Florida Day 2

A flock of Black-bellied Whistling-ducks make for nice morning sounds when staying at my Aunt & Uncle's home in Lake County, FL. There exists a flock of about 20 that fly about the lake and 'whistle' each morning. Normally restricted to the Southern United States there have been sightings in Ohio, which have mostly been considered captivity escapees. While Murphy and I have seen them in Ohio, it was still a treat to see so many and to actually hear their call!
After taking our time in the morning, we headed back to the Lake Apopka area, this time starting at a different trail head. It was already mid day by the time we arrived and it was warm. The sound of Common Gallinules and the teasing of the American Kestrels was driving us mad. Each time we would approach a Kestrel that was sitting on a wire I would stop, get a picture, take a step forward, and take another picture. I would do this until it flew away, often just down the wire a hundred feet. Most of the time we were still too far away for my camera to really capture the beauty of that small falcon.

One group of birds that sure did not mind us getting close were the Vultures. Most of the time the Turkey and Black Vultures were soaring the sky around us, but when we found an observation tower there were a handful that seemed to like it as a perch. I think that most folks find the Turkey Vulture to be a very ugly bird and I think that most folks would be correct in thinking that. However, it's a very unique looking bird and Vultures, in general, fill an important niche in the ecosystem.

After not seeing much besides the Vultures and Kestrels I grew frustrated with how the day was turning out. After some discussion, it was decided we would head back to the car and get a change of scenery. The best part about turning around on a hike is that there is still the chance of seeing something you didn't see before, which is exactly what happened. Not long after turning around we were surprised to see a River Otter come running out of the shrubbery, cross the path, and disappear again. While I've seen the Sea Otter on the West Coast, the River Otter is in a different Genus and was a new sight. We soon saw it enter the water and swim across the open water where it later vanished into the reeds. As if photographing a creature isn't difficult enough, throw it in water and it's even harder.

As we approached the final canal before getting back to the car, we stopped to take one more scan of the area to see if something might be around. I focused on a few large lumps sticking out of the water that I thought might be an alligator but I soon dismissed it as a log. Just as I put my binoculars down, Murphy said that she spotted an alligator and indicated towards what I had determined to be a log. As we took a step closer and got a better look, it turned out to be a very large Florida Softshell Turtle! Due to our encroachment on the canal it did swim further out into the canal but remained near enough to the surface to continue to look at it. Softshell Turtles are a wonderful turtle species that are very unique in that they do not have the hard shell common to most other turtles. I had been wanting to see the Michigan species (Spiny Softshell Turtle) all summer to no avail.
The last two creatures spotted certainly made that trip to Lake Apopka worth it.
We decided we would drive a bit southwest, to a place called the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. Without doing too much research we determined this would be enough of a change in scenery and provide a respite from the openness of Lake Apopka. When we arrived, we weren't exactly sure where to go, so we just started walking down the dirt road. Live Oaks dotted the sides of the road until wetter areas gave way to Bald Cypress and more open areas consisted of Pine and Palmetto.Pickup trucks were frequently driving down the road and we were soon informed by a ranger that it was hunting season and we shouldn't wander too far off the road.
Once we got tired of flipping logs and palm fronds along the road we thought we would venture a bit into the forests, trusting that most hunters were deep in the woods and wouldn't mistake us for deer or boar even if they were close (we'll have orange next time!).
"First person to find a snake gets dinner bought by the other person" Murphy said, trying to keep our motivation high.
Soon after stepping off the road I almost stepped right on a frog. Thanks to Murphy's eye and quick warning I was able to just avoid crushing it. We both leaned in for photos, figuring one of us would get a decent shot that we could use for identification later. It turned out to be a Southern Leopard Frog and one good model. The giveaway for the ID was the light spot right in the middle of the tympanum (dark, circular ear drum directly behind the eye).

We continued down what appeared to be a man-made clearing of sorts, flipping what logs we found. At one point we ventured into some thicker brambles and flipped some more, but nothing. A few feet away from a pile of logs we flipped stood a dead pine snag about 8 ft. tall, it had loose bark on it at about 5 ft. which can be a refuge for some snakes. I decided to let it go for now but to come back to it on our way back to the road. We continued a bit further down the clearing but saw nothing. I turned around and headed back towards the snag. I peeled back the loose bark on the right side of the tree and peered in. Nothing. Then I peeled back the loose bark on the left side and there it was: dull, blue-gray scales, coiled up.
"Snake!" I yelled to Murphy. She came running over to see.

Now, I think there are some people out there who would've ripped the bark off the tree and grabbed the snake to get a positive ID on it. I didn't think that was necessary here; there were no other snags with loose bark in the immediate area that the snake could go to after having its refuge destroyed and I felt that we shouldn't disturb it anymore than peeling the bark back. Based on this photo alone, I am guessing that it was a Southern Black Racer potentially in shed due to the dullness; however, I will never know for sure.
We continued down the road, occasionally popping into the brush to flip and poke around. Nothing but Anoles it seemed. Eventually some of the areas along the road were holding water so I was frequently stopping to scan the banks for Water snakes or Cottonmouths. I was consistently disappointed. Down the road the ditches did turn up one small alligator, about 2.5-3 ft. in length.

We turned around some time after seeing the alligator, who was still in the same spot, and headed back towards the car. At one point a large bird flew overhead, but below the tree canopy; it was absolutely silent as it vanished into the woods.

"That was a f***ing owl" Murphy said matter of factly.

Murphy followed its path into the woods while I stayed on the road, feeling confident that there was no way it was still in the vicinity.

"I see it!" She loudly whispered.

I cautiously waded through the brambles and palmettos to catch up to her. Then I saw it; my first Barred Owl perched nicely on a Pine branch. It had its back turned to us, but the sound of my backpack occasionally moving would cause it to turn its head around and spend some time inspecting us. A tip for anyone who doesn't have a camera or is not that great at using their camera (me) you can always use a combination of your binoculars and your phone to take a picture, like I did below.

We watched the owl for some time until it decided to move on for the evening, likely looking to strike terror in the hearts of small mammals. We got back to the car, tired and thirsty, looking forward to getting back to the house. We hadn't been on the road long before we saw something near the road and decided to pull over. It was a tortoise! I had not expected to see a tortoise on our trip but knew that Gopher Tortoises existed down there and after comparing it to other photos determined that it was in fact a Gopher Tortoise.

The Gopher Tortoise is considered to be a vulnerable species according to IUCN and is also considered a Keystone Species. This means that its existence is important to many other organisms that occupy the same environment. If you are wondering how a tortoise might be that important, I understand. But here's why: these tortoises create large burrows in the ground which have been documented to also be used by more than 350 other species. Thus without the tortoise making the burrows, these other species would have fewer places to live, breed, or hide.
After seeing the tortoise we got back in the car and headed for the house. We had one more day left in Florida and we were getting anxious about seeing more.