Ah spring! Mar 24 - Striped whipsnakes

March 24 - Striped whipsnake, Masticophus taeniatus.

As I walked up a south facing slope two snakes shot out from underfoot. I moved a few feet away and started taking pictures, trying to figure out what kind they were. Black with yellow side stripes, and very fast. One returned under the rock they must have been sheltering under. The other, which was larger and longer (about 4 feet), circled slowly until I backed further away. It too returned to the rock and disappeared under it. I wondered if I had interrupted them mating. When I returned past the same spot about 1/2 hour later, I looked over at the rock & saw one of their heads sticking out looking back at me. Looking closer I saw the other watching too.

A few more images from Florida, March 4-12

                                                                                           Brown pelican

Red shouldered hawk

                                                       Tiger(?) shark tooth, Peace River

March 11, Peace River Fossil hunt

Dugong rib fragment

The fossils found

A Peace River Miscellany

March 11, Peace River Kayak trip
Cypress
Soft-shelled turtle carapace
Gator
Louisiana heron

White Ibis

Swallow-tailed Kite

Mar 9 sightings

March 9 - Sebastian Inlet

SIGHTINGS;

Red-breasted mergansers

Cormorants(sp?)

Dolphin(s?)

Sheepshead(convict fish)

Spanish mackeral

Bluefish

Amberjack(?)

Snook

Brown pelican

White pelican(?)

Royal tern

Anole

Northern cardinal

B&W (?) warbler

Flint head (Wood stork)

Mockingbird

Black skimmers

Ruddy turnstones

Great blue heron

Tri-colored(Louisiana) heron

Snowy egret

Little blue heron

Common egret

Black-crowned night heron

Raccoon

Grey(?) squirrel

Wood ducks

Mallards

Morning walk

Mar 8 - Finding a lot, just walking around the neighborhood.(highway construction area, orange orchard, drainage ditches) Anhingas, ibis, herons, otters, gators, turtles.

Ospreys courtship & nesting

Mar. 6  Yesterday at Indian River Lagoon we saw a pair of ospreys mating on their nest, and today I watched some great aerial displays. While one of the pair chirped loudly from the nest the other wheeled high overheard carrying a fish in its talons and giving sharp cries. Then suddenly it would drop toward the nest, pass near it, and land in a nearby tree where it ate its prey.

March 6, Blue Cypress Lake

Blue Cypress Lake








I drove west from the hub-bub of Vero Beach and found a wild oasis at Blue Cypress Lake. More gators, turtles and birds than I could keep up with. The swamps were teaming with life. The strange sounds of unknown waterbirds emanated from the jungle, while the blue skies were filled with the comings and goings of keening hawks and ospreys. I don't think I've ever seen so many gators and anhingas in one place.

Indian River Lagoon

I was just thinking if anoles when I spotted this one and several others in the parking lot of Turtle Cove Beach. Great to see them again.

I met this young raccoon face to face in mid-day, under a picnic table at the Environmental Learning Center.

Florida

Mar 5  Introduction to the treasure coast. Driving up from Stuart to Fort Pierce on the outer barrier beach highway, I came on a crowd of Black and Turkey vultures cleaning up the remains of a roadkilled 'possum. Then another roadkill, a King rail being disappeared by tiny ants.

Otter tracks

Feb 28- Canada geese on the Rio Grande and....

FRESH OTTER TRACKS!