Wild and Not So Wild World

South Florida is home to many invasive species - plant and animal. Right now I have a flock (I estimate 50+) of green parrots outside my office window. They are loud and driving me crazy!

My neighbor's little mini-POS-whatever dog is inside his house and yapping his ass off - I can hear it IN MY HOUSE and it's driving ME crazy!

This summer my dog discovered a ransacked nest of very young bunnnies: 1 dead and 2 wounded. We took them to a vet that holds them for the wildlife sanctuary. I know - they're EVERYwhere, but I couldn't just leave them there in the chill to die! I mean, they didn't even have their eyes open yet! And one was SQUEAKING at me!!

Now, if it was the neighbor's dog...!

While visiting relatives recently in Oceanside I moseyed out to the backyard and heard BROPPP BROPPP BROPPP. Slowly and quietly I moved toward the sound. There was a large hollow ceramic frog about 2 ft. long. I turned the ceramic frog over to find a large hole in the bottom and there it was, a frog about the size of a grape inside. I think this guy had an excellent chance of reproducing. The hollowness gave him a much louder advantage. BRILLIANT.

On 2009-12-10 15:45, Jungle Trader wrote:
Wild iguanas in Fla.? How did that happen? I'll say about 6 ft. also.

A five footer ran across the street right in front of my car during the Hukilau.
I thought it was just the rum fuckin with me.

On 2009-12-16 22:01, Unga Bunga wrote:

On 2009-12-10 15:45, Jungle Trader wrote:
Wild iguanas in Fla.? How did that happen? I'll say about 6 ft. also.

A five footer ran across the street right in front of my car during the Hukilau.
I thought it was just the rum fuckin with me.

Sure, just before you got in the car you had a couple shots of that new Peyote Rum by Don Juan.

I caught a opossum in my living room one night, the dog brought it in. Skunks in the yards alot.

When in Arizona, chased a pack of Javalina out of the yard on Thanksgiving while the family was around the campfire. Also went deer hunting with a bow, but only saw girls and small boys, so no shots fired.

Killed lots of Quail and a few Doves, also some Chuckar. A couple rattlers to my name.

Seen bobcats, deer, elk, squirels, wild turkeys, cootamundis(spelling?).

My father is an outdoors man, I prefer the city.

On 2009-12-10 15:45, Jungle Trader wrote:
Wild iguanas in Fla.? How did that happen? I'll say about 6 ft. also.

On 2009-12-11 06:55, AlohaStation wrote:
South Florida is home to many invasive species - plant and animal. Right now I have a flock (I estimate 50+) of green parrots outside my office window. They are loud and driving me crazy!

soo terribly true. people buy iggys, snakes, birds and then turn them loose when they become no fun or a problem or lose them. we are having a hellaofa time with boas and pythons. also with nile monitor lizards. these 3 are meat eating hunters. our waters have been invaded also. we have the snakehead fish in fresh water and now have lion fish in the oceans. not a single one of these invaders have ANY natural predators.

Someone left the door open and the cold weather has reached into our tropical escape. The past week we have had record cold temps in SFL - as a result this is happening...

http://www.justnews.com/video/22153242/index.html

That video would almost be funny if I weren't a lizard lover :lol:

The big Sandhill Cranes winter in our area. I haven't seen them yet but I heard them call a few days ago.

Sorry to say that since the cold snap the invasive lizard population has dwindled considerably!! I love all animals but the iguana problem in South FL was getting out of hand.

On the other hand - I was out on the edge of the Everglades this weekend digging some new mountain bike trails and saw something totally cool. 2 Bald Eagles getting their groove on! They would fly really high and then lock up and fall before separating and gliding off - they did this several times. It was a great show. I also dug up several snakes and saw multiple alligators. I love the great outdoors - especially since it was 80 degrees and sunny!

I saw 3 crows arguing midair over a mouse, so the one dropped it in the middle of the highway, SMACK. Sacrificed to the road.

On 2010-02-02 10:50, AlohaStation wrote:
On the other hand - I was out on the edge of the Everglades this weekend digging some new mountain bike trails and saw something totally cool. 2 Bald Eagles getting their groove on! They would fly really high and then lock up and fall before separating and gliding off - they did this several times. It was a great show.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/pembroke-pines/fl-pines-eagles-20100222,0,5883410.story

Really has me wondering???? Pembroke Pines is about 30 miles from where I was.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2010-02-23 06:27 ]

:lol: You saw those 3 eaglets being concieved!

Florida Hog Hunting

Not far from the truth!!

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/plantation/fl-wild-hogs-plantation-20100225,0,2347856.story

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2010-03-01 09:43 ]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-python-season-begin-20100308,0,3549379.story

Think iguanas are bad - imagine finding one of these in your yard (and not finding your dog)!

Does GMan know about this?

Isn't he the gator hunter?

Alligator lizard. Catch and release in Oceanside. About 8 inches long with tail.

On 2010-03-08 09:48, AlohaStation wrote:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-python-season-begin-20100308,0,3549379.story

Think iguanas are bad - imagine finding one of these in your yard (and not finding your dog)!

Ya, it's sad that this has to be done but we're the ones that screwed it up.
I was hoping the alligators could handle the problem, but not from that photo I/we saw of the one python that semi-consumed that six footer and exploded.

well...at least that python is gone. "everything happens for the best and the best of all possible worlds"..voltaire.

Took my girls to a place called "Shark Valley" this week. No sharks but plenty of other predators (not the human kind).

They were a little anxious about the picture and quickly ran away after the "click". The alligator could not have cared less! Shark Valley is a 15 mile bike path that dips into the heart of Everglades National Park. Critters are everywhere - gators, fish, turtles, snakes, and birds - everywhere!! The alligators literally lie on the bike path to get warm. Not bad till you see one that's 10'+, like this guy...

Shark Valley is now at the top of my list of "Must See in South FL"! They have a tram (for the lazy) and bike rentals for the more adventurous.

Oh man, they must trust you big time to do that. What if it took off after them? Are you crazy? :D

My wife saw that picture and almost ripped my head off! The girls were in no immediate danger and had more than 10' between them and the gator. We were walking along another path and noticed a gator within inches of me - hissing and pissed off - we quickly got away from it. This place is not for the meek - gators are everywhere - my girls counted 133 gators along the 15 mile path. I almost ran over a snake that shot out of the grass (not a python). The girls were having fun with the Butterflies and Beatles that were following us on the bikes and buzzing around our heads. Great fun, but you have to be alert because all the animals are WILD.

We were eating dinner on the Lanai last evening about 6:00 (still broad daylight) when a coyote showed up about 30 feet away. He didn't seem too afraid of me when I went out to chase him off. We have coyotes around but don't usually see them in the daytime. Hope he doesn't have rabies or something, if he shows up again I'm afraid he'll probably die of lead poisoning.

Here's a recent visitor enjoying my tiki bar.

I bent over to straighten the cover and ended up 12 inches from this.

Now I try to make a lot of noise as I go outside.

I went out this evening to use my ladder and some crazy dove had built her nest in it.

So I had to improvise :lol:

On a not-so-cuddly note, some thing (gopher? rabbits?) gnawed my little fig tree off at the ground! It had figs on it - SOMETHING IS GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2010-06-26 20:00 ]

beavers i say. evil beavers.

Kill the WABBITS

nice. still like the flight of the valkaries version from the toon.

So I'm checkin out this sign above a beach and I hear this incessant chirping/squeeking. I look but see no birds in the bushes. It almost sounds like a stress call. Constant squeeking, I listen, then step towards the sound, look in the 3 inch tall cut field grass, it stops, then starts up again. Finally I see a mouse being dragged. Then I see a garter snake coiled. First time I've ever seen anything like that in the wild. No terrarium, no aquarium, no sanitarium, no TV, jus real live action. Pretty cool.

Rotting dead fish pic below, avert your eyes if you're squimish :lol:

:down:

:down: :down:

:down: :down: :down:

Followed my nose to this trophy in the little canal near my house this morning. About 2 1/2 feet long, probably weighted 20+ lbs. Would have been a formible opponent for a fisherman when he was alive. I don't fish or even really eat it but it seems like a waste for him to have died here :(

mmmmmmm mmmmm start the grillo.

Just watched some show about this man in England who scrapes up roadkill, takes it home, boils it, eats it. smack smack mmmph

ever been to the rural deep south????? nothing finer than roadkill possum pie.

Just add salt

I guess I should have posted this in What Did You "Make" for Dinner :D

attack of the killer bumble bees part 2,

i was mowing the back yard just now and getting close to my honeysucle vine that i was stung while messing with it paying attention for bees enjoyiing the flowers, when about 6 of these killer bumble bees attacked. 1 of those little fuggers got me between the eyes. 2 more hit my legs. bastids. normally i leave beneficial things be with a live and let live policy, but now it was war. i found they were nesting under my sheds eves and i took my bee bopper spray to them. genocide style. my forhead looks like i growing an aux. brain. bastids. dead bees everywhere as a moot testiment to others who who invade and attack me. did i say bastids????

talo ka, you look like the gold fish with the brains on da outside? Pics please.

lmao. i did kinda resembles that. swelling all gone. used vinegar and baking soda paste and then ice. all better. if i had not been wearing safety glasses while mowing that little bastid would have got my eyelid or eye.

This happened last week. It started with our dog Tux barking every morning for a few days. Then a couple of days later I realized I left something on the pool deck and I needed to have it for work that day. It was day light and I'm up on the deck (33" round) and all the way to the other side when I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. I turn back only to see this huge raccoon underneath one of the tables hissing at me! :o I don't know who was more scared? So I pick up the long pool pole just in case, because it's day time and Racoon's out in the day time is usually not a good sign. So I'm thinking to myself, rabies?? So I back off the deck, run in the house and tell my husband and I leave for work. He calls me about an hour later only to tell me he called the police, the officer comes over gets on the deck and notices the raccoon's back is hurt and hes walking funny. So they get him off the deck and around to the back side of the pool. The office then pulls his gun and shoots the raccoon twice and kills it. Leaves it there for us to dispose of and leaves. No test for rabies? I'm thinking not rabies but more like somehow my dog got a hold of it and snaps it a few times breaking or hurting its back. Tux couldn't get to the deck because she wears a collar for the underground fencing otherwise she probably would have killed it herself and the raccoon just went there for safety.. Either way, I was sad for the raccoon. My husband takes it and dumps it way back on the property in the woods. Now I'm worried that if it was rabid what else would find it in the woods and become infected. :( Then I'm in the yard back by the shed near the pool and I step on something that makes me jump up in pain, only to find that what I stepped on was one of the god damn shell casings. :lol: Damn raccoon is still haunting me.. :lol:

You're spooked. :D

Most people know that Florida is a hot spot for invasive species. The iguanas have disappeared since last winter, when many froze to death. Now its time to focus on a a smaller but much more intrusive pest. The Bahamian Curly Tail lizards! These things are spreading like crazy (I have no less than 10 living around my small house). They like flat, rocky areas where they can bask in the sun and easily hide - paver patios are perfect. They are FAST and fearless!

Here's an example: I was carving and a small one was getting a little close, so I would throw wood chips toward it to scare it off. I never threw them very hard and the lizard just watched as the projectiles landed around it. So, I started getting pissed because this lizard was way to brave! Calmly I picked up an extra paver and threw it right at the lizard - it stood calmly and watched as the brick came flying at it and at the last second it did a little side step and avoided getting hit. It continued to mock me! So I threw another - with the same result. Both bricks were on target and moving with extreme velocity. The lizard was not impressed and easily avoided them. After that I gave up and went back to carving. The lizard continues to mock me every time I go into his territory!

A friend of mine has been trying to domesticate one that lives in his yard. Perhaps he will post some pictures of it. Till then here's a pic. The biggest one around my house in probably 10" long.

curly tails must die. so far i haven't seen any up my way.

I am redoing the tile in house. Much of the tile I'm using has been stored in my wood shed for several years. So when I pulled out the tile for installation I found this. Almost perfect skeleton. I donated it to my daughters science class.

Did you identify the species Tom? Raccoon?

There are raccoons in our area but in 50 years I have never seen a live one but I see dead ones on the road a couple times a year. My son hit one in the car the other day, said it was a big one - at least 30 lbs. Busted up the underside of the bumper and knocked out the lower grill. I'm just glad he wasn't on his crotch-rocket.

Nothing that exotic or big. This was a rat. About a year ago my neighbors started putting out baits. I'm guessing this one took the bait and found a quiet place to retire. What amazed me is that I never smelled it and at how clean the ants had gotten the bones!

Here's something else. While working on a local MTB trail - I started moving some lumber and when I noticed this little guy stuck under some 2x4s. Not the guy but the snake. A 6' corn snake. While working we also came upon several baby ones. My buddy is holding it, which was worth the picture - he's not all that into "nature".

he looks uncoomfortable right down to the forced smile.