Saturday, February 19, 2011

A Little More Florida in Winter

It's great living in a place where you can herp during the winter. Here are a few of my recent finds while taking a couple casual outings to see what I could turn up.
I thought this little frog might be a newly metamorphosed Cuban treefrog, but I think that's wrong. Its nose looks too pointed. Could this be a Puerto Rican coqui? I'm really not sure. I found him clinging to some low-lying, moist vegetation, but not near water. I don't know if Puerto Rican coquis range as far north as Palm Beach Gardens.
A gopher tortoise burrow in Juno Beach. The day I happened to see 5 gopher tortoises in one day, I didn't have my camera with me. There were some big ones, too! I'll have to go back.
Here's a Cuban treefrog. Plenty of these around.
I found this Mediterranean gecko in my backyard. My suburban backyard has revealed several species, actually.
This cornsnake was coiled up under a stepping stone next to my back patio.
Here's a shot of the backyard. Is that a board laying down by the fence?
Oh! Well, yes it is! Let's flip it...
An Eastern glass lizard was living in my backyard. I later found a second one under the same board.
A nice full tail, but he was ready to drop it while wriggling and twisting in my hands.
Good-looking glass lizard.
While herping in a wooded area near Jupiter, I flipped a couple humongous grubs under a rotting log.
Are you checking out my butt while I roll over logs? Sicko...
Habitat shot of a shallow marshy area.
Southern cricket frogs were enjoying the afternoon. Leopard frogs were around, too, but weren't as cooperative with letting me catch them.
A DOR garter snake. You gotta be quicker across the road.
....And that goes for you, too. Busy roads are no place for a hog.
A basking alligator in the center of the photo. He was probably between 4-5 feet. I went after him, but he slipped into that deeper waterhole behind him, and I got scared walking around in there.
Spring peepers were another inhabitant of the marshlands.
You don't want to end up like the garter snake and hog, do you? You're lucky it was me driving.
A pretty softshell turtle.