Hey all, I've been back in the states for more than four weeks now and I've finally found the time to post a report of my trip to the Keys and the Everglades two weeks ago with my wife! This was my post-deployment vacation, and it was heavily centered around outdoor activities, which my wife did not mind. In fact, she really enjoyed roadcruising the main road in ENP! It was a busy trip overall, as I really did not factor any downtime into it, so we were always doing something. I found four lifers this trip, among other things, so let's get started!
Our trip started with some stops in Big Cypress. We kayaked a portion of Halfway Creek and stopped at a few boardwalks, but didn't see anything beyond a few birds, gators, and turtles. We spent the night in Key Largo, and in the morning set out of Marathon Key to bike on a portion of the Seven Mile Bridge.
Pigeon Key
DSCN8930 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Afterwards, we stopped at a different Key to ride on a scenic portion of the bike trail that runs along Hwy 1. While searching fences for herps, I found this...Anole. Is this a Cuban Green Anole? Its undersides were white with vertical striping.
DSCN8935 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Further down the trail, we turned up this Florida Keys Cornsnake, which I was hoping to see. This was our first true snake of the trip, discounting the Black Racer we saw cross Tamiami Trail and get clobbered by oncoming traffic.
DSCN8959 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN8960 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
After our ride, we grabbed lunch and drove back to Key Largo for a guided paddle to a mangrove island in Florida Bay for some snorkeling. At the launch site, I saw this Northern Curly-tailed Lizard, a lifer for me, though I wasn't sure what it was at the time.
DSCN8970 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Mangroves
DSCN8974 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
We chased this Manatee around for a while. It escaped us for a bit, but we found it near some homes where the water wasn't as clear, so unfortunately I was unable to snorkel with it.
DSCN8983 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9000 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Green Iguana at a residential dock. There were several in the vicinity.
DSCN8992 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Upside-Down Jellyfish
DSCN8988 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9012 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Starfish
DSCN9021 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Crappy pic, but does anyone know what this is? A Nudibranch perhaps?
DSCN9054 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Horeshoe Crab, my wife's favorite animal.
DSCN9056 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9062 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Barracuda - there were a lot of small ones around.
DSCN9076 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The next day, we set out on the Yankee Freedom for the Dry Tortugas, a place we've been wanting to go to for a wile. We tried a few years back but the weather was uncooperative. This time around it was much better! It's a 2.5 hour ride out, but on the way I manage to spot a dolphin and three sea turtles (like Green Sea Turtles) with minimal effort.
Pilings at the Dry Tortugas - these make for some of the best snorkeling at the island.
DSCN0942 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The Dry Tortugas are home to a large colony of Frigate Birds, plus numerous Tern species
DSCN0946 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0984 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Needlenose Fish
DSCN0964 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Inside Fort Jefferson
DSCN0966 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
From atop the fort
DSCN0973 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The famous American Crocodile that inhabits the fort's moat
DSCN0985 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0989 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Fish and scenery
DSCN9128 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9139 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9152 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9154 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9159 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9160 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9166 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
These little things withdraw into a protective case of sorts when threatened.
DSCN9212 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Does anyone know what species of fish this is? I think it's a type of Filefish or Cownose fish.
DSCN9233 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Parrot Fish and some other fish.
DSCN9239 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The next day (April 30th) brought us to the Everglades, the portion of the trip I was most looking forward to (spoken like a true herper!). That day we signed up for a guided tour with Garl's Coastal Kayaking that involved a hike towards a cypress dome, a freshwater paddle, and a sunset paddle on Florida Bay. I also convinced Garl to stop for snakes on our way out of the park, so there was some impromptu roadcruising at the end of the day as well. I don't know if any of you have heard of him, but Garl is very knowledgeable about the Everglades. While the tour was pricey and most of the things we did you can do on your own, I would never have walked through a cypress dome if we hadn't signed up. He operates in ENP with the approval of the National Park Service, though it wasn't exactly clear to me how he had permission to explore off of the roads and marked trails (I know he does, one way or another). He even encouraged us to do so the following day, but I had other things in mind.
Unfortunately, it's been a very wet winter and spring down in ENP, and the water levels were still high from all the rain when it should have been dry season conditions. As a result, a lot of the wildlife was spread out due to all of the water, and the birds in particular suffered as that makes it harder to find food. During our hike, everything was flooded, to include the "high ground" that can sometimes be found in cypress domes. We didn't see much in the way of herps, but it was still neat.
Young Alligator not far from the park entrance
DSCN0991 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Halloween Pennants were by far the most common dragonfly in the park. We saw hundreds over the course of two days.
DSCN1001 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Cardinal Bromeliads
DSCN1018 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1023 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Hiking towards the cypress dome
DSCN1021 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
FL Apple Snail eggs - I've only ever seen the invasive variety before.
DSCN1022 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Cypress Dome
DSCN1035 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
One of two Barred Owls we saw
DSCN1050 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
After the hike, we drove down to Nine Mile Pond for some kayaking. Casey and I had planned on kayaking there on our own the following day, but the good news is that Garl took us off of the marked trail to see some areas we wouldn't have seen otherwise, so it was still worth it. The habitat was quite unique - freshwater mangroves adjacent to a sea of sawgrass and waters choked with periphyton. It's one of the few freshwater mangrove habitats that I know of.
Swallow-Tailed Kite at Nine Mile Pond
DSCN1063 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1066 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Backside of a large gator
DSCN1067 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
This croc is the famous Croczilla, who measures in at a whopping 15 feet! I'm very glad we got to see him, and he might just be the furthest-inland American Crocodile in Florida.
DSCN1070 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1071 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1073 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1090 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
A very pissed-off Green Heron
DSCN1099 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
This gator was resting underwater
DSCN1102 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Sunset over Flamingo
DSCN1140 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Pelicans
DSCN1144 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Gums, the toothless Crocodile. He's a famous attraction at Flamingo. His lack of teeth is due to a mineral deficiency. I'm sure many of you have seen him before!
DSCN1155 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
And now for what you've all been waiting for - roadcruising pics! As usual, roadcruising the Main Road did not disappoint. The following photos are from our drive out of the park with Garl, who was driving. There are more later from our second night.
Our first snake was a target species for this trip, and a lifer! A large Eastern Mudsnake, which promptly fled into the brush just moments after I took this photo. I was a bit bummed that I could only get one shot of the snake, (spoiler!) but fortunately this was not the only one I saw!
DSCN1159 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Further on down the road, we stopped for a small Florida Watersnake in the road, and I almost stepped on this Florida Green Watersnake that was on the shoulder in front of the van.
DSCN1163 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1166 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
I wasn't able to get a good shot of the FL Watersnake mentioned above, but we saw another live one that night.
DSCN1177 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Our last snake of the night appeared as a large object coiled in the middle of the lane. Garl straddled it with his vehicle, and I raced out to find out what it was. By the time I got to where I thought we saw it, the snake had left the road. I started to search the grass by the shoulder, and then common sense told me to it would be safer to search from the shoulder itself, and not in the grass. Thankfully I did, as a few moments later I was able to locate the snake in question in the grass - an adult Cottonmouth! I would have walked right onto it if I hadn't moved, and I'd already done that to two snakes this trip. We had a couple of Germans in our group that had never seen one before, and I had to remind them that it was venomous. They were rather fascinated by it!
DSCN1179 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1182 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Here it is showing off its namesake. This was my fourth live Cottonmouth, and the first I was able to see open its maw.
DSCN1187 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1189 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The next day, Casey and I set off on our own, starting with a bike ride through Long Pine Key. A large chunk of the pinelands had recently been burned by an accidental fire, as you can see in some of the photos below. It was a nice ride, but we didn't see any herps.
DSCN1191 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Halloween Pennants were out by the HUNDREDS as this borrow pit.
DSCN1195 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Pike Killifish
DSCN1197 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Tree Snail
DSCN1198 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Regrowth
DSCN1201 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
You can see that one side of the path was burned, while the other was not. It made for an interesting contrast.
DSCN1202 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Afterwards, we had lunch and a short walk at the Anhinga Trail, where I have yet to see an Anhinga...
A very large Peninsula Cooter
DSCN1226 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Gar
DSCN1230 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Red-bellied Cooter
DSCN1235 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
A large Florida Softshell
DSCN1244 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Casey and I also went back to Nine Mile Pond to paddle the marked trail that Garl strayed away from. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves in to...It's a beautiful paddle, but if you ever do it, take the shortcut. Everything along the main trail after the shortcut is just shallow water choked with sawgrass and periphyton. Some stretches seemed to drag on forever in a straight line, and the scenery grew old as the sun beat down upon us. It was by far the toughest paddle I've ever done, and the whole time I was kicking myself for not taking the shortcut. The potion of the trail closer to the Main Road winds through great mangrove habitat and is totally worth doing. Below is what a lot of our paddle looked like:
DSCN1254 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1257 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
In our exhaustion, Casey still managed to spot this Florida Softshell resting on the bottom.
DSCN1259 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
After our paddle, we raced out of the park to grab a quick dinner, then set back to do some roadcruising at our own pace. We managed to hit the park right before sundown. It took a surprising amount of time before we found our first snake, so in the meantime, I stopped for frogs.
Pig Frog
DSCN1263 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Leopard Frog
DSCN1265 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
FL Watersnake
DSCN1269 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Stripeless Green Treefrog
DSCN1274 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Regurgitated meal of a dead Florida Watersnake
DSCN1278 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
I almost didn't turn around for this juvenile Florida Cottonmouth, as I thought it may have just been some debris. I'm glad I did, as this was by far the most strike Cottonmouth I've turned up yet. They have some great patterning when they are young!
DSCN1280 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1284 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Possibly my best shot from the trip:
DSCN1286 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
2016 will be known as the year I turned up a Mudsnake and American Crocodiles before finding my first Southern Toad.
DSCN1288 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
And here's Mudsnake #2. I was able to get some decent shots of it, but this snake panicked as well and did a crazy dance on the road. It just would not sit still. Are Mudsnakes always poor photo subjects? If only I were allowed to hold it and calm it down...
DSCN1291 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Mudsnake Cropped by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Doing the dance
DSCN1294 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1295 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1296 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Mudsnake #3, which had already left the road by the time I tracked it down.
DSCN1315 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1318 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
All of the above were found on our way to Flamingo. Didn't see much there but another Croc (not Gums) and a Wood Slave. On the way out, we didn't turn up any snakes for the longest time. I had given up hope until about 11:20 PM as we were passing through the pinelands, where I clearly saw a snake moving across the other lane. I screamed "Scarletsnake!", likely waking up my wife, and raced to find it. However, just as it was with the adult Cottonmouth and the last Mudsnake, the snake had already left the road. Thankfully, a careful search of the grass quickly turned up my prize, which hadn't yet escaped into the trees. It turns out it was no Scarletsnake, but rather my lifer Scarlet Kingsnake! This was by far my favorite find of the trip. I had to calm myself down for a moment to use the mnemonic to determine if it was a Kingsnake or a Coral Snake. Either way, I would have been excited.
DSCN1325 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1327 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1330 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1331 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
That just about wraps up our trip! On our way home, we stopped at Shark Valley to ride our bikes to the tower. It's a 14 mile ride round-trip, but it was worth it. Saw mostly gators, but we turned up some yearlings plus two adults locked in combats, which was something I had never seen before.
DSCN1338 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
There are three baby gators in this photo. Try to find them!
DSCN1348 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1344 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1345 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1347 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1350 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1358 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1362 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1363 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Find the Gator:
DSCN1367 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Scenery:
DSCN1372 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1373 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1375 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Last pic: a huge Softshell Turtle seen from the tower.
DSCN1386 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Ok, that's it! Hope you all enjoyed. Here's a summary of what we saw or heard (27 species in all):
Green Anole
Brown Anole
Cuban Green Anole (unconfirmed)
Green Iguana
Northern Curly-tailed Lizard
Wood Slave
Peninsula Cooter
Florida Red-bellied Cooter
Florida Softshell Turtle
Unidentified Sea Turtle (likely Green Sea Turtle)
American Alligator
American Crocodile
Southern Black Racer
Everglades Racer (DOR only)
Cornsnake
Eastern Mudsnake
Florida Watersnake
Florida Green Watersnake
Florida Cottonmouth
Scarlet Kingsnake
Pig Frog
Florida Leopard Frog
Green Treefrog
Cuban Treefrog
Squirrel Treefrog
Florida Cricket Frog
Southern Toad
2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snakes!
Moderator: Scott Waters
- mtratcliffe
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- dwakefield
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Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Great post! Even though I'm mostly a snake guy, I definitely enjoyed all the photos.
1. Nice find with the Scarlet King! I'm still trying to get my lifer.....definitely a great species.
2. Yeah, Mud Snakes can be a pain to photograph. I'm glad I got my lifer outside of ENP because it gave me more of a chance to wait for it to calm down. I think I have one or two pics of it in the thread "April highlights in South Florida".
Congrats on a great trip!
1. Nice find with the Scarlet King! I'm still trying to get my lifer.....definitely a great species.
2. Yeah, Mud Snakes can be a pain to photograph. I'm glad I got my lifer outside of ENP because it gave me more of a chance to wait for it to calm down. I think I have one or two pics of it in the thread "April highlights in South Florida".
Congrats on a great trip!
- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
- Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
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Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Yeah, the FL Keys Corns have their own unique look it seems. Thanks for the comment and the Anole ID! I wish I had a better picture of the nudibranch, but I was getting pushed around by the waves in that spot. That was a really neat sighting.Coluber Constrictor wrote:That corn snake is a beauty.
The sea life is pretty cool. I think your nudibranch is exactly that.
I love birds with pointy wings and the frigate and kite are two of my favorites. Cool post.
I think I saw more Swallowtailed Kites on that trip than I had in my entire life leading up to it!
- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
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Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Thanks! For a SK, you need to find a good stretch of pinewoods. You are near Okeechobee, right? Highlands County definitely has them.dwakefield wrote:Great post! Even though I'm mostly a snake guy, I definitely enjoyed all the photos.
1. Nice find with the Scarlet King! I'm still trying to get my lifer.....definitely a great species.
2. Yeah, Mud Snakes can be a pain to photograph. I'm glad I got my lifer outside of ENP because it gave me more of a chance to wait for it to calm down. I think I have one or two pics of it in the thread "April highlights in South Florida".
Congrats on a great trip!
I'm still hoping to find a Mud outside of a protected area so that I can hold it and really take in its beauty. I'll go check out your thread again to see your Mud.
Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Overall a great post. Lots of diversity. It is hard to pick a favorite, but mud snakes and SKs are always welcomed in my book.
Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
I love your shot of the Crocodile teeth, very sharp! The Mud snakes and the Alligators fighting are also super cool. Thanks for posting.
- mtratcliffe
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Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Thanks Kevin! I'm very impressed with the zoom on my camera - I took that photo from a good 40 feet away, on a bobbing kayak at that. But it looks like I was right up next to it!kevin h wrote:I love your shot of the Crocodile teeth, very sharp! The Mud snakes and the Alligators fighting are also super cool. Thanks for posting.
Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
That first pic looks like an old school postcard or something. The saturation is great. I love it.
What camera do you use now?
What camera do you use now?
- mtratcliffe
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Re: 2016 Everglades/Keys Trip Report - Scroll Down for Snake
Thanks! That one was actually taken on my old camera. I love the contrast in colors and how there are three bridges paralleling each other, extending out of frame. I was impressed myself with how it came out.Noah M wrote:That first pic looks like an old school postcard or something. The saturation is great. I love it.
What camera do you use now?
I'm using a Nikon Coolpix P610 now. Nothing fancy - just a point-and-shoot, but it has 60x optical zoom, which I love. The only downside to it is that taking macro shots is a bit tricky, and focusing on small subjects (such as Cricket Frogs) doesn't work so well at close range - I usually have to take a few steps back for the subject to come in to focus.