When you are married to Mark Scott, amateur herpetologist, vacations
always include looking for reptiles and amphibians. I
wanted to relax on the beach, and Mark wanted to find and photograph new species. We decided on the city with white beaches,
skinks, and tree frogs: Pensacola,
Florida.
The following are
excerpts from Mark's journal, with my comments in blue italics.
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| Both of Us in a Photo with No Reptiles |
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| Six-Lined Racerunner |
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| Squirrel Tree Frog |
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| Eastern Fence Swift |
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| Male Green Anole with Dewlap |
May 9, 2013, First
Full Day at the Pensacola Beach.
We
drove through a tree lined street named Palafox, passed the Pensacola main
harbor to the Bayfront Road. The Gulf
of Mexico came into sight and it was a welcomed vista to our eyes. We were
accustomed to the purple Rocky Mountain majesties, and yet here before us, was
a tranquil bay with waves gently lapping at the shore.
Pensacola
Beach has everything one might desire in seaside fun. There was the giant
souvenir shop, a Ferris wheel, and the most gorgeous sugar sand beaches you've
ever seen. Unlike other beaches, there was no parking fee and plenty of open
spaces. I set off to photograph the sights before taking to the shore. The
beach ball shaped water tower was an obvious icon and my first photograph of
the trip. Something like 400 photographs followed. The invention of digital
allowed me to take countless photographs and delete any undesirables. Gone were
the days of film photography when the photographer needed to consider the
success of each shot. Focus and let 'er fly.
The
crystal clear water gave way to entrancing emerald shallows, and off on the
horizon, were the depths of the deep blue sea. Only in paradise do you see
emerald water and sugar sand beach. No kidding, the sand was that white and
that fine.
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| Pensacola Beach Water Tower |
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| Beach and Pier |
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| Mark |
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| Me |
We drove the Gulf Shore National
Seashore road to Fort Pickens State Park. At the western edge of Rosa Island,
the fort heralded two periods of construction. The initial fort may have dated
to the Spanish American war and it was updated with reinforced walls during the
Civil War. Sepia photos depicted soldiers alongside huge cannons; the men were
intent on protecting a naval invasion.
Comment
from Jeanie: It was a wonderful day at
the beach and Fort Pickens. Mark kept
talking about how he had earned a herping day that he could cash in.
May 10, 2013, Friday. Marcus
Bayou nature walk and the Tarkiln State Park boardwalk.
Since
Jeanie had her day at the beach, she conceded to two full nature walks.
Comment
from Jeanie: Mark was cashing in his
herping day already. Since we were both
slightly sunburned, it sounded like a good plan.
The
skies were slightly overcast and fat droplets hit the windshield. I wanted to
get to the pitcher plants and bladderworts before the downpour. We hiked the
Tarkiln boardwalk to a lagoon. Had we hiked far enough, we would have reached
Perdido Bay.
We
encountered a field of pitcher plants directly before the boardwalk. The native carnivorous plant has
an upper white tongue and a lower white vase. Veins of burgundy run through the
white flower. I immediately recognized them. The park ranger gave me permission
to leave the boardwalk, thereby gaining close access to the flowers. The ground
was bogged in black soil so I stayed to the boardwalk. It was a small field of
pitcher plants, but it was supposedly one of the last locations. We saw a
secondary carnivorous plant, a red blossomed flower. As for the yellow
bladderwort, we never located those guys.
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| Pitcher Plants |
Comment
from Jeanie: Bladderwort must be the
worst name ever for a plant.
We drove to the Marcus Bayou
boardwalk, which was a contribution from the water reclamation plant. It was
situated next to a typical neighborhood and directly outside a chemical plant.
On our first visit, we completely missed the entrance which was sealed off with
a six foot chain link fence. Examining our directions, we returned and parked.
Only then did I realize the fenced off area was our destination. We hiked the
1.5 mile boardwalk which boasted an assortment of wetlands. The entry was
bordered by pleasantly mowed lawns until we reached the wooden boardwalk. The
adjacent boardwalk was fed by a six inch diameter blue pipe which ejected
fountains of water at various intervals. We came to our first wetland. It had
dark water and a covering of green pond scum. A break in the shallow dark
waters revealed teeming tadpoles.
My
herpetological mind rifled through a variety of tree frogs, wondering which
tadpole species might belong to the local tree frog. Soon, we discovered Green
Tree frogs (hyla cinerea), basking on the blue pipes. It wasn't a new species,
as my son Isaiah and I had photographed a handful of Green Tree frogs in
Arkansas. This species has a yellow striped smile and a long white racing
stripe down its side. When tree frogs bask, they assume a torpedo position
reminiscent of bird droppings. They are easily overlooked by aerial scavengers,
appearing as nothing more than debris.
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| Green Tree Frog |
The skies cleared and we took in
more sun than we had planned. Jeanie was
the first to spot the broad headed skink. The Broad-head skink (Eumeces
laticeps) has a large head and ruby red coloration. It ranges northward to
Asheville, North Carolina, and was the same species we photographed at the
arboretum. We saw two more. I took some zoom lens shots, but relied on the
kiosk to truly enlarge portrait quality.
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| Broad-head Skink |
We met a New Jersey man,
formerly with the military, who relocated in Pensacola. He routinely enjoyed
the Marcus Bayou boardwalk and he was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. He
knew the wildlife seasons and the locations for hundreds of sightings. He pointed
out the gopher tortoise holes which were currently flooded. I imagined some
tunnels were flooded, but surely they would dig new ones. The tortoise wasn't
my primary objective, but I was in hunt for the indigo snake which lives
communally with the tortoise. Much like prairie dog towns, the tortoise creates
a township of citizens such as the indigo snake, the gopher frog, the timber
rattlesnake, and the eastern diamondback. I would have loved to discover any of
them. But I was unable to locate the new holes, which were probably hidden
deeper in the forest.
From
the boardwalk, he pointed out a water moccasin. It was the only snake sighting
of the trip. The agkistrodon piscivorus is named for its prey item which is
shallow water fish. It slithered through the tall grass.
I
took two good shots, but was able to enlarge a good facial portrait. The water
moccasin's eyes are located high on the plane of its face. The dark bronze
striped face is fascinating, and the shape of its skull reminds me of an iron
sculpture. On previous Florida trips, I've shot roll after roll of water
moccasin shots. This was a heavy bodied adult which was two feet in length.
Comment
from Jeanie: I was happy that the water
moccasin was below the boardwalk and not on it. I could tell that Mark wanted to fling
himself down from the boardwalk to get a better shot.
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| Water Moccasin |
Since a majority of my Florida
explorations were in the southern peninsula, I may have to revise some of my
common reptile identifications. In the everglades, the Cuban brown anole has
largely taken over, and the native Florida green anole is rare. On the Marcus
Bayou boardwalk, we saw five green anoles, and what I presume were 10 Cuban
anoles. But the green anole is a chameleon and can easily assume a brown
coloration in a matter of minutes. The female green anole has a white dorsal
stripe, and I saw one basking on the walls of our carriage house. My conclusion
from reptile literature was that northern Florida has not been affected by the
inundation of invasive species. Most of the chameleons were the native green
anoles in a variety of colors.
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| Male Green Anole with Dewlap |
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| Green Anole |
The Marcus Bayou boardwalk was
also home to bobcats, turkey, and one resident alligator. I wondered if the
alligator was a pet store purchase and subsequent release. We didn't see one,
but it could have thrived through most of the season. Alligators do live to the
north, ranging inland as far as Georgia.
I
hiked alone, hoping for a sighting of an indigo snake. The eight foot giant can
cover a ten square mile hunting range. They are fast and hunt a whole host of
prey. I saw a shed skin, either a kingsnake or indigo skin.
May 11, 2013,
Saturday. A day at the Naval Aviation
Museum.
Leaving
Denver, the weather prediction was storms for Saturday and Sunday. The front
moved in one day early, so I'm glad we spent our first day at the beach. Upon
awakening, we went to our morning breakfast, a five star meal in itself. Jeanie
practically beamed every morning during Bonnie's superlative breakfast
creation.
Bonnie treated us to eggs benedict, fluffy pancakes, strawberry waffles, omelets, eggs over easy, and French toast. Spread over seven mornings, no two breakfasts were the same.
Comment from Jeanie: We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast,
Noble Manor (http://www.noblemanor.com). We were served a delicious gourmet breakfast every
morning. Our hosts, Bonnie and Bob,
provided us with information about local attractions and events.
On
this dreary Florida morning, we headed for the famous Naval Aviation Museum and
home to the Blue Angels. We spent the morning learning the history of naval
aviation. No sooner than the Wright Brothers learned to fly, the United States
set itself to creating a naval air force.
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| Blue Angels |
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| Snake on a Plane |
Comment from Jeanie: We enjoyed the Naval Air Museum. Mark especially liked the snake logo on one of the planes.
That
evening while soaking in the hot tub, I actually saw a Squirrel Tree frog hop
from the ornamental grass into a bed of flowers. I hauled out of the tub and
raced for my camera. At the time, I thought it was another green tree frog,
which was no big deal. But I'm glad I hunted the grounds. It was a rare
occasion of backyard herping.
In
Highlands Ranch, I've caught and relocated the Great Plains garter snake (Thamnophis
radix), but my urban herping experiences are few. I stalked the flower gardens
and successfully located the tree frog. It was difficult to balance the
flashlight, illuminate the subject, and shoot a photograph. However, I did
manage to thread the fronds and shoot three macro shots. I thought it foolish
at the time, but my efforts paid off. It was a Squirrel Tree Frog. The green
colored frog had white lips, but lacked the yellow racing stripe. Isaiah and I
pursued the little amphibian in Shark Valley, a bird sanctuary noted for its
kites. We never saw the tree frog, which were in decreasing numbers in the wild.
This was a new species and one I could add to my personal record book.
Foraging
around the side lot, a second squirrel tree frog leaped on my calf. I bungled
the capture and he got away. My agility isn't what it used to be. I also
bungled a Mediterranean gecko capture, which was totally reprehensible in the
prime of our herping years. I did see a giant snail that night and one sleeping
green anole. All in all, it was a very successful herping night.
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| Squirrel Tree Frog |
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| Squirrel Tree Frog |
Comment from Jeanie: Mark was able to find a new species while I sipped wine and relaxed in the hot tub. This was so much better than cruising down deserted roads in the middle of the night.
May 12th, 2013
Another Day at Pensacola Beach and Mother's Day.
We
toured the art festival that morning, which situated in the Historical
District. I photographed the silver roofed church and toured the art
tents. Jeanie conversed with a self
published author who manned a tent for other authors. Just as the conversation
got interesting, the band played a
guitar solo and drowned out every word the man was saying.
After
our morning festivities, we relocated to the Pensacola Beach. We knew the drill
and we still beat the Mother's Day crowd. It was certainly more family oriented
and fewer of the bathing beauties were around. I walked down the beach,
enjoying some bird watching. Following the two rainy days, seagulls, terns, and
pipers gathered in huge flocks. They weren't easily spooked and I was able to
get fairly close.
We
reflected on the luxury and leisure of popping over to the beach. I took a dip,
swam a few laps parallel to the shoreline, and then we packed up. We drove to
the Gulf Breeze Zoo. It was a well kept zoo where the animals were extremely
healthy. The Gulf Breeze Zoo ranks as
one of the healthiest zoological gardens I've ever visited. There were a
variety of specimens, a quaint children's zoo, and spacious habitats.
Outdoor
sunshine maintained the vibrant colors of the Amazonian toucans, wood ducks,
and flamingos. The lively turtle pond was populated by begging turtles. It was
a shameless display. They lost all sense of dignity. They gathered for pellets
which were thrown by the handfuls. I witnessed the presence of the giant
Florida softshell.
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| Begging Turtles |
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| Giant Florida Softshell |
On our way back, we stopped at
the Naval Oaks preserve. We hiked white oak and pine coastal habitat. I
photographed a Six- lined racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus), and the
Eastern Fence swift (Sceloporus undulates undulates). Both are Colorado
lizards, but it felt good to be behind the lens again. I love photographing
those guys. The fence swift has a
sapphire blue belly and I could see the signature marking beneath his front
legs.
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| Six-Lined Racerunner |
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Eastern Fence Swift
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Comment
from Jeanie: The fence swift was camouflaged by the log except
for his bright blue underbelly. Since Sapphire
is my birthstone, I felt a kinship with him (or her).
May 13th, 2013 Tubing down the Big Cold
Water Creek.
This morning
we had the most incredible goat cheese stuffed peppers. The cheese stuffing was
a delicious mixture of goat cheese and Philadelphia cream cheese. We discussed
directions with Bob Robertson, who had more knowledge of the Black Water State
Park than Adventures Unlimited. My
directions were correct and quite flawless I might add.
We
tubed down the Big Cold Water Creek. The water was refreshingly cool and we had
a soothing breeze all morning. Together, we saw 5 adult turtles and 5 juvenile
cooters. Among the juveniles, I almost
captured Barbour's Map Turtle, a new map turtle species. The Graptemys barbouri
turtle is indigenous to the northern panhandle, and by process of elimination,
it was the map turtle we saw. Around the Adventures Unlimited wooden decks, we
saw another Broad- headed skink and a five lined skink. While floating down the
pleasant currents, we heard the staccato tapping of a woodpecker, but never
caught sight of the bird.
This
day marked the first day, I truly relaxed and accepted the Florida vacation.
The first several days of any vacation, I'm still checked into work mode. I
simply transition from a working state of mind to an activity state of mind.
They are really one in the same, just a different setting and different set of
activities. However, the river float was pure relaxation.
Innertubes
provide poor navigational abilities and much like winter saucers, you go
wherever the current takes you. I found the best method of propulsion was
rowing backward. Like the water beetle named the Oarsman, I propelled myself
into the best currents, shot passed downed logs, and avoided overhanging limbs.
Jeanie on the other hand, careened into the shoreline on several times.
Fortunately, her innertube bounced off most objects and she eventually got the
hang of it.
Comment
from Jeanie: Mark prided himself on
being a water beetle, but I saw him careen off the shoreline and get caught in
branches several times.
We
floated a short distance down the creek and spotted the red stop sign. The sign
marked our "haul out" location, and thank god, we didn't miss it.
Otherwise, as our tour guide so elegantly put it, we'd be headed for the Gulf
of Mexico.
May 14th, 2013,
Tuesday. Navarre Beach and Gulfarium
There aren't
enough superlatives to adequately complement the hospitality, the warmth, and accommodations
of the Noble Manor. Jeanie may never stay at a Holiday Inn Express again.
Before we left, I saw an Ireland vacation where the tourists traveled from one
B & B to the next. I might actually consider such a thing. Europeans are
more familiar with B & B travel. We encountered visiting Swiss tourists at
the manor and they wondered about all the American churches. They speculated
that Floridians needed to attend church to pray for hurricane deliverance. I
must agree partly with them. Pensacola had more churches than the population
warranted.
Today,
I said an emotional farewell to Pensacola. It was a great destination. It was
perfect for our needs. The beach was only twenty minutes away and frequent
visitation was easy. In one week, we did just about everything Pensacola
offered. We walked the historic district, saw artwork, attended the zoo,
visited the Naval Aviation Museum, ate frequent seafood, visited the
Gulfarium, saw Fort Pickens , tubed the
Cold Water Creek, and lastly we saw the Pensacola Wahoos play the Chattanooga
Outlookers. In six days, we'd done it all. There wasn't really anything left to
do. It was time to fly home tomorrow and I could accept our return to
normality.
We
visited the Navarre Beach and it was gorgeous. The emerald sea spread before us
and the visitors were few in number. We walked the beach foraging for sea
shells and Jeanie found a new one.
Bonnie
hadn't visited the Gulfarium in seven years, and she wasn't terribly impressed
the last time. She had higher recommendations for the Gulf Breeze Zoo. We
lowered our expectations and decided to go anyway. We figured they didn't have
the extensive aquariums of Chattanooga, which housed more fish than any
aquarium I've seen. And we figured they didn't have trained Orca like Sea
World. Those things taken into consideration, it was a wonderful, small town
aquarium.
We
saw performing sea lions and bottle nosed porpoise. The Gulfarium specialized
in education and accommodated field trips quite well. The staff trained
dolphins with whistles and rewards.
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| Dolphin |
Comment
from Jeanie: The Gulfarium was a lot of
fun. I enjoyed the dolphins and sea
lions.
That
night we attended the minor league baseball sensation, the Blue Wahoo's.
They're named after the local white fish. No one seemed to know what Wahoo
tasted like. We ate Wahoo fish tacos in Denver, but I was never convinced the
fish was truly that variety. The Wahoos started with an early lead, and put the
Outlookers down by five runs. Their lead dissolved by the top of the sixth when
their opponents belted out a grand slam homerun. The Outlookers hit everything
thrown to them and took the lead by one. Reading the news the next day, the
game went on for 13 innings, and the Wahoos finally won. The local announcers
were a hoot. Jeanie laughed at the local pest control skit. Two boys raced for
inflatable green alligators. The boy who collected the most alligators the
quickest was declared the victor.
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| Scoreboard with "Rally, Fish!" |
Comment
from Jeanie: I'm not much of a baseball
fan, but I really enjoyed the Blue Wahoos.
Rally, Fish!
May 15th, 2013
Return flight to Denver.
The
Pensacola airport was fifteen minutes away. The security section went easily
and they didn't even bother to frisk me. Jeanie rarely gets frisked, although
there was this one time, a homeland security was fascinated by the rhinestones
on the pockets of her jeans.
We
celebrated our return and ate at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, On
the Border. I feasted on carne asada with a lime margarita. That night I
unpacked and the vacation was officially over.
It
was a wonderful trip.
Comment
from Jeanie: It was an awesome
vacation.
