Floridian Nature

While most snakes in Florida are harmless and provide important services such as controlling rodent colonies, we do have six venomous snakes that call Florida home. By learning to identify these snakes we can protect both our self and  non-venomous snakes that live in Floridian nature . This rat snake was enjoying investigating my fence and although I was startled when I saw him, I was happy to see he was not a deadly snake! All five of Florida's deadly pit vipers, including the Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake can be recognized by their stocky bodies, relatively small necks, large triangular heads, and eyes with vertical slit pupils. The coral snake is easily recognized with its color band design (red on yellow kill a fellow). The Florida Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin , is a serpent that strikes terror in the hearts of hikers, swimmers, and freshwater fishermen. This snake is a heavy bodied pit viper with a large triangular head. The coloration of the Cotton...

It has been a wet summer in central Florida and all this rain is getting frogs out and about like this green treefrog I saw peeking in my living room window. The Green Treefrog is one of the most common treefrogs found in Floridian nature . Green treefrogs don't seem to mind sharing their environment with people and are often spotted on windows or the exterior walls of homes. This species of frog doesn't croak but makes a sound more like a ringing bell. Usually vivid green, the Green Treefrog can change to brown quickly. The well defined strip that runs the length of its side makes identifying the Green Treefrog easy. When a heavy evening rain is impending during the spring or summer, many frogs and toads begin to call. This is the first signal of intense breeding activity. Frogs and toads generally mate at night, since the darkness conceals them from sharp-eyed predators, especially wading birds. As rain starts to fall more and more frog voic...

Fall must be a busy time for grasshoppers in Floridian nature because I sure have seen a lot of them in my garden this month. This southern green-striped grasshopper is a common insect   found in Florida as well as other southern states. The greenstriped grasshopper feeds mainly on grasses with a preference for succulent plants .This one was feeding off my banana tree and had eaten about 1/8 of a large leaf when I discovered him. The greenstriped grasshopper possesses long wings that extend 2 to 8 mm beyond the end of the abdomen. A strong flier, it often travels a great distance from where it hatched. This grasshopper seems to be a female based on her size and color and she has attracted at least one male who I caught trying to put the move on her! This two-striped walking stick is also a common sight around here. Other names for this skinny creature are devil's riding horse, prairie alligator, and stick bug. These bugs are not harmless b...

Strains of red tide crop up every year along Florida's coastline, but this year looks to be potentially more devastating with the strain called karenia brevis reeking havoc with marine life like fish, turtles, manatees and more. Right now, the algae is collecting in an area about 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, about 5 to 15 miles off St. Petersburg in the south and stretching north to Florida's Big Bend. Recent satellite images from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida show an offshore surface bloom extending between Taylor and Pinellas counties, approximately 5 to 35 miles offshore between southern Taylor and northern Levy counties and 10 to 20 miles offshore southern Levy to Pinellas counties. Red tide destroys marine life by releasing a toxin that paralyzes their central nervous system. The algae also hurts Florida's beaches and can be harmful to people who inhale the algae's toxins when winds blow onshore or by crash...

The list of Florida hurricanes encompasses approximately 486 tropical or subtropical cyclones that affected the state of Florida. More storms hit Florida than any other U.S. state, and since 1851 only eighteen hurricane seasons passed without a known storm impacting the state. Of the 34 major hurricanes in Florida’s recorded history of storms to make landfall or produce Category 3 winds in Florida, 18, have occurred in the month of September. I thought it would be fitting to reflect on some of Florida's best known September hurricanes.   The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the first ever Category Five Hurricane on record to hit the United States. The compact and intense hurricane caused extreme damage in the upper Florida Keys, as a storm surge of approximately 18 to 20 feet affected the region. The hurricane's strong winds destroyed most of the buildings in the Islamorada area, and many World War I veteran workers were killed b...

Yuma, which is Native American for “Son of the Chief.”  is the name of the rescued baby Florida panther that now resides in Homosassa Springs Park . According to the Citrus County Chronicle , the kitten was rescued by biologists in Collier County when it was only about a week old, The 1-pound male panther was found in a matted-down area of sawgrass and was nonresponsive with a dangerously low body temperature.The panther kitten was taken to Naples and treated for dehydration, malnourishment and to raise his body temperature. Once he was stable, he was transported to Lowry Park Zoo for further rehabilitation and vaccines. His permanent home is now the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. Yuma has grown considerably since he was first brought to the park. FWC cameras show the panther enjoying himself and he is often seen chasing butterflies, and pouncing on imaginary prey. The young panther seems to be completely recovered from its rough start on life but will remain in th...

Florida is home to over 480 variety of birds ! A great many of these birds live here year round but some migrate here just like our human form of "snow birds".  Over 175 bird species are known to breed in Florida and almost three hundred birds migrate here in the fall spring or winter months. These sandhill cranes were a welcome surprise when I went out to get my mail. Sandhill cranes are long legged, long necked, gray, heron-like birds with a patch of bald red skin on top of their head. These large and beautiful birds can be seen in Florida pastures, prairies and freshwater wetlands in peninsular Florida from the Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp. This is a male and female couple and a youngster was spotted shortly after I took the picture. Cranes are monogamous breeders, and mated pairs stay together year round. Cardinals are always easy to spot, especially a male cardinal like this one. We have several cardinals that call our ba...