Just as an excuse to put a couple of extra forgotten Florida critters up on here, this is just a little mix from a couple of extra solo trips I’ve done in recent years, along with the odd other shot I like from my most productive trip there with Peal in 2018, but covered much (much!) better in his report here https://northumberlandexplorer.weebly.com/southern-florida-feb-2018.html.
If you’ve seen my other Floridian ramblings, you may have noticed that my first summer attempt in the state did not go well, due to forces of nature out of my control. My only other summer attempt wasn’t as dramatic a failure, but constant storms and just general bad luck/uselessness meant that, well, it still was a bit of a failure. But a couple of new species, and a look at a couple of new areas gave me a few good memories still.
Osceola National Forest
I really liked this area, up almost on the Florida-Georgia border, or the Florida Georgia Line, to those of us who may or may not have spent too much time listening to 96.7 K Country. Some lovely looking longleaf pine forest with a few dirt roads and the odd good blacktop makes for some great potential, however the July thunderstorms that hit every night I was in the Lake City area really caused issues, and it was the local amphibians and Cottonmouths that were the main nocturnal finds. My only lifer here (despite the Timber/Scarlet king hopes) was a Rough earth snake (Haldea striatula). This glistening little squirmer proved impossible to get a photo of that doesn’t look like a shiny little pine needle, so, see above photo of shiny needle for proof. Couple of DORs that would've been lifers included Glossy crayfish snake and Rough green snake, the latter a species that has evaded me on every trip, turning up heart-breakingly dead on blacktops on no less than three of them.
Apalachicola National Forest
Another delightful forested slice of north Florida, and an area I’d planned to look at during my disastrous Irma trip in 2017. Constant storms almost ruined my chances here too, but eventually I got one of my most wanted locals, the delicious little Dusky pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius barbouri). Three in fact. I’ve never jumped about so much on finding a non-snaggable species in my life as I did when I cruised my first one at dusk on a dirt forestry road deep in the pines. That was another a last-night trip-saver.
Some Winter Highlights
Just a handful of memories from the 3 winter trips, the 2 with Peal (report and better photos linked above) were by far the most productive. Florida is a great place to escape the British winter for a week and not be too jetlagged to get in the mix and make the most of the herping time. My long-running kingsnake targets have remained hidden on every trip, and to be honest I don’t think I have much canefields life left in me.
Florida scarlets (Cemophora coccinea coccinea) have been the main highlight species for me in the state, I love these things, and they are as good as any kings, but I’d still like a king.. Me and Peal have been lucky enough to see the 2 main colour morphs of this delectable snake.
The species these lovely little Scarlets are mimicking is slightly less cuddly, but it is a definite rush to flip one; the Harlequin/Eastern coralsnake (Micrurus fulvius). My only one came in February 2019.
The below photo is as close to a Hognose as I’ve ever been. My original favourite snake has eluded me on all American trips, from fruitless hours in Ocala looking for Easterns to West Texas Magic Hour attempts at a Mexican. This Bandie showing the flattened cute look that highlights perfectly why I still love this common species, and doing a nice Hognose impression for good measure.
Black racers (Coluber constrictor) proved problematic to get my hands on initially, but they became one of the most frequently encountered snakes on all of my Floridian trips. Like the Bandies, I still love them, they’re “proper” snakes, sleek, beautiful and can move like the wind when the occasion demands. The Eastern variety of the Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) is another American classic. I’ve only met a handful on my travels, unlike Peal, who I think found the motherlode on one of his Canadian adventures.
Maybe I’ll add to this section one day if I finally manage to land a Floridian kingsnake, or a Timber, or a Copperhead, or one of the other missing targets from my attempts to date….