underside of horseshoe crab & red sponge, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Small Horseshoe Crab and fuzzy red sponge found washed up on Sanibel Island.
underside of horseshoe crab & red sponge
underside of horseshoe crab & red sponge, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Small Horseshoe Crab and fuzzy red sponge found washed up on Sanibel Island.
underside of Horseshoe Crab
underside of horseshoe crab, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Underside of a Horseshoe Crab found washed up on the beach in Sanibel Island. All of the Horseshoe Crabs that I have seen in Florida are much lighter in color than those that I have seen in the Northeast.
Snails on dead stump
Snails on dead stump - Lover's Key State Park, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Some type of Marine Snails clustered on a dead tree in the water at Lover's Key State Park.
Green Heron
Found fishing off a small boat near on San Carlos Island. These birds are very common in areas that have a lot of small bait fish and boats with ropes hanging low near the water.
Pair of Walking Sticks
Pair of walking sticks, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Two Striped Walking Stick
Anisomorpha buprestoides
Found this pair of walking sticks outside my front door in South Fort Myers. The female is the larger of the two. If you look closely you can see the male blending in on her back.
After researching the insects I discovered that these Walking Sticks can shoot a toxic substance at predators (and people with cameras). The secretion has been said to be very painful and cause swelling and irritation in the eye for several days.
"The pain in his left eye was immediately excruciating; being reported to be as severe as if it had been caused by molten lead." [ http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/walkingstick.htm ]
Lavender Sea Pork
Amaroucium stellatum
Found washed up on Sanibel Island. I've never found Sea Pork this color!
Found washed up on Sanibel Island. I've never found Sea Pork this color!
Orange Sea Pork
Sea Pork is a type of tunicate. It has the appearance and texture of rubber and can be found in many colors. It is sometimes mistaken for ambergris produced by sperm whales. Found on Sanibel Island.
Roseate Spoonbill - FL aquarium
Roseate Spoonbill - FL aquarium, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
Photographed this Roseate Spoonbill in the Tampa Aquarium. We have seen them in the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island but they are far away and hard to photograph.
Muscovy ducks
Found this Muscovy Duck family in the Steak & Shake parking lot on Rt. 41 in Fort Myers. Muscovy Ducks are considered an invasive species in the United States and are found all over Lee County. It is common to find them near fast food restaurants and in roadside ponds and lakes.
Dead Sea Urchin
Dead sea urchin, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Sea Urchin washed up on the beaches of Sanibel Island. During certain times of the year the beaches are littered with these in all sizes. We sometimes find them in the tide pools alive.
Red bugs - Everglades City
Red bugs - Everglades City, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Unidentified red bugs found under a tree in Everglades City.
White Pelicans in lake
White pelicans in lake, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
American White Pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Photographed in a lake in South Fort Myers. We normally see these only at the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island but this past winter (2010) 4 or 5 White Pelicans flew into our community lake to feed. A group of diving birds arrived around 9 a.m. every day for several days and with them came White Pelicans, Wood Storks, Herons, Egrets and other water birds. The pelicans were only here for about a week and haven't returned since.
Brown pelicans, Islamorada
Brown pelicans, Islamorada, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
Photographed at Robbie's Marina in Islamorada. There is a Tarpon feeding station set up on the docks and the birds hang around waiting for the charter fishing boats to come in and start filleting fish.
The pelicans with the brown heads are juveniles.
Pair of roadside Alligators
pair of roadside gators - clyde butcher's gallery, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
Photographed on the side of the road across from Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery on Hwy 41 in Ochopee. There were alligators all along the road in the canal that runs parallel to Hwy 41 (Tamiami Trail).
Sea life
unknown, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Some sort of sea life growing on what looks like a piece of seaweed. Pulled up on hook and line on San Carlos Island.
Heron, Everglades CIty
Bird, Everglades CIty, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
I believe this is some sort of Heron. Found in Everglades City on the border of Chokoloskee.
Alligator in lake, South Florida
Alligator in lake, south Florida, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
Found this Alligator swimming in a lake off of Hwy 41 near Ochopee. The lake was located in a camp ground and there were RVs parked along side of it.
Fish stealing alligator, Everglades City
Fish stealing alligator, Everglades City, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
This alligator was hanging around the side of a canal in Everglades City where we were fishing. Eventually, he stole a fish right off the hook.
Pleco
Originally from South America, this Pleco was caught in a lake in South Fort Myers. I hooked the fish in the belly. The body of the fish is covered with armored plates and the head area feels like shark skin. The belly is soft without armor.
Snapper eye
snapper eye, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Snapped a picture of this Snapper eye as it was sitting on the fillet table.
Dead Stone Crab
Dead Stone Crab washed up on the beach in Sanibel Island. Local crabbers harvest the claws by removing one (or both) and throwing the crab back into the Gulf of Mexico to regrow them. It takes about 1 year for the crab to regrow a new claw.
Dried Sponge
sponge sanibel, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Phylum: Porifera
Dried sponge found washed up on the beach on Sanibel Island.
Egret with plumage
egret wih plummage, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Species of Egret showing her plumage.
Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island
Osprey with needlefish
This Osprey caught a Needlefish and is perched on top of an antenna of a shrimp boat docked in San Carlos Island.
Piglets sleeping
Cute baby piglets sleeping in their enclosure at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers.
Proud parents: Ham & Bacon
Proud parents: Ham & Bacon
Largemouth Bass
Largemouth Bass
Micropterus salmoides
A nice bass caught in a lake in Fort Myers, about 4lbs.
Pigfish - bitten in half
Pigfish
Orthopristis chrysoptera
A pig fish is a member of the Grunt family. This one came up bitten in half by a small shark.
Gulf of Mexico
Lane Snapper
Lane Snapper
Lutjanus synagris
Baby Lane Snapper caught at off the docks on San Carlos Island.
Black Grouper
black grouper, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Black Grouper
Mycteroperca bonaciA small black grouper caught near Punta Rassa.
Nickerbeans
Nickerbean
Caesalpinia bonduc
Seeds of a tropical shrub that grows in South Florida. This specimen was photographed at Bowditch Point in Fort Myers Beach.
Brown Pelican
wet brown pelican, originally uploaded by Junior Naturalist.
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
A Brown Pelican drying off on the docks in San Carlos Island.
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