'Glades, Day One. 3-8-2023

 Is we is or is we isn't? That's always the question. But Andrea said she'd like to go for her birthday again this year, so go we did. In an effort to save dough, we made it Wednesday through Friday this time. 

Our flight wasn't as early as we would have liked but we got into the Sunshine/ Batshit Crazy State a little after noon and made it to our first stop a bit before 2 PM. Upwards and onwards to the Burrowing Owls (#33)!


They we a little touchy this year and we even got squawked at once. I suspect there might be some eggs in those burrows.

This spot is usually swarming with Green Iguanas but there weren't a ton this time. We did see a few, though.

Amevias were present as well but they were just too fast for me. It was a cloudless 84° and things were quite warm. 

We headed over to our other favorite Broward County spot and quickly flipped our first snake of the week, a Brahminy Blind Snake. It was large, for the species.

We finally broke the Brown Anole seal.

Heading toward our favorite spot in the place, the turtle viewing dock, Andrea spotted our first Florida Water Snake in many a year. Our first native reptile species!

And then, because she rules, she spotted another one!

The turtle section was, as always, very gratifying. Red-ears, Redbellies and Softshells always come up to say hi (read: beg).

^ There is a Softshell noggin in the center of the above picture.

Heading out, we got our big surprise... a Florida Snapper. This would be our Lifer.

That was the only shot I got but it is good enough to see that the tubercules on it's neck come to a point, the only real field ID I can think of to differentiate it from a Common Snapper (whose tubercules are rounded). Many folks say there is no difference but for the sake of a Lifer, I'm calling it. Piss off.

From there, we trudged our way South, going to our hotel. It was dark by the time we got there so no Agamas for us! We checked in to our room, then took a look at the goldfish pond on premises. Sure enough, there was a cute Bufo holding court.

A couple of delightfully cute Cubans. (The throngs are yelling "kill it!" No, jerk-wad. It's not for me to kill things. Piss off.)

We headed into the park to cruise a bit. It was almost a full moon so we didn't expect to see a ton of movement. A few Southern Toads made us quite happy, though.

We got through to our usual first-day turn-around spot and checked the culverts. The first one rewarded us with a massive (3 1/2 foot, at least) Green Water Snake. Gorgeous!

Off the dock, I was sure I'd gotten a decent picture of an Amphiuma, but it turns out to be an Asian Swamp Eel. Still, pretty cool.

Our last sight of the day was likely our "Holy Shit" moment of the week. Just walking along the dock, alone, in the middle of the night, we spotted this large Alligator snoozing right below us. That sure woke us up!

We did see two DOR Moccasins and a large DOR Garter on the way out, which is always heartbreaking, but the Crows and Vultures will take care of everything in the morning. 

We considered that a pretty good first day. Yes, mostly non-native species but a lot less than we usually see. I didn't see any Basilisks, just a handful of Iguanas and some Amevias. Last year, there's were dozens and hundreds roaming the area.

We set the alarm for early and slept well.