Juvenile Cottonmouth at Bear Lake

October 1, 2016

Sorry for the noise on this photo. The lighting wasn't so hot.

Hiking Bear Lake Trail in northern Florida, we passed through a variety of habitats from pitcher plant bogs to pine flatwoods. But taking a shallow decline into a cypress swamp, the boardwalk curved around the trunks of buttressed trees and leveled out over the thick mud and ankle-deep water. It was a cool morning and the swamp was quiet except for the distant hammering of a woodpecker in the cypress.

I was standing in the mud off the side of the boardwalk when I heard Eric calling. It sounded like he had a snake so I jumped back onto the boardwalk and jogged over dropping onto my belly, I joined Eric hanging upside down off the boardwalk. It was a juvenile cottonmouth, a little over a foot long. I had my snake tongs with me but, with small snakes, large tongs are clumsy and can be dangerous to both the handler and the snake. So I chose the naturalist's multipurpose tool: the net. One quick sweep and we had her.

Excited to get some good photos, we tromped back to some clean water and rinsed the snake off in the lake. After posing precariously with the snake in the tongs for a few photos, I took it back to the swamp and snapped some photos of my own.

As cottonmouths grow older, their patterns and colours become almost too dark to see. But this young snake still has beautiful, bold banding.

I know I post about cottonmouths at least once a year, but they are my favorite viperid. They have beautiful, sometimes subtle, patterns and have a very unique semi-aquatic ecology. Their specific epithet piscivorus literally means "fish-eater." While it is true that cottonmouths enjoy fish, they are generalist hunters who will even eat carrion. Like most venomous snakes, they have a unique array of defensive strategies from tail vibrations and mock-strikes to their namesake defense of open-mouthed threat. These snakes go to such great lengths to avoid conflict, it's hard to imagine how anyone could see them as aggressive. If you find a cottonmouth, just keep your distance and they'll keep theirs.

Bear Lake Trail

October 1, 2016

From left to right: Eric Brewster, Cory Von Eiff, and Josiah Shade hike the Bear Lake Trail loop through a stand of longleaf pines early on a cool October morning. 

I've posted a lot this month about Bear Lake. It's time I expounded on that.

Blackwater River State Forest extends from the coast of Florida's panhandle (in Santa Rosa County) up to the Alabama border. It features many beautiful hikes, paddles, and camping spots along the meandering white sands of the Blackwater River. If you've never been to the forest before, the very recreational Blackwater River State Park offers canoe rentals, tubing, camping, hiking, swimming, and more. But this post isn't about the state park. If you are interested click on the label at the right for Blackwater River State Park (they are in alphabetical order).

At the northern tip of the forest, there is a clustering of small, man-made reservoirs. One of these is Bear Lake. The Bear Lake Trail and the Sweetwater Trail meet here and, taking the Sweetwater, you can hike up to the Krul Recreation Area, which also offers camping. There are a number of trails and camping spots around the lake, including Bear Lake Recreation Area, on the west side of the lake. The recreation area offers many amenities but it will cost you money to camp, boat, or otherwise enjoy the facilities. I'm too cheep, generally speaking, and so I usually pass the road into the recreation area and take the next left off of Highway 4. It's the first left off of that paved road that will take you down to a boat ramp. There is also room for tenting down there.

Swamp sunflowers (a kind of daisy) sprout up from the clustered bases of a stand of bald cypress. There are many wonderful swamps tucked away in the corners of Bear Lake, but this one was at the eastern side.

The 4-mile Bear Lake Trail, starting left at the south boat ramp, will take you through pine forest, and a bit of hammock and swamp, to the dam at the Bear Lake Recreation Area. From there you can take the Sweetwater Creek Trail up to Krul, or continue along the east side of the lake. You will pass meadows of pitcher plants and quaint beaver ponds before taking the pine flatwoods back to the south boat ramp. There is another recreation area on the south side but it is gated and generally used by large groups, such as clubs or churches.

Pitcher plants are commonly found at Bear Lake, but are best viewed from the Bear Lake Trail on the eastern side of the lake. There are benches and platforms overlooking the pitcher plants-- perfect for photography opportunities without disturbing the meadows.

Most importantly, you will see wildlife. Fishing, hunting, and birdwatching, are common pastimes around Bear Lake. Among mammals, you will find deer, beavers, grey squirrels, wild hogs, and, if you're especially blessed, bears. Birding is incredible at Bear Lake. In fact, there are nearby trails that are part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. I can't really highlight specific birds here other than bald eagles and swallowtail kites. However, I've never seen the kites myself and the eagles are much easier to see a little ways north at Hurricane Lake. My favorites are, of course, the reptiles and amphibians. There is a good diversity of frogs at Bear Lake and I've personally found green treefrogs, cricket frogs, leopard frogs, southern toads, and bullfrogs. I've seen watersnakes, cottonmouths, and black racers, but I've been told their are rattlesnakes and alligators in the park as well, though I've never seen them.

As always, respect the wildlife while you are out hiking and whatever you pack in, be sure to pack it out.

The Bear Lake Trail, through the pine flatwoods.

Bugs to Find on a Cold Florida Morning

October 1, 2016

The zipper spider, Argiope aurantia, is a common inhabitant of suburban gardens.

You don't need to leave the trail to find cool bugs in Florida. Even when it's cold, arachnids and insects are never in short supply. Some, I confess, are not particularly pleasant. The lumps on the back of my neck are a testimony to mosquitoes.

However, the vast majority of Florida bugs are stunningly beautiful. In October, there are still a lot of crigs (crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids) to be found, and the large Schistocerca (which the locals call "locusts") are especially obvious, buzzing from tree to tree when they are approached.

The spider webs are just gorgeous in the early, golden light of morning.

Certainly among the most interesting bugs are the spiders. On this morning, the web-spinners are easy to spot. With silk speckled by morning dew, and their creators suspended optimistically in their centers, everyone notices (except for, apparently, that passing moth that is also now suspended in the web). Spiders are remarkably colourful. The bright yellows of banana spiders and zipper spiders can give the impression that this is the tropics. And I suppose Florida is subtropical, but it hardly feels that way when the temperature is down in the 40s (Fahrenheit).

Josiah Shade admires the colours of Nephila, the banana spider.

Traditionally, wooly-bear caterpillars have been seen as indicators of the coming winter months. Unfortunately, there isn't much scientific basis for this old wive's tale but the caterpillars do turn up in the fall in significant numbers as they search for a place to hunker down and spend the cooler months. My friend spotted this fantastic variety of the wooly bear caterpillar of the Virginia tiger moth. There are a few different colour phases of this caterpillar but the snow-white variety that we found is particularly stunning.

Spilosoma, the wooly bear caterpillar. This particular variety of the Virginia tiger moth produces snow-white caterpillars.

Bugging (the act of seeking out bugs) is an extremely rewarding exercise. As a classic naturalist, it never lets me down. When I can't find the reptiles I'm herping for, I can always find bugs. When the birding is bad, there's a bug. Sometimes, I just ditch the other kinds of wildlife that could be found and focus on bugs alone. No other group has so much diversity and colour.

The shadow of a large female Nephila is cast on the cheek of Josiah Shade.

Florida Forest Fog

October 1, 2016

Like an angelic spotlight, the sunlight seems to me to be warmth incarnate on this cold, misty morning.

We began our hike on the west side of Bear Lake. Steam fog (read about it here), it would seem, is not limited to bodies of water. Throughout the cool forest, a mist was drifting amid the trunks of longleaf pine. Although it was very cold (for Florida), there was nothing creepy or mysterious about the forest. Golden rays of early morning light were sending beams through the mist and our happy quartet was taking every opportunity to photograph each drop of dew.

Coming up, I'll post on some of the wildlife we found while hiking. For now, enjoy these artistic shots of the mist and morning light of the forest. Thanks for reading!

The haze creates quite a contrast between foreground trees and the faded flora in the background.

Things are getting brighter in the forest and the mist is beginning to clear. The light is so gold and warm; I can tell that it's going to be a perfect day for a hike.

Black and whites were a temptation that I couldn't resist.

This photograph was taken at the same angle as the introductory one (at the top of this post) but I took this one in monochrome.

It's hard to get past the contrast. It is so beautiful! Wish you could have seen it.

Florida Steam Fog

October 1, 2016

It was colder than it looks. Steam fog rises in wisps from the surface of the warm water. It is a perfect morning for a hike.

The last night of September was cold, at least by Florida standards, and it dropped into the 50s (Fahrenheit). In spite of the chill, I had planned to wake up at 5am and go hiking with some friends up at Bear Lake (northwestern Florida, close to the Alabama border). The last time I was out with these guys was last spring, several months ago, but, when you live a busy academic life like ours, friendships run independent of time.

The following two photographs are experiments in monochrome. The unique qualities of the mist and light gave excellent opportunity to play with filters, settings, and program edits.

This might be were photography becomes more of an art than a form documentation. However, the crystal-like sparkles on the surface of the water are real and I might produce a coloured version of this photograph in the future.

We left later than we had intended and arrived at the lake close to 6:30am, after a 30 minute drive northward. The Gulf must have a significant warming affect on coastal Florida because, once we arrived at the lake, temperatures had dropped bellow 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Those who had sweaters wore them.

The lake was covered in a carpet of mist, like a sheet of silk waving lightly over a glass mirror. The beautiful phenomenon offered an excellent photography opportunity. Steam fog, as it is sometimes called, occurs when the water is warmer than the air. As the warm, moist air from the lake rises and cools it passes its dew point and the water condenses as fog. Together with the orange tints of the cypress leaves, it looked like, here in Florida, Autumn had arrived.

This photo was taken at the same angle as the one above in monochrome. Morning light is so perfect for photography.

'Tis the Season for Cottonmouths

Agkistrodon piscivorus. Near Perdido Bay, Escambia County, Florida. October 2015. Nikon D3000.

I thought I'd look back through the years and post a few things on my blogs from Octobers gone-by. This photo was taken bright and early the morn of October 17th, 2015, at West Campus. I used to hitch rides out to West Campus, a piece of Pensacola Christian College's land out on Perdido Bay, whenever I could. It was a struggle to find someone who would take me at all and sometimes quite costly, but I had to get into the bush to maintain my sanity.
Scrolling through my old photos from October 2015, I selected this one to show you because it seems that late September and early October is the best time to see cottonmouths. I've already seen several in the last two weeks, mostly neonates (juveniles) and I haven't even been looking.
It's a nice picture simply because the snake is mouth-open, characteristic of the threat display for this species. For those of you who would like to be specific: Agkistrodon piscivorus. Escambia County, Florida. October 2015. Nikon D3000.

Gulf Islands National Seashore - Perdido Key Backpacking Trail

On May 28th, I woke up before the sun and headed out toward Perdido Key, west of Pensacola, Florida. I had two goals: watch the sun rise and hike the backpacking trail to the end of the island and back. The trail is considered one of the best for backpacking in the country and offers primitive camping for backpackers and boaters. The nice thing about it is that there is no car access, which, were it not for the skyscrapers in the distance, would contribute to a feeling of remoteness.

A ghost crab at 5am. When the gate finally opened at the Perdido Key branch of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, I rubbed my eyes and drove down the narrow, dune-flanked road. The road was crawling with crabs and I did my best to avoid them, though it was clear that the ranger who drove in before I did was less careful. I parked and began my pre-dawn stroll (or stagger) down the lagoon-side of Perdido Key.

I often enhance my pictures with colour corrections to try to make them more true to the original colours or more artistic. However, I wanted to give you the rising sun the way my camera saw it without any alterations (except some cropping). So all these sunrise pictures are unedited.

Golden shafts of light announce the suns approach, just below the horizon.

And there he is.

The sun rises over the city of Pensacola. Zooming in really brought out the reds. I didn't edit this picture or change the original colours from what the camera captured.

Zooming way out brings out more gold and blue colours.

Once the sun peaks over the horizon, the ghost crabs head for their burrows.

There were giant colonies of nesting terns all along the trail and, occasionally, to avoid bombardment and disruption of the terns behaviour, my path was diverted.

A smashed turtle shell seems to tell a sad tail of boat-testudine collision.

The crabs are fast but can be caught if they are blacked from entering their burrows. Of course I release them unharmed and never keep them from their burrows for more than a couple of minutes. Once upon a time, these crabs were sought after as popular dissection specimens for schools. I don't know that there are enough of them around any more to be as much use in that regard as they used to be.

Nearing the end of the island, the ancient ruins of forts used during World War II, the Civil War, and others can be seen crumbling into the dunes.

Needle rush, greenbriar, and touch-me-nots were among the unpleasant plants encountered.

A young pelican lies decaying were it fell. Many young pelicans are killed by their siblings before ever leaving the nest.

Lizards at Garcon Point - May 21

I did a bit of herping out at Garcon Point Nature Trail in the spring so here are some of the more notable photos. I also saw a couple snakes: common garters, racers, and ribbon snakes, but I didn't get any pictures that made the cut.

Not a lizard but: This salmon-coloured moth was completely delightful, fluttering around the shrubbery. The wildflower display in this park, particularly in the fall, attracts and arsenal of insects, particularly butterflies and moths. Side note: I was nearly transported to heaven in a cloud of deer flies.

A large male broad-headed skink. In the breeding season, the heads turn a magnificent red colour.

A juvenile broad-headed skink... I think. It's rather difficult to tell some of the Eumeces species apart. This, and the above photo, could just as easily be a five-lined skink, since I certainly do not have the differences nailed down. However, both these lizards seem to have five labial (upper lip) scales rather than four, which would mean they are both broad-headed skinks, not five-lined.

Fire Ecology at Tarkiln Bayou - May 14

Back in May I went out to see some of the aftermath of a controlled burn at Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park. Here are some of the shots.

After a fire, anything that hasn't been burned to ashes (several inches above ground). Is so exposed to the heat that it turns brown and dead. Some of these plants will grow back but, after burning over a few decades (every few years), the weedier species will die off.

The fire can't burn if the ground is too wet. Here, wet ground has kept the fire from passing a certain line. Ecologists burn forests to increase biodiversity--it keeps weedy species from getting a monopoly on growing space and offers a chance for more sensitive species to take hold.

Mushrooms poke through the ashes almost as soon as the fire is passed, demonstrating that only a few centimeters below the surface, life goes on as normal. Roots and mycelia are unaffected by the blaze. Many species are specially adapted to periodic fires and do much better in their presence. People have been starting controlled fires in America before Europeans arrived on the continent, but for different reasons. Early Americans burned to make hunting and defence easier. In a more open forest, both prey and enemies could be seen from a safer distance. Inadvertently, these tribes and nations created an ecosystem of their own tastes, and animals and plants adapted to survive specifically in a fire-frequented environment.

A young six-lined racerunner makes the most of the fringes of the burn. Bugs are easy to spot out here.

My favourite species of carnivorous plant, Drosera tracyi. The long, delicate leaves curl around stuck insects that blundered into the sticky droplets of dew. The black specks here are gnats that will soon be digested by the plant.