Day 1: Lover's Key State Park - 2nd of March, 2014

Abiotic Conditions
Temperature - 26 C
Humidity - 48%
Cloud Cover - very light almost none

Our very first morning in Florida really put into context just how much wildlife the state has to offer!  On our walk to breakfast which we had at a local beach side restaurant we spotted numerous bird species including the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus Polyglottos)  along with Common (Quiscalus quiscula) and Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major) which were often seen squabbling on telephone wires.  Perhaps the most spectacular bird we saw that morning was the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus).  I had personally never seen an Osprey back in Britain as they are notoriously elusive so I was particularly delighted to learn that there was a breeding pair nesting just a few feet away from the field station!  After breakfast we stepped out onto the beach to see a small pod of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) swim by close to the shore.  We hypothosised that the dolphins may have been corralling a shoal of small fish into shallow waters to make capturing them easier.

Osprey nest at the Vester Field Station

Lover's Key State Park is located just outside Fort Myers so was only a short journey, allowing us to spend the day at the reserve.  The name "Lover's Key" is said to have arisen because the island used to be accessible only by boat and that lovers would cross the water to get some privacy on the islands beaches.
      During the 1980s the Island came into private ownership.  At this time demand for luxury housing was very high and Lover's Key made the perfect site for development as it is in a beautiful location.  However, when development plans were put forward the owner faced very strong opposition from local residents and the government who threatened imprisonment if development went ahead.  The island was soon turned into a State Park which is governed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. This has ensured the protection of the mangrove system that can be found at Lover's Key along with the wildlife that resides there.

A Turkey Vulture seen riding the thermals
at Lover's Key State Park

Upon arrival at Lover's Key we saw our first Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).  It could be seen soaring on thermals (columns of rising hot air).  The Eagles do this to conserve energy when gaining altitude as the rising air will provide lift and mean the eagle will have to spend less energy on beating it's wings when gaining height. Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) were also seen doing this as they searched for carrion.  As we made our way to the footpath we passed many palm trees which when inspected were seen to be home to Brown Anoles (Anolis sagrei).  These are very terratorial creatures and can be often seen displaying their dewlaps (located on the throat) to warn off other rivals.  They are however, an invasive species from the carribean and have been said to be having a negative effect on the native Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis).
      We soon approached a bridge that crossed a natural canal that was flanked by two sides of thick vegetation.  We observed many small fish species and even the larger Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) that could be seen breaching the surface.  After a few more minutes waiting we saw a large shadow move through the water.  It was only until it's nose pushed up through the surface for a split second to gasp in air that we knew it was a West Indian Manatee! (Trichechus manatus).  We were quite fortunate to see the Manatee in the canals as Manatees often spend a lot of time out in the coastal waters feeding on sea grass, however when the natural canals become warm enough the Manatees will begin feeding in them.   The general public are allowed to use these canals too, as you can see in the image below, they are very popular with kayaks and paddle boarders.  This can lead to interaction between the public and Manatees but there are many signs telling the public to keep their distance from the Manatees and not to follow them in order to reduce stress on the Manatees that are recognised as an endangered species.

The natural Canal where the Manatee was spotted.
The canals are often used for recreation by people.

We moved on from the bridge and followed the track through a small scrub like forest.  We spotted an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) that was roosting in the hole of a tree waiting for dusk at which it will begin hunting.  We also came across some interesting fauna such as the Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) which is spread by birds and bats through digestion and excretion.  The seed will germinate in the canopy and grown down to the ground whilst strangling it's host tree.  This may seem destructive but it actually creates many nooks and crannies in which invertebrates and small vertebrates make home.

Example of a Strangler Fig on a Cypress Tree.

An Eastern Screech Owl roosting and
avoiding the daytime heat. 

As we moved along the trail we began to see trees draped with olive green/grey vegetation.  This, we discovered, was Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides).  Spanish Moss is in fact an angiosperm related to the Bromeliacaea family and holds no relation to that off moss or even lichen.  The Spanish moss propagates itself by releasing seeds and but can also be spread by fragmented vegetation that is used by nesting birds.

Spanish Moss at Lover's Key State Park

      We began noticing small burrows that had been dug into the soil (that was mostly made up of sand) and soon found the animals that were responsible for the burrows.  It was the Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus).  They excavate these burrows to avoid the scorching temperatures of the midday sun and are used as protection against the forest fires that are known to sweep through the scrub forests.  The tortoises are considered a keystone species as they are ecological engineers as their burrows provide refuge for many other species when the fires begin to spread.  It is thought that without the tortoises many more species would perish in the forest fires.


After completing the trail around Lover's Key we then walked to Barefoot Beach.  On the way we passed through a small mangrove swamp where we spotted numerous Horseshoe Crab (Limilus polyphemus) carcasses.  It is thought that these had been fish out and eaten by Raccoons (Procyon lotor). The Mangroves also gave us the opertunity to see numerous wading birds such as the Great White Egret (Ardea alba) and the Tricoloured Heron (Egretta tricolor).  The beach also gave us an oppertunity to see smaller shoreline birds such as Ruddy Turnstones (Aranaria interpres), Willets (Tringa semipalmata) and Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla).

Great White Egret stalking prey in the
Shallows.

Gopher Tortoise grazing on seedlings, it soon returned to it's burrow