Andros Bahamas Forfar Field Station: An Inside Look at Paradise
Andros: A slice of paradise in the Bahamas.
Forfar Field Station: A Day in the Life!
The Forfar Field Station Experience
Forfar Field Station, located on Andros Island, Bahamas, has been home to field studies experiences for educational groups since 1970. Check out the classic week-long field experience featuring students from Manistee High School.
Forfar Field Station is owned and operated by International Field Studies (IFS), a non-profit founded in 1970 dedicated to providing environmental education, scientific research, and cultural awareness through experiential learning. Visit intlfieldstudies.org/forfar-field-station to learn more.
Bahamas Final Edit Forfar Field Station
BAHAMAS - DAY 1 & 2 - Forfar Field Station
This is day 1 & 2 from my summer university trip to the Bahamas! This class, Tropical Marine Ecology, was credit towards my Marine Biology bachelors degree. We stayed at Forfar Field Station on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
Thanks for watching & please like, comment & subscribe to see the rest of the trip!!
Andros Island 2019-Forfar Field Station
Andros Island Bahamas
Forfar Field Station
2019
Music: Scandinavianz
BAHAMAS - DAY 3 - Forfar Field Station
Day 3 of our Bahamas summer trip for Tropical Marine Ecology! Today was a boat day so we went to two snorkeling sites & one walking site.
The first snorkel site was Rat Cay. Rat Cay (pronounced Key) is an oceanic blue hole. The tide was going out & therefore was pushing water out of the hole, making for a strong current near it's threshold!
The walking site was called Saddleback Cay. This was at low tide & consisted of seagrass meadows, karren landscapes, & sand flats. It was a very diverse Cay. Parts of the sand flat even had that Bahamian pink hue.
The final snorkel site was Three Sisters Patch Reef. This was our first reef to snorkel this trip & it was so much fun! We were out there for at least an hour & I did not see it all.
Join me for Day 4 next (coming soon) where we swim in the Tongue of the Ocean & snorkel at a wreck site!
Please like this video, comment & subscribe if you would like to see more!
p.s. sorry if I misnamed something or did not name it at all - I am still learning!
Music:
Easy Lemon 30 Second by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Forfar Field Station - IFS Promo Video (pt. 1)
Forfar Field Station is an educational research facility on Andros Island, in The Bahamas, owned and operated by International Field Studies and Hocking College. It specializes in educational and eco-tourist field trips off the coast of Florida. For more information, go to intlfieldstudies.com.
Forfar Field Station Dive 3
Our third dive overall and our second dive at Amphitheater off Staniard Rock on Andros Island in the Bahamas. This was many of these kids' third true open water dive. This was shot with a GoPro Hero4 Black with a simple red filter. We dove this in anticipation of our night dive on Wednesday.
BAHAMAS - DAY 6 - Forfar Field Station
Today was Thursday, May 25th.
Our first spot was an Atalla Coppice walk. We saw an atalla butterfly, small frog, brachen fern, large air plants, silver palm, passionflowers, lichen, and a gray blue gnat catcher (bird).
The second spot was Morgan's Buff. Captain Morgan used the bluff to lure in ships until they wrecked. Captain Morgan and his crew would pillage the shipwrecks and then hide the treasure in the caves.. or so the story goes.
After the cave we went to a shipwreck. It was very breezy and murky at this spot. I did not have my booties so I did not stay in the water long as my flippers hurt. Here we saw spotfin butterflyfish, sergeant majors, yellowtail snappers, and a juvenile sharp-nose puffer.
The next spot was a bonus for the day - coconut grove! My camera died after the first few minutes so I did not get to record the whole spot. Here we saw 4 Caribbean reef squid and two bottlenose dolphins! The first dolphin was so close to me!! It swim within a few feet next to me and looked at me when it passed, rolling to it's side! Here we also saw damselfish, lionfish, barracuda, and amber penshells.
MUSIC
Italian Afternoon by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
Easy Lemon 30 Second by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
I'm Going on an Adventure: Forfar Field Station
I have recently packed up and moved to the bahamas to work at Forfar Field Station, giving students the ability to study tropical marine ecosystems in person. Here is where I will be detailing my adventures.
Enjoy
BAHAMAS - DAY 5 - Forfar Field Station
This was May 24th in the Bahamas (Day 5)!
I started out the day with a morning snorkel with Madison. It was really cold and eerie when we first started at 0545. The water was so dark that we waited until around 0618 to start again. We swam out to a small cay near the cabins and checked out the red mangrove nursery.
The first snorkel of the day with the group was at Blue Hole Cay. This was a small oceanic blue hole. There were so many yellow-tailed snappers!!! I also spotted a small (less than 1 inch) juvenile French Angelfish!! It was so small and adorable!
The island walk that we did was on Pigeon Cay. Pigeon Cay is a protected area - this contributed to the greater number of biodiversity that was seen there. After touring both sides of the island (as far as we could go as it was Turn nesting season) we went back to the chairs near the beach. There Kirsty & Ahmed brought us three large pieces of calcareous red algae to break open. At first I was a bit skeptical that we would actually find anything within them. But the number & biodiversity was amazing! Everything inside was incredibly small and in its juvenile stage. We saw everything from spiny brittle stars, a red-white porcelain crab, an atlantic longarm octopus, fireworms, peanut worms, feather worms, urchins, sea cucumbers, a snapping shrimp & many more!
After there we went for another snorkel at Dave's Patch Reef. I did not record anything here as I just wanted to relax and enjoy the scenery. This ended up being my favorite snorkel spot over the whole trip. It was small but so beautiful. There also were a lot of Lionfish here. I helped Ahmed catch a juvenile lionfish! He caught it with his snorkel fin & I carried it above water back to the boat!! HAHA I also got to hold a Caribbean spiny lobster before he got returned back to his hole.
Back at camp: Victoria found a small leech aglaja!! We also walked down the road for some ice cream & souvenirs.
Please comment & subscribe to see the last two days!!
MUSIC
Dance, Don't Delay by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Easy Lemon 30 Second by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Forfar Field Station - IFS Promo Video (pt. 2)
Forfar Field Station is an educational research facility on Andros Island, in The Bahamas, owned and operated by International Field Studies and Hocking College. It specializes in educational and eco-tourist field trips off the coast of Florida. For more information, go to intlfieldstudies.com.
BAHAMAS - Day 4 - Forfar Field Station
Join me on an adventure into deeper oceans of the Bahamas!
On day 4 we went to the Tongue of the Ocean. It is 6000 feet deep, eerie, and the deepest yet beautiful sapphire blue I have ever seen. It was really cool to watch the sun rays reach as far into the abyss as they could, past my vision. Rand (Forfar Field Station instructor) dropped two conch shells & we watched them as far as we could.
The next spot was an unnamed reef that has been coined as perdido reef. Cardo, our local guide, took Dr J. & Amy there last year with their class. He has such amazing knowledge of the islands & the water that surrounds them, he was able to find the site off of memory! The currents were stronger today then before, so most of the footage has some stability issues, but still awesome videos. This area was greatly affected by Hurricane Matthew & the runoff from the island. A lot of coral was dying or already dead there.
The next place was String Quartet. This place was not as affected. The Elkhorn Coral was thriving here! We even saw Staghorn Coral, both labeled as threatened according to NOAA.
The next place was Stainyard Wreck (think I am spelling it right). This wreck was broken up into many pieces spread out amongst sand & a seagrass meadow. The highlight of this site was seeing the incredible Spotted Eagle Ray! It was so fascinating to see this creature in it's natural habitat, plus it had a wing span of like 5-6ft! Breathtaking.
After a long day on the boat & in the water, we relaxed by playing in the shallows! ha we couldn't stay out of the clear warm water, was too nice! I went on a night snorkel with Madison & we found many different kinds of shells & several beaded sea stars (not featured - no photos).
Stay tuned for the last few days of this trip!
MUSIC INFO
Jellyfish in Space by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Santo Rico by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
BAHAMAS - DAY 7 & 8 - Forfar Field Station
Last two days on the island!!
26th
Fresh Creek - this was our last snorkel spot. Here we saw lots of upside-down jellies! We also saw a scorpionfish, cushion star, snail eggs, souther puffer, barracuda, mangroves, and many more.
Androsia factory & boutique - the factory was made to help the women find work & bring home income while the men worked/fished. They sculpt the stamps & then it is pressed onto fabric with hot wax, dyed & then hand cut & sewn into designs. I bought myself a puppy & paw print pocket dress (as seen in group photo) & a bonefish shirt for Trent!
Captain Bill's Blue Hole - this blue hole is VERY large! It was almost perfectly round. The hole is a national park so there was a gazebo we could jump off of. It was about a ten foot jump into the salt/fresh water. Sara tried to scare me underwater but I caught her! ha The legend is that the creature Lusca (half shark-half octopus) lives in the hole. The say that the tidal in & outs are Lusca's breaths. They also say that they had periodically sacrificed someone to Lusca in the blue hole for the better good. They say the bones can be found on the bottom of the hole because there is no oxygen down there & they would be preserved...
Rainbow Blue Hole - There was a walk to the blue hole that passed through three layers: white land, black land, and white land. Named for the trail's ground. It would go from white limestone to leaves, then back to white limestone by the hole. The walk was very informational as Sara explained all the plants that were seen. The hole was nice & had little mosquito fish that would bite dead skin off your legs & body. We enjoyed relaxing in the water as it cooled our bug bites!
27th - spent the morning cleaning, packing & saying our goodbyes. Thank you to all the staff at the International Field Station, love you guys! Brilliant group of individuals that I loved learning from!
Until next time Bahamas..
MUSIC:
Dance, Don't Delay by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
Smooth Sailing (with Guitar) by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
Welcome to Andros Island!
Andros Island is The Bahamas' natural wonder. The earth's third-largest barrier reef lies adjacent to its shores and fascinates divers and snorkelers with magnificent whales, dolphins, marlin and reef animals. Underwater caves riddle the island, surfacing as mesmerizing blue holes; mangroves serve as relaxing environs for kayaking; flats make the island sought after for bonefishing; and forests delight avid bird watchers with exotic species.
2019 Field Ecology Part 2
Southern Biology Field Ecology, Andros Bahamas, Forfar Field Station.
2009 Andros Island Field Study
Yes- Missouri kids studying marine biology in the Bahamas...
Images were taken from the Andros Island sailing field study, April 2009. Field study is part of the marine biology program in the Saint Joseph School District. Students meet for class on Monday nights throughout the school year.
The field study is conducted from three 45' sailboats along the Andros Island bank/barrier reef. This reef, often said to the the world's third longest continuous reef, remains fairly healthy today. This is due to the fact that the Andros reef hugs the east coast of a one hundred mile long island that is very lightly populated.
Last count indicates a total population of around 8,000 all living in small villages along the eastern coast. This adds a very remote nature to the trip.
*PS- you're hearing Vetiver's Rolling Sea. BUY THEIR STUFF. I did and I love it. They are an amazing band.
Marine Biology Field Study - Andros Island 2011
Yes- Missouri kids studying marine biology in the Bahamas...
Images were taken from the Andros Island sailing field study, April 2011. Field study is part of the marine biology program in the Saint Joseph School District. Students meet for class on Monday nights throughout the school year.
The field study was conducted from two 45' sailboats along the Andros Island bank/barrier reef. This reef, often said to the the world's third longest continuous reef, remains fairly healthy today. This is due to the fact that the Andros reef hugs the east coast of a one hundred mile long island that is very lightly populated.
Last count indicates a total population of around 8,000 all living in small villages along the eastern coast. This adds a very remote nature to the trip.
For more about this program:
- created at
Hocking College - Forfar Station, Andros Island, Bahamas
Trip to College ecotourism classroom site in the Bahamas