Florida Wildlife
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Alligator's Domain
Loop Road, Big Cypress National Preserve
Bullfrogs
Curious Squirrel
The Red Wolf (Canis rufus), once common, is one of the rarest canid species and one of the most endangered animals in the world. The Florida subspecies (Canis rufus floridanus) has been extinct since 1930. However, a re-introduction program is being conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Florida Panhandle. There are thought to be 250 red wolves left in the world, and only 50 of those live in the wild.
(captive)
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) Piping Plovers depend on mudflats, like the ones pictured here, for foraging. They search through these "mini tide pools" for small marine worms and crustaceans. Their survival depends on undisturbed sea-wall and turf grass-free stretches of beach along the Atlantic coast. Piping Plovers, once common, nearly became extinct in the 19th century. Populations have recovered relatively well in some areas, and there are estimated to be about 16, 0002 nesting pairs along the Atlantic Seaboard. They escape the cold and harsh conditions of the New England winter by leaving once fall sets in and their young have fledged to spend the rest of the year in the tropics (mainly the Bahamas and the West Indies). Like most populous coastal counties in Florida, over ninety-eight percent of coastal Pinellas is no longer suitable for a host of other rare species. Shorebirds such as the Wilson’s Plover, Black Skimmer, and the Least Tern are also in jeopardy. Losing critical resting and refueling areas in Florida have made the trip much longer for many types of migrating shorebirds and songbirds bound for the tropics—thus the necessity for concrete-free stretches of the beach throughout Florida. Sources: 1. www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/ 2. www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/pdf/final07.pdf
Six-lined Racerunner
Juvenile Snail Kite
"Squirrel Yoga"
Red-winged Black Bird
Reddish Egret in all its Glory
Glance from a Key Deer
Hunting Great Egret
Key Deer
White-tailed Deer Buck
Alligator
Black-bellied Plover, Ft. Desoto
Snail Kite, Lake Toho
Snowy Egret with Shrimp
Big Cypress Great Egret
Wilson's Plover, Ft. Desoto
Tricolored Heron in the Marsh
Florida's only endemic bird, the Florida Scrub Jay. Archbold Biological Station.
Male Everglades Snail Kite
American Bittern (background composite)
Red-shouldered Hawk
"The Stare"
Reddish Egret
Bald Eagle in the Flatwoods
American Oystercatcher foraging
Willet in Golden Light
Least Tern, a threatened species
Cardinal in Oak
The Great White Heron (which is a color morph of the Great Blue Heron) is found only in extreme southern Florida, and are most common in the Florida Keys.
"Otter's Feast"
Chassahowitzka River
"Raccoon on the Banks"
