bananimal

Here are some pics of Florida critters taken by folks in Port St Lucie and shown in the local newspaper.

Bobcat in the driveway


Tree rats in the palm tree

Poisonous bufo toad in the lawn


Welcome to the neighborhood!

revensen

I remember when my wife and I lived a little north from you in Melbourne. Shortly after moving we took a drive and I remember seeing a grasshopper that was so large that I had to pull the car off the road and take a closer look. The grasshopper cast it's own shadow it was so large! To be honest, it kind of freaked me out. I had visions of running through fields as I once did as a child and having these monster grasshoppers jumping on me and taking me down! We had moved from Wisconsin and I thought it was ironic to see 1000's of migrating Robin's stopping around the Spacecoast in the winter. Ironic because the Robin was the state bird of Wisconsin.

How's Port St. Lucie? My wife and I miss Florida so much, we're thinking about moving back down to Melbourne this fall but I think one of us should have a job lined up first. Not having much luck getting any employers attention though. Is the economy not doing well right now in Florida?

bananimal

Rev,

Port St Lucie has some new companies moving in. Do you have any experience in the bio-medical research field --- Torrey Pines Institute for ex.

Others with large workforces are QVC, Riverside Natl Bank and Liberty Medical (corp hqts).

Do a search on Port St Lucie Jobs. Palm Beach county is the biggest employment hub and is about 45 mins travel south from PSL.

The other big opportunity is the huge number of forclosed homes available. And that is all over, not just PSL. The choices and prices are great for anyone committed to making the move to Fla.

My sister-in-law recently moved from the Melbourne area, Rockledge, due to job loss. This area does not have the opportunities you will find as you look further south.

Dan

bananimal

Oh, and let's not forget the rarely photographed --- the ever present, South Florida Squirrel.

revensen

Thanks Dan! My wife is in the biotech field, so this info will help out a lot! I'm kind of forced to look in the Orlando, Tampa and S. Florida area as there doesn't seem to be to many graphic designer jobs in the smaller cities.

Thanks again!

MediaHound

I found this Eastern Mole floating in my pool yesterday here in Palm City, FL. It was too late. They aren't good swimmers I guess, or at least they can't tread water for too long.

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MediaHound

The semi rare Gopher Tortoise. Pics taken January 11, 2009.
This guy was crossing the street directly in front of my old house in Stuart, FL, going from one forest to another. I took him home for a photo shoot (~200ft away from where I found him), then released him into the forest where he was heading.
Really cool tortoise. Apparently he has two friends that live in the forests there with him according to the neighbors.

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Bob

Jarred, glad to see you're not grey yet and bag free under the eyes. Baby's sleeping well I hope!

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MediaHound

Brown Anole.

On a hot day, you can spot over a hundred of these little guys around the garden. Here, a male gets some sunshine on his Solitaire Palm.



Here you can see his dewlap open a bit. Mammy Crotons in the background and the lizard is perched on a Solitaire Palm:


Among an ornamental pineapple, watering hose, some rocks and leaves:

Where's Waldo?

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MediaHound

Southern Ringneck Snake - Diadophis punctatus punctatus.
Found this little guy while ripping grass out to make a clearing for new plants. I usually find them on the sidewalk or on the doorstep when I'm coming or going, but this one was there in the grass. I was grabbing chunks of grass with my bare hands, ripping it out of the ground section by section, when I came up with a handful of grass and this little guy freaking out. Scared me for a second! But I know they're harmless, so I picked him back up when I realized what it was and played with him a bit before I let him back go. I've been catching and releasing these guys for decades here in South Florida. They're somewhat elusive, but I feel that the populations have not been disrupted, ratio-wise at least. A wonderful, extremely timid, and somewhat shy snake.





Pics were taken three years ago. Since then I have found perhaps fifteen more of them.

If you look close in the pics you'll see the local resident Shepherd as a pup, a wonderful piece of wildlife, lol.

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MediaHound

The wildlife array certainly expanded, didnt it! Indeed, he is sleeping more and more as time goes by. We're up to about 3.5 -4 hours lately.

Thanks!

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MediaHound

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Found this guy while taking my dog out for a bike ride near my house in Palm City, FL one month ago. It's a Red-bellied Woodpecker on a Florida Slash Pine tree. They're also typically found on Sable Palms, the Florida State Tree.
A lovely sight! You don't see them if you don't look for them, so keep your eyes peeled!



This was the sight from far away... but I spotted him! Can you? Where's Waldo?


As usual, click the pics two times to make them bigger. Click once to get to the gallery, then click again to make it bigger. Hope you enjoy.

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MediaHound

btw, great thread Dan, thanks!

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Simply Bananas

Gopher Tortoise northern most range is southern South Carolina. I went looking and found them. The burrows are homes to armadillos and snakes(sometimes diamondbacks, sometimes Indigos so you never know).

Great pics.

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