A Day with Biologists and Botanists
Image caption: From left to right: Megan De Angelis, Volunteer; Lauren Best, Assistant Curator of the National Azalea Collection; Meaghan Emory, Volunteer and Friend; Bradley Smith, Refuge Biologist; Carson Ellis, Curator of the National Azalea Collection; and Jim Floyd, Treasurer of the Friends of St. Vincent NWR
By Meaghan Emory
On a beautiful day in late September, a couple of friends of St. Vincent were able to accompany island biologist Bradley Smith to assist with some refuge tasks. This day was a bit out of the ordinary, as we were also joined by staff from the North Carolina Arboretum—National Native Azalea Collection Curator Carson Ellis and assistant curator Lauren Best. These special guests were on a search for native azaleas to potentially acquire seeds in the future to curate the National Azalea Collection in Asheville, North Carolina. On this part of their journey, they were especially hoping to find specimens of Chapman’s rhododendron (Rhododendron chapmanii). This incredibly rare plant is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Its geographic range is restricted to pine flatwoods and swampy margins in select Florida Panhandle counties. Collection of its seeds could be a critical step to support this species’ recovery.
The day started out at the Refuge office where we went over the day’s agenda, including all the tasks that needed to be completed. We all filled out volunteer forms and set out for the Refuge. Our next stop was the 14 Mile tract—a portion of the Refuge on the Florida mainland where Bradley had previously seen some azaleas. After a short walk through the woods, Carson confirmed—we had found our first azalea! Carson and Lauren identified this one as hammocksweet azalea (Rhododendron serrulatum)—a native, deciduous shrub that produces fragrant white trumpet-shaped blooms in the early fall. Bradley also noted that, unfortunately, some recent efforts to curb the spread of the nonnative Japanese climbing fern had not contained it all, and noted he would need to return to this location to re-treat the area. It’s important to keep these in check to prevent them from smothering native plants.
Image caption: Carson Ellis, Curator of the National Azalea Collection, documents an azalea at St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge.
Next, we traveled to Indian Pass boat ramp where Bradley expertly launched the refuge’s small boat. We all donned life vests for the short, five-minute journey across the pass to tie up at the dock on St. Vincent Island. Though close in distance to the mainland, this 12,000+ acre island invokes a wild, primitive sense inside you the moment you step foot here. It almost feels like stepping into Jurassic Park—knowing that so many wild creatures live just beyond the treeline out of sight, and so few people ever get to experience what it’s like to be in their habitat. Immediately, a sense of wonder and excitement sets in. We take a group photo by the new refuge sign, load our gear into two refuge trucks, and set out to check the tasks off the day’s list.
We drive out 0 Road out to the beach and stop to grab a few predator excluder cages used to protect sea turtle nests and load them into the vehicle. It’s late in sea turtle nesting season (which runs from May through October), so it’s time to put these cages away down at the cabin. On the way down the beach, we check out a couple of sea turtle nests to ensure they haven’t been found by a predator. Today, it looks like all the cages held and the nests were all still untouched.
This short stop to pick up the cages also held a rare surprise—red wolf tracks in the sand headed out to the beach! St. Vincent Island serves as an island propagation site to aid the recovery of endangered red wolves. There is currently a breeding pair on the island, and biologists are hopeful they will produce a litter next spring! If successful, those pups would stay on the island for about 18 months until they are able to survive on their own. Then they would be transported to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Along with Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, this is the only place red wolves exist in the wild. Later in the day, we also got a glimpse of the acclimation pens where the wolves are introduced to the island’s climate and native food sources, and treated by veterinarians as needed. It was such a special treat to see evidence of this successful program in real life, and made us feel hopeful about the wolves’ future.
Image caption: A red wolf track in the sand on St. Vincent Island.
We stopped at a couple of water control structures to help balance the water levels in the islands’ various water bodies. At each stop, Carson and Lauren aided in identifying the native fauna surrounding the water ways. No azaleas here, but we did see some cute little bladderworts with yellow blooms. Did you know these are carnivorous—meaning they “eat” bugs in addition to using photosynthesis for energy? So cool!
Image caption: An aquatic, carnivorous bladderwort near a water control structure at St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge.
After another stop to check a rain gauge, we paid a visit to an enormous slash pine on the island. It took three volunteers to wrap our arms around it. Although its exact age is unknown, it is likely several hundred years old! No azaleas at this stop, either. But we did learn the difference between Florida rosemary and false rosemary. While different species, they both smell delicious!
Image caption: Two volunteers wrap their arms around a huge slash pine at St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge—their arms couldn’t reach all the way around!
One of the more “messy” tasks of the day was conducting an inventory of a 75-day old green sea turtle nest to determine productivity—an action that is permitted by the state of Florida for research and conservation purposes. This amount of time is very long for sea turtle eggs to hatch, so it was suspected that development had stalled or halted. We removed the predator exclusion cage, and Bradley expertly located the chamber under the sand which housed the 162 eggs—almost a refuge record! Unfortunately, the procedure confirmed our suspicions—the nest had been inundated, potentially by Tropical Storm Bertha in July 2026 that caused some storm surge on the island shortly after the nest was laid. Fortunately, this year’s nesting season resulted in 135 other nests on the island, so the refuge still helped support the next generation of these threatened sea turtles.
Image caption: Volunteer Megan De Angelis and Refuge biologist Bradley Smith prepare to remove the predator exclusion cage from a green sea turtle nest on St. Vincent Island. Work conducted under FWC Permit #068
We made a stop at the refuge cabin, which was built in 1907 by a previous owner of the island. These days, this is where staff and volunteers can stay for multi-day projects. Across the road is a humongous bat house, which is normally seen on our wagon tours. This was my first time on the east side of the island, however, so I took a short walk over while Bradley checked the cabin’s safety gear. I stood near the bat house for a few minutes to listen to the bats squeaking. While it sounds spooky, it was actually quite cute.
All in all, we learned a ton about both the flora and fauna that call St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge home—and got to assist with some refuge tasks along the way. If you’re interested in learning more about the refuge, consider joining the Friends for one of our wagon tours!