Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

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Noah M
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Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Noah M »

I had been pumped to go on this trip since I learned that my Dad was renting a place down in Collier County for a week during spring break. The last time I had been down that way I was able to see crayfish snakes and a scarlet snake, and I was excited about the prospects of seeing those, or some other things again. But I had to temper my enthusiasm with the realization that this was a family trip. My dad, my brother & his pregnant wife (all visiting from Indiana) were going to be with us. Let's just say hours in the car cruising for snakes was not on the top of everybody's to-do lists.

Monday:
The family books an eco-tour to head out in the Gulf. This isn't your ordinary tour. The gentleman who runs it knows that dolphins and manatees are old hat for my wife and I, who have been in Florida for a few years. So in addition to these great sightings, he takes us to a sea turtle location he would rather keep secret because it took him a while to find it, and as he is running a business, he wanted to keep the competition down. At first you just see this basketball sized thing crest above the water, and then disappear. It was much more random than the dolphins or manatees.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (lifer)

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As the boat motor is turned off, and we drift into the middle of the turtle gathering, a few decide to come up for air closer to the boat (closer than the captain even expected!) We as a group probably saw close to a dozen, but I was only able to photograph a few.

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Starting off the week like this was going to set the bar high. Tuesday was rather uneventful in terms of herps, until nightfall came. I decided to check around the condo grounds for some night creatures. First to make an appearance were Tropical House Gecko's (H. mabouia). The first is a tiny guy I saw in the corner most nights.

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This one I only saw once, but he was low on the wall and slow on the crawl.
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This led to the first animal bite of the trip. He was released unharmed back to the wall.
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Wednesday: My dad, brother & his wife decided to take a fishing trip. My wife and I had the option to join them on some amazing fishing, or we could spend the day and night exploring the nearby Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. We of course opted for the herping trip. As you all will soon see, I think we made the better choice.

We saw of course more Alligators than you could probably count. My wife and I have lived in Florida for a few years, so these aren't really that exciting, but I wouldn't feel right going into the 'glades without taking a few pictures.

The ubiquitous Alligator mississippiensis
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There were probably as many turtles as there were gators. I believe they were all Peninsular Cooters (Pseudemys peninsularis ). There might be a red-belly in there somewhere.

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There were of course brown anoles everywhere too.
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The first nice find of the day was this very young cottonmouth crawling across the road away from the canal. It was under 18", and probably closer to 12"

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The canal was filled with turtles. Here are a few sample pictures.
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Later that day in the same spot where I had found red-belly turtles crossing the road last August we happened upon another turtle crossing the road, but I'm sure this one is a Peninsular Cooter.
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Quite the hard life, with the lumpy shell.
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Gators are gators, but baby gators are cute. We found a few mom's while poking around the area.
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And there were more turtles. Are these red-belly or peninsular?
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We took a break for dinner, and thought back to the freshwater turtles, the baby gators, and of course all of the amazing birds we had seen. Dusk was approaching, and we knew the best time for snakes was near. Could we top the Loogerheads that we had started the trip with? Would I see a Scarlet Snake or a Crayfish snake? This was the one night we had carved out from the family trip to herp Big Cypress at night. What would await? Well, what we saw next caught both us by surprise. While not a herp, it is quite possibly the most amazing thing I've seen in the wild.

Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi) (lifer)

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We were on our favorite herping road a good couple of hours away from the condo, the road where I had found my Scarlet Snake last August. The diurnal herons and egrets were settling down for the night, the night herons were coming out, and out popped a panther!. My wife was holding the camera and she froze. I grabbed it and started firing away, from within the car. I have 5 total pictures of the big cat, and above are the 2 best, cleaned up a bit for your viewing pleasure.

The rest of the night went about as good as I could expect. I mean, the only thing that could top a Florida Panther would be if Skunk Ape himself walked up and shook my hand. We saw the normal stuff.

Southern Toad
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We saw a young corn snake.
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Bite #2 of the trip.
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An AOR Florida Watersnake (and a ton of DOR ones - one may have been a N. floridana).
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Thursday was pretty slow. We did see a green anole on a blue trash barrel. It made for a nice color contrast.
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Walking the grounds that night turned up a Cuban Tree frog.
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Friday (last day):

How do you top Loogerhead Sea Turtles & a Panther? Well you don't. But I did get another lifer (x2)

Florida Brown water snake (N. taxispilota) (lifer)
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Anybody know why this one had such a huge head? It almost looks uncomfortable.

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The afternoon ended with a 3ft+ DOR EDB and oddly enough a DOR skink. It was time to drive home. After I get my finds in the database, which could take a while, I will try to put together a bird post.

Cheers.
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Noah M
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Noah M »

P.S.

Never did see a crayfish snake, scarlet snake, or mangrove snake. But shoot, you can't win 'em all! :lol:
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BillMcGighan
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by BillMcGighan »

Panther..... :thumb: :thumb:
Worth the trip right there!
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JakeScott
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by JakeScott »

Congrats on the panther...and the other lifers, but that panther...AWESOME! The turtles you were asking about were redbellys. The upper jaw cusp is the giveaway. Peninsula cooters would have no cusp, but instead a "U" shaped upper jaw.
Great post.

-Jake
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Noah M
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Noah M »

Thanks Jake. I'm pretty sure most of them are red-bellies. They're so common down there, but apprently peninsular ones show up on occasion too and for the far off pictures I can't tell. I'm pretty sure the one found on the road is a peninsular cooter. Here is a pic of the face and yeah, there is no notch in the upper jaw. But I've also read that they readily hybridize with one another, which makes telling them apart even more difficult.

Yes Bill, the panther was worth the trip. My wife and I saw it on Wednesday and I'm still in shock. To think that I not only saw it, but was fast enough on the draw to get some pictures!

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Jared Cain
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Jared Cain »

Some nice finds!! The Panther is by far my favorite. How cool!
Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

The panther is glorious.
So many great shots!
I have to be jealous about the brown water snake, since I still have not found one.
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Man, A Florida panther makes any night, hands down - and usually folks don't get pictures of em' when they just catch em' crossing the road (of all the ones I've seen I've only gotten a good pic of one.)

If I'm here next time, I might be able to help on a Crayfish scarlett and a clarkii


-Josh
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Berkeley Boone »

I mean, meh, it's just a panther.















Just kidding of course! That would blow my mind! And the fact that you got several good pictures of it too is incredible. Very cool stuff! The loggerheads were pretty freaking sweet too.
--Berkeley
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Noah M
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Noah M »

Thanks for the offer Josh. I'm not sure when I'll be down your way next. There is a guy up here that wants to go looking for a Burm this summer, so perhaps I'll be down there again in a few months, maybe even a bit closer to you.
I mean, meh, it's just a panther
I dream of the day when they are so common this statement would not be a joke. I mean, I don't want them like the brown anoles, one under every porch, but you know what I mean....
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Noah M
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Noah M »

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Berkeley Boone
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Berkeley Boone »

captainjack0000 wrote:I dream of the day when they are so common this statement would not be a joke. I mean, I don't want them like the brown anoles, one under every porch, but you know what I mean....
Yep. Agreed. ;) I think I'd take them as common as bobcats. Enough to make them not quite a shock to see, but still a treat. That would make things a little more interesting!
--Berkeley
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Mike VanValen »

Congrats on the panther! I have no idea what's going on with the swollen head on that Nerodia.
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ZantiMissKnit
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by ZantiMissKnit »

PANTHER, OMG!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!

:thumb:
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mike h
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by mike h »

Yeah, we're all herpers here. But the Panther is almost like Sasquatch. Nobody EVER thinks they'll see one and others wonder if there are even any still there! Congratulations!

The wee Moccasin is a beauty too!
jimoo742
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by jimoo742 »

wow, a live panther

just

wow
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Josh Holbrook »

mike h wrote:Yeah, we're all herpers here. But the Panther is almost like Sasquatch. Nobody EVER thinks they'll see one and others wonder if there are even any still there! Congratulations!

They're certainly not easy, but they're do-able if you look in the right areas.
Barry R
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Re: Epic Collier & Monroe (South Florida)

Post by Barry R »

what Bill said :thumb:
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