Pine Hyacinth (Clematis baldwinii)

  Myakka State Forest in Englewood, FL.  Out on a recon for a future Peace River Butterfly Society field trip in March....looking for likely spots to find thistles in bloom.  Christmas day and a lovely afternoon hike on the Palmetto and River trails for a beautiful river view at the back country campsite.

On the way back spotted a group of Pine Hyacinth plants in full bloom....unusual in late December?

Florida Native Plant Society pdf

Clematis baldwinii, named after William Baldwin.

William Baldwin wikilink

8593 acres of mesic flatwoods...slash and longleaf pine overstory with saw palmetto understory.

Myakka State Forest website

Be a citizen scientist and report what you see on iNaturalist!

iNaturalist observation report

Easy to find this stand of over a dozen plants....20 meters down the Palmetto trail from the parking lot on East River Road.

Florida State Forests Trailwalker Program

Great field guide for Florida's wildflowers.

Roger Hammer website

Thanks to the Florida Forest Service for allowing hiking, hunting, horseback riding, wilderness camping, picnicking.  So much of nature to see so close to suburbia.

Roger Hammer will be PRBS's guest speaker in February....and in March State Forester, Eric Stricland will speak at the meeting prior to our field outing.

Florida Forest Service

Lots to see out there...bring a camera!

Life and death in a palm tree!

While birding at Ollie's Pond in Port Charlotte (FL) we saw a juvenile Roof Rat (Rattus rattus) jump out of a shorefront Cabbage Palm and swim away!  Very unusual behavior.....one hardly ever sees rats in the wild, let alone one swimming!

Depicted below, by the Univ of Florida Extension Service as a horrible beast, these rodents are harmless in the wild and part of the ecosystem fauna.

AHA!  We soon found the cause of the rat's panicked escape!  A Yellow Rat Snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) climbing the palm and looking for a meal.

Rat Snake link

Higher in the palm, we spotted a large rat....perhaps a parent to the swimmer.  Looking a bit too large for the snake, it seemed to exhibit a fearful expression and held it's ground.....maybe to protect other young in the nest.

Rattus rattus link

Nature's small drama is life or death for the young rats....or starvation for the snake.   Let us just observe and not judge or intrude.

Peeps return to Caspersen Beach

Out to look for shorebirds in late November.   Found some resting in the rocks at Caspersen Beach in Venice (FL).

Above is a nice Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) in non-breeding plumage.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-bellied_Plover/id

       What do you suppose these little birds are?  Sanderlings....Western Sandpipers?  I am rarely sure with peeps!

Identifying winter sandpipers

So get the photo on the computer and get out the books!

Oiseaux de rivage!

Well....I'm going out on a limb....Sanderling (Calidris alba).

Sanderling link

You can always flip a coin if unsure!  This one says, "sandpiper!"  But I'm sticking with Sanderling

Finally....an easy one!  Ruddy Turnstone  (Arenaria interpres).

Feel free gentle readers to correct me on any and all "peeps."  Always learning on the beach.

Wild Coco Orchid

Wild Coco Orchid (Eulophia alta).  A new, for me, species of Florida terrestrial orchid.  

North American Orchid Center link

Several specimens found near the roadside at the Babcock/Webb WMA in Punta Gorda, Florida.  

Nature Trackers at Florida's WMAs

Some plants were in bloom, some not.  And some showed only leaves on the ground.

Although Olivia and I were excited about finding Wild Cocos, according to Hollywood there are much more exciting searches for terrestrial orchids.  Check out this link!

Wild Orchid waltz on you tube

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Here's the spot if you want to see them for yourself.

GPS Lat 26/50' 19.3" N

Long 81/57' 25.8" W

Plenty to see at "The Webb."  Take a walk and be amazed at this great multi-use WMA.

Peace River Butterfly Society Outing

Peace River Butterfly Association at Babcock-Webb WMA in Punta Gorda.  We forgot about hunting season which was in full swing at the WMA....so limited our outing to the marl ponds near Lake Webb and the camping area.  Not so many butterflies....but plenty of dragon flies and some interesting birds.