NW Florida beach snorkeling

While out surf fishing with a couple friends this week, I went out snorkeling to see what things looked like where we were casting our lines. Since we were mostly catching fish that we didn't care to eat, I wasn't missing out on anything too important.



Atlantic Mole Crab (Emerita talpoida)
"Sand flea"



Lettered Olive (Oliva sayana)



Shark Eye (Polinices duplicatus)



Roughtail Stingray (Dasyatis centroura)



Smooth Butterfly Ray (Gymnura micrura)



Gulf Kingfish (Menticirrhus littoralis)



Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)



Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus)



Hardhead Catfish (Ariopsis felis)



juvenile Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) and Ladyfish (Elops saurus)



Gulf Flounder (Paralichthys albigutta)



Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates)

This little Sharksucker followed us for about a half hour and would almost stick onto me while I was swimming; occasionally venturing away from me just long enough to grab little morsels before returning. I had assumed there wouldn't be all that much to see along our sandy beaches, so was pleasantly surprised to see such an interesting variety of animal life.

Milkweeds!

I've always enjoyed milkweeds. I remember breaking off the developing seed pods as a child and seeing the white, milky sap flowing from the break. Because I really enjoyed butterflies while growing up in Minnesota, making the connection between milkweeds and Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) solidified milkweeds' place in my mind as a noteworthy type of plant. The following species are ones I've found around where I live and work in the Western Florida panhandle.







Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)





Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis)





Longleaf Milkweed (Asclepias longifolia)





Largeflower Milkweed (Asclepias connivens)





Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)





Pineland Milkweed (Asclepias obovata)

Carolina Milkweed (Asclepias cinerea)



Pinewoods milkweed (Asclepias humistrata)



Michaux's milkweed (Asclepias michauxii)



Savannah milkweed (Asclepias pedicellata)

Assorted goodies and more cool snakes

Though busy with stuff, I've still been fortunate to see some cool things recently. High on the list is my first fully-grown adult Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander.





Adult Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)



Adult Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)



Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea cf quadridigitata)



Three-lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata)
This one was found by Sam, our seasonal hire working on birds, who has a great eye for spotting cool things like this.





Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii)



Pine Barrens Treefrog eggs in shallow acidic pool


This next one is a really special one. It may not be quite as rare as some of the other species I've gotten to see, but it may be one of the more difficult to find. My friend John spotted this in the Eastern panhandle of Florida. Because there aren't many photos of this species available online, I've included a few different angles here.


Mimic Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus mimicus)



Mimic Glass Lizard



Mimic Glass Lizard



Mimic Glass Lizard


What a shame that so many folks hate snakes. Every time I see a snake that I don't see very often, I'm reminded of how much amazing diversity of form and habit there is across even our local snakes in the Southeastern US. Here are a few that I've greatly enjoyed seeing in recent weeks.



Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Though quite common to see, this species deserves an appreciative closer look once in a while. I love the simple elegance of shiny black, combined with acute eyesight and impressive quickness.









Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata)
This is the first of this species that I've found. This one was basking over one of our beautiful, clear, sandy streams. Like all other species in the genus regina, it specializes in eating crayfish. Thanks to John for encouraging me to take a closer look at these photos, as I had assumed any crayfish snake around here would be Gulf Crayfish Snake (Regina rigida).







Southern Hognose Snake (Heterodon simus)
This is only the second one that I've been fortunate enough to find. I think Sturgeonnose snake would be a better descriptive name, but doesn't really roll off the tongue too well.



Southern Hognose Snake feigning death





Juvenile Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus)



Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in short grass, showing how well they can blend in with even a little bit of vegetation as cover