So, my alarm went off at 7:00 am this morning, it was still dark, I was tired, I just wanted to drink coffee and sleep more, but I had scheduled an SOS walk with Heather for 8:30 am. Ugh. I did NOT feel like walking, but with vacation and all I've been kind of slacking, so I forced myself to go (I later found out Heather felt the same way, but neither of us wanted to be the one to cancel.)
So, we get to the parking lot, and before either of us get the chance to gripe about the unholy hour, Heather whispers/screams, "GET THE F'ING CAMERA!!!" Now, Heather really isn't one to cuss, so I knew something was going on... Luckily, I had the camera handy cause it was just the first of a FEW amazing things we saw today -- right in the parking lot, BEFORE we even started walking. If you chose not to GOYB today, you REALLY missed a good one today. Without further ado:
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| A freaking HUGE bob cat. RIGHT behind us in the parking log at Pelican Island!! He posed for me for a really long time. He said something about "rewarding those who GOTB" Really, Heather heard him too! |
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| He was beautiful. Long legs, just magnificent. |
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| Not as exciting but we found this giant land crab shell. I did not realize that when giant land crabs molt, they even molt their eye deeley-boppers (that might not be the scientific term). |
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| This is a black vulture doing his job. The weird thing was, we walked past this on the way out, and when we came back, the raccoon was completely gone, no sign of him whatsoever. I'm thinking the vulture must have had some friends come and help him drag the feast back to their frat house (or where ever it is that black vultures sit around and nom and drink beer.) |
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| Neither of us could some up with an explanation for this one. There was just about 50 of these lying on the sidewalk. They were too small to be a fisherman's bait. We did get a wild storm last weekend, maybe a wave washed them up onto the road or something? It was very weird. |
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| This was my second favorite find of the day, and my absolute favorite herp in FL. This is a legless lizard, or glass snake. They are sooo pretty. You can tell by the shape of his head he is a legless lizard, not a real snake, you can also tell by how he moves. The picture doesn't do him justice, he is a beautiful copper color. I just love these guys sooo much. |
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| We saw 3 dead raccoons, and this live one. It must be mating season or something. |
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| This was an osprey nomming on a fish. |
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| This is something I've never caught a picture of before -- there is a dolphin AND a manatee! There were actually 3 dolphin, a mom, dad, and baby, and a BUNCH of manatee all hanging out. I just liked this picture best because it's rare to see them hanging out together. (At least I've never seen it before.) |
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| When I was in Cape May, I picked up skull identification books for me and Heather, although we really didn't need it to identify the three sculls we found today. This is the lower jaw of a raccoon. I was amazed at how well preserved it was, even being able to see the teeth. |
If you didn't GOYB today, you really missed some amazing stuff. Heather and I were talking about how cool it is that we can walk the same route every week and still see at least one COMPLETELY new and different critter every time.
Looking forward to our next walk, hope you can join us! Remember, you might see stuff like this on TV, but you will never really experience it unless you GOYB!!
