Florida Man Finds

The great egret, Ardea alba, is the largest of the fully white feathered wading birds in Florida. They can be found in wetlands or along most waterways.
ID: Great egret wading through vegetation.
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I’m back! Check back in for weekly content, and what better way to to start the year than with an alligator post! (Alligator mississippiensis) It’s spring time which means it’s mating season for alligators. Alligators will be out and about for the next few months so best to enjoy them from a distance.
ID: alligator with mouth open to avoid overheating.
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The eastern rat snake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, basking in the road while it still can before the cooler weather creeps in. Similarly like pythons and boas, rat snakes being constrictors will suffocate their prey. They’re also known to eat unguarded chicken eggs, so much in fact that they’ve been nicknamed “chicken snakes”
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The white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, was actually the inspiration for Bambi! They are the most common species of deer in North America. White-tailed deer exhibit sexual dimorphism, as the males grow antlers, and females do not.
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The southern black racer snake, Coluber constrictor priapus, is a subspecies of the North American racer found in southeastern United States. Their name come from how fast and agile they are!
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The tropical house gecko, Hemidactylus mabouia, once native to sub-Saharan Africa but has found itself in all parts of North, South, and Central America due to human travel.
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The bird so nice, they named it thrice! The anhinga, Anhinga anhinga, is an aquatic bird that can usually be seen perched like this one here drying its feathers. Anhingas can’t waterproof their feathers like other birds, but that makes it more adept at catching its aquatic prey.
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Juvenile black racer snakes, Coluber constrictor priapus, like this one here have pronounced reddish-brown blotches that fade away to a solid grayish black by adulthood. Young black racer snakes are often mistaken for venomous Pygmy rattlesnakes due to color pattern. The round pupils and smooth skin are clear giveaways to see its not a Pygmy rattlesnake. Thanks to for helping me with ID-ing all things reptile!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The barred owl, Strix varia, gets it’s name from the horizontal barring pattern that can be seen across its feathers. They’ve also been called “hoot owls” due to their distinctive calls that kind of sound like, “ who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?”. Barred Owls also mate for life!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, one of only two species of alligators on the planet. Yes this is my third post on alligator but come on, my name is …. I’m bound to find alligators in Florida! This is also the biggest (6-7 feet) one I’ve been able to snap a picture of! The only other species is the Chinese alligator found in the Yangtze River in China.
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I came across this tropical orbweaver, Eriophora ravilla, while working on a lake Restoration event. Chances are if you’ve seen a web that looks straight out a Spider-Man film, it came from an orb weaver!

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The gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus are a keystone species because the burrows it digs provides home for more than 360 species! They’re also unique in that they’re designated vulnerable in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, but classified as endangered in Mississippi.This is the second time I’ve posted them, but I just had to because it came up to crawling up to me!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The northern curly~tailed lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus, are a bully little lizard that curls it’s tail as it’s name would suggest. They curl their tails in the presence of predators to show their fitness level. Also, they use their tails as a distraction by dropping their tail to make their getaway.
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The Caribbean hermit crab, Coenobita clypeatus, despite its name, actually live in large colonies. They are also called purple pinchers due to their dominant claw used to defend itself having a purple hue.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The Florida Sandhills Crane, Antigone canadensis, protecting its children. Did you know Sandhill cranes mate for life?

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If you see a peninsula cooter, Pseudemys peninsularis, digging with its hind legs, chances are that it’s creating a nest to lay its eggs in! Peninsula cooter turtles typically lay their eggs from April to June to hatch at the end of summer or early fall.
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Follow for more Florida wildlife!

Took a detour from the usual spots to find a beautiful cannonball jellyfish,Stomolophus meleagris, washed up ashore. As their name suggests, they are shaped and sized as an average cannonball would be. Canonball jellyfish are mostly harmless to humans, but they do produce a toxin that can cause cardiac issues. Most of the time, they’ll just leave your hands itchy or eyes irritated if touched, but they are one of the most common causes of stings in the United States/ the Caribbean.
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The southeastern five-lined skink, Plestiodon inexpectatus, gets its name from its five characteristic stripes. As the name suggests, they are common in southeast region of North America.
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The chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia, is freshwater turtle typically located in southeastern United States. Unfortunately their name refers to the taste of their meat sold in southern markets.
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On my way to a research site, I had to stop and snag a shot of this Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias. They can be found near any open waters,shores, and wetland in North/ Central America. They’re also known to have been spotted as far as Spain, though it is considered rare.
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Came across a beauty of a raccoon, Procyon lotor, “washing his hands”. I say it in quotes because raccoons aren’t washing their hands for cleanliness. Raccoon’s hands provides nearly two thirds of their sensory data to find food, and track their environments.
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I found a beauty of a striped mud turtle, Kinosternon baurii, wading through a ditch. These guys are endemic to southeast United States!
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Peck peck peck... well hello there, little downy woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens. The downy woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America!

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1000+ Follower Giveaway!

I can’t believe that there are over 1,000 of you who care about Florida wildlife and nature! I am so thankful, and grateful for all of you following me! So to commemorate the milestone, I’ll be giving away a drone with a 1080p camera to encourage everyone to explore your backyard! I recently used one for an upcoming video, and it was so awesome that I think you guys would really enjoy it!

How to enter:
🌿 Follow me and stay around!
🌿Like this post
🌿 Tag 2 friends who like Florida wildlife
🌿 Share to your stories and tag me so I can see it!

🌿 Extra entries:
1 entry for every additional comment where you tag 2 friends.

Terms and Conditions
Giveaway ends on Tuesday December 1st at 8pm EST. Winners will be selected and notified via DM.

This is not affiliated with Instagram or the drone company. You must be a US resident 🇺🇸 and 18+ to enter.

Happy Thanksgiving! What could be more fitting other than a picture of a wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. Turkeys are actually native to North America! Males form a posse to court females by showing off their feathers. Studies have shown that all the members of the posse are closely related, and this increases the chance of passing on genetic traits.
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Here’s a close up of a peninsula cooter, Pseudemys peninsularis... or maybe a river cooter, Pseudemys concinna ???

We can confirm it’s not a red bellied cooter at least 😂

While paddling with scientists from and , I had to snag a shot of this Florida red bellied cooter, Pseudemys nelsoni, and friends. Now to my eyes, only the turtle to the far left is a red bellied cooter, the others looks like peninsula or river cooters? Let me know in the comments what you think!!!
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I had the pleasure to have a passion butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, perch upon my shirt the other day. As caterpillars, they forage on passion fruit leaves making them poisonous to predators!
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There’s a good chance if you’ve ever lived in Florida you may have mistaken a darter, Anhinga anhinga for a snake in the water. It got it’s nickname of snakebird because when they swim, only their long slender necks are visible above water!
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Anywhere in the southern region of North America, you’re bound to see this southern house spider, Kukulcania hibernalis. They exhibit strong sexual dimorphism! That’s when the males, and females exhibit differing physical appearances. Females like the one pictured can grow around the size of a fist, and are black. While males are smaller, brown, and often mistaken for brown recluses.
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Have you ever seen these Asian Tramp Snail, Bradybaena similaris, on the walls outside after a rainy day? Originally from Asia, these guys have become the most widely dispersed terrestrial snail species in the world!
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If you live in Sanford or Oviedo, chances are you’ve seen random chickens walking around. Did you know that there are multiple species of chickens? This rooster here is actually a red jungle fowl , Gallus gallus. The red jungle fowl is the main forefather of of the domestic chicken.
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While helping out with the Dragonfly Mercury Project, I found a baby Florida red bellied cooter, Pseudemys nelsoni. Did you know that mercury biomagnifies as it goes up the food chain? The Dragonfly Mercury Project researches mercury levels in rivers and water systems all over the United States. For more information, and to find out what YOU can do, follow !
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Wow it’s been exactly one year since I’ve started this page! I’m very grateful that so many of you have decided to come along for this journey as I try to take photos of wildlife 😂. In one year, I’ve taken 35 photos, and gained over 1,000 followers! So it’s only fitting that I post a new photo of the first critter I’ve ever found, and recorded; a golden silk spider, Trichonephila clavipes. Stay tuned later this week for a giveaway to celebrate the one year engagement!!!
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9/12/2020- In a wooded pond land, I see a slow crawl, and before my imagination gets the better of me, an American giant millipede, Narceus americanus, pops by! Although the name would suggests 1000 legs, most millipedes have less than 50. Also, be careful when handling because when threatened, millipedes are known to curl into a ball, and release benzoquinone that can cause chemical burns 🥵
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8/28/2020- Came across this beautiful white peacock butterfly, Anartia jatrophae. He was nice enough to let me get a few shots, but that’s because males perch themselves and protect their territory way more aggressively than any other species.
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raw_insects

If you live in Florida, chances are you’ve seen brown anoles, Anolis sagrei, within 2 minutes of stepping outside. The brown anole is actually a highly invasive species from the Bahamas that’s found its way all throughout North America. If you’ve seen my previous post on green anoles, you’ll know that brown anoles drove green anoles to change their environment to higher grounds on trees.
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If you’re out in a swamp, can you tell the difference between a water moccasin, and a non venomous water snake? Chances are no, so treat any snake with caution. Now this here is a banded water snake, Nerodia fasciata, and was so calm to let me get my camera this close. Banded water snakes have similar scale patterns, flatten their heads to look like pit vipers when threatened, and live in the same wet environments as water moccasins. One giveaway though, is that water snakes have circular pupils instead of vertical pupils, but I wouldn’t recommend getting that close to find out!
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@ Lake Harney Wilderness Area

8/7/2020- While on a trek, this lovely eastern rat snake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, let me get up close, and snag a shot! Rat snakes are generally docile, when threatened they shake their tails to imitate the sound of a rattle snake because they rather avoid you than have to bite. In fact, they’re extremely beneficial to humans as they lower the population of pests like rats, hence the name 😂 🐀 🐍
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@ Wekiva Springs State Park

7/24/2020- What should you do if you see a turtle crossing the road?

1. Pull over safely.

2. Keep them moving in the SAME direction they were headed.

3. NEVER RELOCATE TURTLES TO NEW AREAS.

4. Ensure they get to their natural habitat, with little to no handling ( especially with snapping, and soft shell turtles)

Summer weather gets turtles active, and sometimes a road stands in the way to their habitat like this Florida Soft Shell turtle, Apalone ferox. They are extremely aggressive due to lacking a shell, and by following the mantra, “A good offense is a good defense.”
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@ Mullet Lake Park, Florida