Pat's Wildways: Southern Lights

You’ve all heard about the Northern Lights, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that we have Southern Lights, too, especially this time of year when the sun is low in the sky. It’s all a matter of timing, but when you are in the right place at the right time, get ready for a light show.

My favorite place to view the Southern Lights is on a drive down the main road of Fort Clinch State Park around sunset when the low-lying sun is setting in just the right place to light up the Spanish moss in the trees. It looks like the trees are on fire! In our own backyard there is sometimes a similar phenomenon with our muhly grass at dawn when the angled light comes through our woods and hits these plants just right. If you want a burning bush, I’ve got one, at least some times of day, some times of year when the sun’s angle is just right

Well, why is that I wondered, and with a bit of Googling, I found out. 

It turns out that Spanish moss (and maybe muhly grass, I guess) has hairlike strands that capture light, like man-made fiber optic cables that are used to transmit data to computers and televisions. Just before sunset, during the “golden hour,” the sunlight is more angled and diffused, adding to this stunning effect. A similar phenomenon must be happening with our muhly grass at dawn.

Although I didn’t find much more information about this effect in plants, I stumbled upon a November 2024 article in the journal Science News about heart cockles – a type of clam from the Indian and Pacific Oceans – that also has fiber optic-like structures. In this case, light is channeled through tiny strands passing through their hard shells into the depths of the clam, where photosynthetic algae flourishes. It’s a symbiotic relationship where the clam benefits from the sugars and nutrients the algae provides, and the algae gets more sunlight to speed its growth.

But what benefit does the Spanish moss get from its fiber optics? I still don’t know. But I do know that Spanish moss also changes color. When one drives down the Fort Clinch main road during dryer times, the moss is its characteristic gray in color. But when it rains, not only does the resurrection fern on the live oak limbs come springing alive in vibrant green, so does the Spanish moss, regaining a greenish tinge itself.

Of course, glowing Spanish moss is not the real light attraction for most people around sundown on Amelia Island – it’s our sunsets that get the most raves. Sure, people revere the sunsets in Key West and clap when the sun goes down, but have you ever seen the folks watching sunsets from our very own city docks? And all the cameras clicking? Most visitors to Fernandina come home with great memories and wonderful sunset photos to back them up.

And even after all these years living here, I can’t resist getting just “one more” sunset photo when I am in the right place at the right time. In winter the sun sets early – perfect for old folks like Bucko and I to drive home and settle into our cozy home, catching a sunset along the way. Poor Bucko, colorblind soul that he is, can’t really understand my fascination with shooting photos of sunsets. The colors for him are more like shades of gray, and yes, he can see the changes in brightness and intensity, but the color nuances are beyond his comprehension. But like the good husband he is, he most always stops the car when he is driving if I demand yet another perfect sunset shot to add to my many.

Although our downtown docks get most of the sunset photography coverage, there are other great spots on the island to enjoy our remarkable sunsets, too. In Fort Clinch State Park campers in the River Campground flock to the river’s edge each evening to see the sunset light show there. Along the river’s edge in Old Town, there are other great vantage spots for a nice evening show. And sometimes it seems that when the sun is setting on the river side of the island, the sky over the beach looks impressive too, in a more subtle display.

And let’s not forget our dawns over the ocean – we’ve got that going for us too. So don’t be disappointed we can’t see Northern Lights here. Our Southern Lights are just fine, thank you very much!

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com