Florida Day 1

Last week my partner, Murphy, and I found ourselves getting scorched by the Florida sun in between the canals around Lake Apopka. The goal of our trip revolved mostly around the idea that we would be able to see some lifer herps and birds. While December is significantly warmer in Florida than it is in Michigan, I was aware that finding some reptiles in that part of Florida might still be difficult this time of year. Nonetheless, I had purchased Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida by Krysko, Enge, and Moler and had tried to learn as much as I could about the herps we may be seeing in the areas we would be visiting. This and the following two blog posts will cover the three full days we had down in Florida.

Before we had started our hike, we walked down to the marina that was in the park. Right away we were able to see an Alligator, a Tricolored Heron, a Snowy Egret, and an Eastern Bluebird all right near the marina. As we began our walk along the gravel roads we scanned the edge of the grass, the piles of palm fronds, and the shrubs along the canal for signs of fluttering, scurrying and slithering. Occasionally we would stop to inspect a group of palms with hung up fronds and debris with our binoculars. One of these groupings yielded multiple Anoles and a Garter snake all out enjoying the morning sun. While neither of these species are anything spectacular, it's quite amazing how easily your eye can pass over many creatures without detecting their presence; but a little patience scanning an area with binoculars can often reveal much more.

We would see many Anoles fleeing from us on our trip. No time was given to try and ID any of them. There are several non-native Anoles present in Florida that make ID difficult for those of us not familiar with IDing lizards.

As we wandered around the grid of canals, with flocks of Sandhill Cranes flying overhead, we generally heard more than we saw. The dense shrubbery within the canals and wetlands shielded many of the the birds from our sight, but occasionally we would catch a glimpse of open water. Without a doubt the Common Gallinule was the most frequent bird we saw...and heard. They were constantly squawking at one another and when seen, were also chasing each other around. Despite their common occurrence they are a very peculiar bird; the yellow tip of their beak fades into bright red and the beak continues up the bird's face in the form of a 'shield'. They also have comically long toes, which are generally hidden from view as they wade through the water.

In one of the open water areas, we were able to see three lifers for both of us: Ring-necked Ducks, Blue-winged Teals, and the Glossy Ibis. However, it was not until after we were back at the house that we were able to identify them as such. Out in the field we were quite a ways from them, but the Ring-necked Ducks had an easy to remember bill: gray with a black tip and white border. Fortunately the Blue-winged Teals are equally as easy to remember with their white stripe between the eye and the bill. The Glossy Ibis had their signature curved bill (a trait common of the Ibis group) and was dark in plumage - any slight coloration it had was lost to our eyes at that distance. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any photos of them.

As we continued to meander around the canals, we saw a few more Alligators, Ospreys and the constant shrieking of a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks who seemed to be following us for a good stretch. We had gotten ourselves quite turned around in the canals, which was a bit of a surprise as it is just a grid. Luckily, us being turned around allowed for two more brief viewings of new wildlife. Walking down the path, we were suddenly surprised to see a small bird with a long bill burst out of the long grass and shoot past us, only to disappear just as quickly as it had appeared. Without getting much of a look at it, it was determined that what we saw was a Snipe! Similar in build as the American Woodcock, this bird hangs out in marshes and wet fields - exactly the landscape we were in. As we continued on, Murphy pointed out a snake basking up in the shrubs along the canal. A quick glance through the binoculars was all that was allowed as the snake escaped into the water. Luckily, the brief view enabled me to see that it had a mostly gray and patternless body with a whitish-cream belly. This description along with its aquatic escape and shrubby basking behavior has lead me to believe that it was a Florida Green Water Snake, one of six snakes in the Nerodia genus that are native to Florida.
We eventually made it back to the car, exhausted from being exposed to this thing called 'the sun'. Tomorrow, we'd head back to the Lake Apopka area hoping to see more.