Phillip's Natural World: Fuller's Teasel and Squawk

These are a couple of species one won't see often in Florida. Above and Below: Fuller's teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) is theoretically not found on the peninsula.

Teasel's family is Dipsacaceae. The family includes pin cusions (Scabiosa L.) and Cephalaria. Dry weather has caused this stand to lose most of its lavender petals.

Above and Below: This is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron juvenile (Nyctanassa violaceae). Also known as the American Night Heron or "Squawk," this bird is normally a resident of warm coastal regions of the Americas like the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

There have been occasional sightings as far north as the lower Great lakes. It is a very small bird and would mostly go unnoticed. It gets its name because it mainly feeds at night along water's edge. . . eating crustaceans, mollusks, frogs, insects and small fish. Full grown this bird is only 2 feet tall (60 cm.). This one was considerably smaller.

A related species was the Bermuda Night Heron (Nyctanassa carcinocatactes) which became extinct following human colonization of those islands in the 17th century.

Photo: Cristobal Herrera/European Pressphoto Agency

Miles of Algae
and a Multitude of Hazards

The stench from decaying algae began rising from coastal waterways in southeastern Florida early this month, shutting down businesses and beaches during a critical tourism season. Officials arrived, surveyed the toxic muck and declared states of emergency in four counties, then took off for Cleveland for the Republican National Convention.

Photo: Rhonda Wise/Agence France-Press/Getty Images

Photo: Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/AP

Florida Governor Rick Scott doesn't believe in global warming or climate change anymore than does Donald Trump or Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and why should they care? They don't live amongst the dead fish and dying waterways of southeast Florida, and their reelection campaigns are largely funded by Big Sugar which polluted Lake Okeechobee and caused the algae bloom in the first place.

Road to Rio