Greatest Migration on Earth

When the sun sets and darkness covers the ocean’s surface, the largest migration on Earth happens— every night and all over the world, including here in South Florida.

At dusk, squid, krill, baby fish, and trillions of other tiny animals living in the ocean’s twilight zone, from about 650 to 3,300 feet deep, rise to the surface. When the sun reappears at dawn, the creatures descend back to the deep. This phenomenon is called the Diel Vertical Migration, and it’s no easy feat.

For instance, these critters experience a temperature change of about 20 degrees as they leave the dark depths for the surface. The pressure at their 1,000-feet-deep home is also 30 times what it is at the top.

So, why would potentially billions of animals endure this energy-intensive trip every night?

Scientists think that it’s both to eat and avoid being eaten. During the day, zooplankton, like tiny sea snails and baby fish, hide from predators such as squid and bigger fish protected under the cover of darkness at depth. Then, in the evening, they migrate to the surface to feed on microscopic aquatic plants and algae that live there.

Another possibility, according to NOAA, is that animals may migrate to reduce damage to their DNA from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, or to use the currents to move to areas with more food, or to take advantage of the benefits of colder, deeper waters to grow larger or produce more eggs.

In the Bahamas, the Atlantic spotted dolphins who spend the day on the shallow sandbanks take advantage of this migration too. They swim off the edge into deep water to hunt for squid and flying fish. It’s something that’s possible to witness in the Bahamas, if you choose to go on a research expedition with the Wild Dolphin Project or the Dolphin Dream liveaboard.

“It’s the best,” says underwater photographer, Nico Ientile, a Dolphin Dream team deckhand. He’s been in the water at night when the dolphins are zipping around hunting squid and fish. During the day, they interact with swimmers and play. “But it’s different at night, they are just doing their thing and in the zone.”

Here in South Florida, adventurous scuba divers can experience all the unique migrating sea creatures from glowing jellyfish to larval eels, by going on black water dives, which take place at night in the top 60 feet of water, but where the ocean bottom is typically over 500 feet deep. Several dive operators in the area offer these trips, including Pura Vida Divers and Walker’s Dive Charters.

Written by Bethany Augliere Photography by Nico Ientile

FLORIDA FIREFLY MIGRATION CREATES A MAGICAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE

For more information, visit JoseTorresPhoto.com or follow on @josetorresphoto.

In the summer of 2017, my wife and I went on a trip to Shenandoah National Park. My main goal for that trip was to photograph deer in the meadows. With a bit of luck, I hoped to capture the Milky Way. One thing I didn’t expect to see were fireflies flying around the meadows. It wasn’t in grand numbers, just a few here and there. I didn’t know at the time that we had them here on the east coast of the United States. I always thought that they were in places like Japan, China, or Australia. I did get lucky and photograph the

Milky Way on that trip, and as luck would have it, some fireflies did fly in front of my camera! That experience set me on a whole new path to find and photograph fireflies, but I had to find them first. As I researched these mysterious insects, I found out places like the Great Smoky Mountains and Congaree National Park had been opening events for people to experience these migrations. I learned that there are many different species of fireflies and that some of the most spectacular shows are done by the “synchronous fireflies,” which are the ones that are prevalent at the aforementioned parks.

There’s one problem with that! You see, firefly season is not set in stone. They don’t always come out at the same time of the year. It’s dependent on many factors. Factors such as rain, temperature, and even if the moon is full. As a result, the scientist can give you a window as to when it’s going to happen, but not precise dates. For me, I could never get off from work in time to make a trip from Florida. I even tried to anticipate it in 2021. I was in the Smoky’s a week early and completely missed out on the show. I had even rented special lens and cameras that would help me photograph and record them only to come out empty-handed.

One thing I learned as I researched fireflies, was that they were here in my home state! I found out that parks like Blue Springs State Park and Highland Hammocks State Park actually host firefly events. I started planning on how I would photograph them. The first year that I photographed them was at Blue Springs in 2022. I had some success, but also many failures which helped me prepare for next time. That year, I understood where they were and what were the best settings to photograph them. I found out the hard way too; that I needed to stick to one composition at a time. I cannot be moving the camera every 5 minutes. Mostly, because you can’t really see, so you can’t really focus the camera. Another reason is it’s their mating season, and you’re not allowed to turn on any flashlights. It would disrupt them and you can get kicked out of the park. However, you are allowed to use a red light which doesn’t disrupt the fireflies or your night vision. I also learned different techniques that are needed to take the photograph. Techniques such as photo stacking and time-lapse are used in order to make the proper photograph and videos with the equipment that I own. It definitely helps to have large aperture lenses and full frame cameras to help reduce noise levels on the photos.

That experience the previous year prepared me for 2023. This year, I had better lenses and cameras. I had my locations “scouted out.” I even had some scheduled time off just in case the fireflies decided to change things up. Then, the news came from the park that the fireflies were starting to show up. I went out there and proceeded to set up my cameras and went to spots where I wouldn’t bother people with my equipment. Plus, I didn’t want their red lights to show up in my images. As a result, I was in spots mostly by myself with just the fireflies. It was truly a magical experience! Once the cameras were set-up, they did all the work and I got to enjoy the show. I photographed this event for a total of 4 straight nights so I could capture different compositions and videos. On some nights, the barred owls would be hooting the entire time I would be there. On another night, I thought a big bear was coming out of the woods to get me and I was terrified for a moment! Only to see a few seconds later that it was just an armadillo rustling in the brush. Those guys can make a lot of noise in the dead of night. It definitely added to the experience and the mystery.

I hope that in the future, we can understand these “beetles” a bit more and that we can provide them with better natural habitats so everyone can experience what I experienced. In the meantime, we can all see them in our state parks when they are ready to be seen and hopefully, more state parks will start opening and hosting firefly events very soon.

Written and photography by Jose Torres

THE “ZORRO MASKED” BIRD

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Have you ever wondered what that small, extremely fast, and low-flying bird of black, white and gray is? Could it have been a Northern Mockingbird? Well, if it had a black mask resembling ‘Zorro,’ you may have just seen a Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus. They are considered by some as a “chunky, big-headed songbird.” These small birds are known for sitting on branches, fence lines, strung wires or stakes, scouting their territory for insects or small rodents to eat. The shrike flies down fast and furious to allow the element of surprise to be at its highest to make sure it can secure its meal! This bird only weighs about an average of 1.75 ounces, with a wingspan of 13 inches.

One thing you will notice about this small bird is its special beak. It is hooked just like a raptor! At first glance, you might wonder why a small bird like this would not just have a beak like other smaller birds such as warblers. This is where diversity and special characteristics help us to identify species. This unique bird got its nickname of ‘Butcherbird’ from its beak. It uses its beak aggressively for impaling and securing prey that has been caught in spikes on trees or its notorious location of barbed wire fences, returning later for their caught food. This sharp beak has a notch in it that also allows them to precisely cut the spinal cord of small vertebrae prey.

The Loggerhead Shrike is a migratory bird that is observed across most of North America. The further north you go in the United States from Northern California to Virginia, you will find a slightly larger bird called a Northern Shrike. It does look similar, with slightly fainter colors, and a little larger than the Loggerhead Shrike. These birds build nests typically in well disguised high canopies of oaks, olive, or shady-lady-like trees. Their nest is tightly woven and looks similar to a Hummingbird’s nest, just larger. The female will typically lay between 4-7 eggs with an average of a 16-day incubation period where she dominates the nest. This bird is of ‘least concern’ on the conservation status list. If traveling to the Bahamas, or Turks and Caicos, take a look and see if you can find one there. Best of luck finding this little fast-flying “Zorro masked” bird!

To learn more about these birds and others, research them on Cornell’s website at AllAbout Birds.org, which is a fabulous, digital resource. There are many books that can help guide in identifying a mystery bird, as well as apps for your mobile devices, too.