opportunity to share what we're learning with the broader scientific community.

09/08/2026

Only 4 more spots available! If you've been thinking about it but haven't saved your seat yet, do it here before it's too late: https://www.archbold-station.org/events/garden-week-bir/

Climb aboard! 🌾 On September 10, join us for a swamp buggy tour of Buck Island Ranch as part of Garden Week.

We’ll travel across the ranch to learn more about the science, agriculture, and land stewardship happening here, with plenty of opportunities to spot native plants, birds, and other wildlife along the way.

📅 September 10 | 9:30–11:30 a.m.
📍 Archbold’s Buck Island Ranch
🎟️ $25 per person | Registration required

Learn more and register: https://www.archbold-station.org/events/garden-week-bir/

Garden Week takes place September 8–13 throughout Lake Placid, Sebring, and Avon Park and is presented by Visit Sebring.

09/04/2026

It’s National Wildlife Day! 🐾

Who’s using Florida's wild spaces when no one is watching?

Game cameras across the Corridor Observatory capture glimpses of wildlife moving through landscapes throughout the Florida Wildlife Corridor, from familiar faces to some more unexpected visitors. But these photos are more than great wildlife moments! Together, they provide data that help Archbold scientists and our partners understand where different species occur, how they use the landscape, and the role connected habitats play in supporting Florida’s wildlife.

09/03/2026

Great to see the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the many years of work behind it featured in Florida Trend! We’re proud to be part of the continued efforts to protect connected lands and waters across Florida.

Read the article: https://bit.ly/4xxEUwp

Florida is racing to protect its last wild land before developers get there first.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor connects 18 million acres of forests, rivers, ranches and farms from the Everglades to Georgia and Alabama. Ten million acres are already protected. The remaining 8 million sit mostly on ranches and farms that could be sold to developers.

State programs have helped protect more than 470,000 acres since 2021, but demand from landowners is now outpacing what the state can afford to fund.

Once this land is developed, it's gone forever. Is there an area near you that you'd hate to see disappear?

Photography by Carlton Ward, Floridamanphoto and maxharlynking



Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation Archbold Biological Station Live Wildly MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife

09/02/2026

We’re proud to celebrate Dr. Hilary Swain, Archbold’s Executive Director Emerita, as the recipient of the Natural Areas Association’s 2026 George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award! 🌿

NAA’s highest honor recognizes exceptional achievements in natural areas stewardship, and this is such a well-deserved recognition of Hilary’s more than three decades of leadership at Archbold. Her leadership helped shape Archbold into what it is today, while building partnerships and advancing science and conservation that have made a difference far beyond our own lands.

Congratulations, Hilary! We’re so glad to see your incredible contributions to Archbold and conservation in Florida recognized in this way. 💚