Florida Panhandle- Spring Break '04
Beautiful habitat of the pine flatwoods of the Florida panhandle.
During April 10-15 2003, I traveled to Florida with Jim Groeber, a colleague and fellow biologist. We were in serach of the species of the Florida panhandle, most notably Apalachicola National Forest (ANF). There is some exquisite fauna and flora found on the panhandle. We succeeded in becoming familiar with the area as well as finding many great species to photograph. We broke for a day and went fishing in Apalachicola Bay for red drum and other bay species.
Final herp tally: (TMTC= too many to count)
3 brown chinned racers
1 eastern coachwhip(too fast, not photographed)
1 redbelly water snake
1 corn snake (mangled dor, not photographed)
1 eastern garter snake
5 Florida water snakes
2 Florida cottonmouths
2 pygmy rattlesnakes
1 eastern diamondback rattlesnake (dor)
TMTC Florida cricket frogs
Tmtc bullfrogs
1 river frog and tadpoles
2 squirrel tree frogs
1 southern toad
1 oak toad
1 Fowler's toad
7 Eastern narrowmouthed toads
TMTC southern leopard frogs
Heard but not seen: TMTC spring peepers
3 green anoles
several house geckoes
TMTC 5 lined skinks
1 eastern glass lizard
2 ground skinks
TMTC American Alligators
TMTC yellowbelly sliders
TMTC Florida redbelly turtles
1 Florida mud turtle
TMTC gulf coast box turtles
Notable non-herp sightings:
1 Armadillo
3 bark scorpions (1 inside my tent!)
2 huge mystery spiders (see below pic)
TMTC Mississippi kites
TMTC Swallowtail kites
TMTC Red cockaded woodpeckers
Several eagles (including one juvie) diving for fish in Apalachicola Bay
several summer tanagers
several indigo buntings
TMTC prothonotary warblers
several chuck will's widow
We were the third car stopped behind this nasty crash on I-95 in NC. We said a prayer and were on our way 45 minutes later. Luckily everyone was alive.
Florida cricket frog (Acris gryllus dorsalis) These guys were everywhere in and around ANF.
River frog (Rana hecksheri ) I found this guy while road cruising one evening. I'm not sure what their status is in FL, but they may be extripated in the northern part of their range, so this was a GREAT find for me.
It was nice to find these river frog tadpoles! These suckers are 4x the size of the biggest bullfrog tadpoles that you have ever seen! Absolutely stunning!!!
Greater siren (Siren lacertina ) This relatively abundant but secretive creature was another great find for us. He was about 26" in length.
Here's a nice 6.5 lb largemouth that Jim reeled in!
Here's a 34" ~25 lb red drum I caught in the bay.
Bark Scorpion (Centruroides gracilis) We found a few of these guys while going through bark, and one found me in my tent!
?? (???) Any invert guys have any idea as to what kind of spider this is? Man, this was a big sucka!
Yellow and redbellies were practically everywhere!
Florida chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia chrysea) I found this gal crossing the road, looking for a place to nest.
The ladies soakin up some Gulf Coast sun!
Southern Leopard frog (Rana utricularia) These guys were rather abundant.
Pig frog (Rana grylio) These guys were abundant in ditches. You can tell pigs from bullfrogs by their pointy snout and fully webbed feet.
Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella) These frogs were found near lights at night.
Florida '04 page 2
Back to home
3 brown chinned racers
1 eastern coachwhip(too fast, not photographed)
1 redbelly water snake
1 corn snake (mangled dor, not photographed)
1 eastern garter snake
5 Florida water snakes
2 Florida cottonmouths
2 pygmy rattlesnakes
1 eastern diamondback rattlesnake (dor)
TMTC Florida cricket frogs
Tmtc bullfrogs
1 river frog and tadpoles
2 squirrel tree frogs
1 southern toad
1 oak toad
1 Fowler's toad
7 Eastern narrowmouthed toads
TMTC southern leopard frogs
Heard but not seen: TMTC spring peepers
3 green anoles
several house geckoes
TMTC 5 lined skinks
1 eastern glass lizard
2 ground skinks
TMTC American Alligators
TMTC yellowbelly sliders
TMTC Florida redbelly turtles
1 Florida mud turtle
TMTC gulf coast box turtles
Notable non-herp sightings:
1 Armadillo
3 bark scorpions (1 inside my tent!)
2 huge mystery spiders (see below pic)
TMTC Mississippi kites
TMTC Swallowtail kites
TMTC Red cockaded woodpeckers
Several eagles (including one juvie) diving for fish in Apalachicola Bay
several summer tanagers
several indigo buntings
TMTC prothonotary warblers
several chuck will's widow
We were the third car stopped behind this nasty crash on I-95 in NC. We said a prayer and were on our way 45 minutes later. Luckily everyone was alive.
Florida cricket frog (Acris gryllus dorsalis) These guys were everywhere in and around ANF.
River frog (Rana hecksheri ) I found this guy while road cruising one evening. I'm not sure what their status is in FL, but they may be extripated in the northern part of their range, so this was a GREAT find for me.
It was nice to find these river frog tadpoles! These suckers are 4x the size of the biggest bullfrog tadpoles that you have ever seen! Absolutely stunning!!!
Greater siren (Siren lacertina ) This relatively abundant but secretive creature was another great find for us. He was about 26" in length.
Here's a nice 6.5 lb largemouth that Jim reeled in!
Here's a 34" ~25 lb red drum I caught in the bay.
Bark Scorpion (Centruroides gracilis) We found a few of these guys while going through bark, and one found me in my tent!
?? (???) Any invert guys have any idea as to what kind of spider this is? Man, this was a big sucka!
Yellow and redbellies were practically everywhere!
Florida chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia chrysea) I found this gal crossing the road, looking for a place to nest.
The ladies soakin up some Gulf Coast sun!
Southern Leopard frog (Rana utricularia) These guys were rather abundant.
Pig frog (Rana grylio) These guys were abundant in ditches. You can tell pigs from bullfrogs by their pointy snout and fully webbed feet.
Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella) These frogs were found near lights at night.
Florida '04 page 2
Back to home
We were the third car stopped behind this nasty crash on I-95 in NC. We said a prayer and were on our way 45 minutes later. Luckily everyone was alive.
Florida cricket frog (Acris gryllus dorsalis) These guys were everywhere in and around ANF.
River frog (Rana hecksheri ) I found this guy while road cruising one evening. I'm not sure what their status is in FL, but they may be extripated in the northern part of their range, so this was a GREAT find for me.
It was nice to find these river frog tadpoles! These suckers are 4x the size of the biggest bullfrog tadpoles that you have ever seen! Absolutely stunning!!!
Greater siren (Siren lacertina ) This relatively abundant but secretive creature was another great find for us. He was about 26" in length.
Here's a nice 6.5 lb largemouth that Jim reeled in!
Here's a 34" ~25 lb red drum I caught in the bay.
Bark Scorpion (Centruroides gracilis) We found a few of these guys while going through bark, and one found me in my tent!
?? (???) Any invert guys have any idea as to what kind of spider this is? Man, this was a big sucka!
Yellow and redbellies were practically everywhere!
Florida chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia chrysea) I found this gal crossing the road, looking for a place to nest.
The ladies soakin up some Gulf Coast sun!
Southern Leopard frog (Rana utricularia) These guys were rather abundant.
Pig frog (Rana grylio) These guys were abundant in ditches. You can tell pigs from bullfrogs by their pointy snout and fully webbed feet.
Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella) These frogs were found near lights at night.
Florida '04 page 2
Back to home