Wildlife Encounters in Florida

April 24, 2015

White Ibis

I just returned from a pretty amazing trip to Florida! This was my first *real* trip to Florida so it was pretty exciting for me! I have been to Florida two other times but both were visits to Disney World and attractions like the Weeki Wachee mermaid show and the Kennedy Space Station museum. Both times, I was well under 10 years old and I barely remember the trips... I definitely wasn't a birder yet, and we didn't visit any natural areas.

During this week-long trip, we drove and camped along the way through Florida to the keys. We camped at the Chassahowitzka River Campground, Lake Kissimmee State Park, and Curry Hammock State Park. We also visited Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and the Port Orange Causeway Park.

Green Iguana

Chassahowitzka wasn't especially interesting, as far as birds and wildlife diversity. However, we did find one of only two snake species we found on the trip: a Yellow Rat Snake. He was very pretty and after finding him, Ben and I walked along the roads near the campground to look for more snakes. Our only luck was a squished Ringneck Snake. On the way back into the campground, we heard some type of critter making a pretty loud racket behind a bush. As we shined a light over, a Nine-banded Armadillo quickly ran behind a tree!! It was the first Armadillo I had ever seen, and by the next day, they were added to the top of my list of favorite mammals!

Yellow Rat Snake saved from the road.

Sunday morning, we all woke up at 4:45am to get ready to head to the Crystal River area. We had booked spots on a boat to take us out to snorkel with manatees. I had never been snorkeling, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to get in the water with manatees at all, but I did want to see a manatee. I also figured that we would be able to see some interesting birds from the water. It ended up being really fun! We took turns snorkeling to see a total of four manatees, including a mother and 2-year old baby! Afterwards, our guide took us to a protected spring where the water was crystal clear and we were able to swim down a channel and see the spring. It was beautiful and we could see some neat fish! The water was clearer than where we snorkeled with the manatees so I was a little less nervous about it, and I really enjoyed it! I also saw my first two life birds of the trip: Fish Crows and Boat-tailed Grackles!

Crystal River

Ben with a Green Tree Frog that he found on the boat

Later that day after some resting and food, we drove on to camp at Lake Kissimmee State Park. Here, we found our second, and last live snake of the trip, a Southern Ringneck Snake. We were hoping that by picking the right habitat, we would find a Pygmy Rattlesnake, but we'll have to try again next time! Birding was nice at this campground. Northern Parulas were pretty abundant and a beautiful Summer Tanager sang and followed us around! At night, the bathhouse was covered in Mediterranean Geckos looking for insects near the lights! The next morning as we birded while looking for a dumpster, Ben and I spotted two Barred Owls hunting for frogs above a small pond!

A Barred Owl hunts for frogs

Limpkin at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Ben Warner

Once we arrived in the keys, we set up camp at Curry Hammock State Park on Little Crawl Key. From our campsite, we took several early morning bird walks along the beach and mangrove trails. This yielded serveral life birds for both Ben and me, including Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, and White-crowned Pigeon!

Ruddy Turnstones

Along the beach, we enjoyed observing the Ruddy Turnstones foraging in detritus and the Reddish Egret foraging in the shallow waters. One interesting encounter was a Great White Heron attempting to eat an invasive Lionfish. During the drive to Florida, I looked through a book of reptiles and amphibians of the state, and hoped I would see a Curly-tailed Lizard, even though they aren't native.

Curly-tailed Lizard

One day, as I was walking to the shower house, I spotted on one the wooden ramp leading to the showers! I was so excited that I sat near it and waited for Ben to finish in the shower so I could share it with him. Thankfully, it stuck around so I could come back with my camera.

Reddish Egret

A Reddish Egret shades the water to spot prey

On April 21st, we drove to Key West to eat Key Lime Pie and visit the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. When we first arrived, Ben and I went birding while the kids swam. It was HOT but we managed to see some great birds, both local and some passing through. My favorite were the Gray Kingbirds and Blue Grosbeaks! After we were too hot to continue birding, we decided to go snorkeling around some rocks. I absolutely loved seeing the colorful fish and interesting corals on the rocks. The most memorable were the Sergeant Major, or Damsel Fish and the Blue Parrotfish.

Birding Fort ZT Historic State Park 

The next day, back at Curry Hammock State Park, we went swimming. As we waded through the water, we spotted the most gorgeous young Spotted Eagle Ray! We quickly went back to the campsite to get snorkeling gear to see what else we might find in the water. We enjoyed more colorful fishes and interesting Cassiopia, or Upside-down Jellyfish. Unfortunately, I also got to experience the sting of the Cassiopia.

The view from behind our campsite at Curry Hammock State Park

On our way home, we stopped at the Port Orange Causeway Park. Here we got to watch an American Oystercatcher with babies feeding on a Horseshoe Crab. We also got this family photo. Much thanks to Matt and Kelsey for inviting us along on their roadtrip!

Below is a complete list of critters that we were able to identify!

Birds (*Life Birds)
*Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Wild Turkey
Wood Stork
Magnificent Frigatebird
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great White Heron (White morph of GBHE)

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Purple Gallinule
Common Gallinule
Limpkin
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
*American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
*Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tenr
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
*White-crowned Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
*Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
*Chuck-will's-widow
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
*Monk Parakeet
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
*Gray Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
*Black-whiskered Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
*Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray-cheeked Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
*Common Myna
European Starling
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
*Prairie Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
*Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

Reptiles/Amphibians
Yellow Rat Snake
Southern Ringneck Snake
Oak Toad

Cuban Tree Frog

Fowler's Toad
Narrow-mouthed Frog
Florida Cricket Frog
Cuban Treefrog
Green Treefrog
Squirrel Treefrog
Pinewoods Treefrog
Cuban Brown Anole
Curly-tailed Lizard
Green Iguana
Six-lined Racerunner
Mediterranean Gecko
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Broad-headed Skink
Gopher Tortoise

Fish/Mollusks/Crustaceans
Spotted Eagle Ray

Blue Land Crab

Bermuda Chub
Sergeant Major
Blue Parrotfish
Atlantic Needlefish
Cassiopea Jellyfish (Upside-down Jellyfish)
Conch
Atlantic Blue Crab
Blue Land Crab
Caribbean Hermit Crab
Marine Hermit Crab
Barnacles

Mammals
Manatee
Nine-banded Armadillo
Key Deer (endangered subspecies of White-tailed Deer)
White-tailed Deer