Sunshine State Site Scouting

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Coastal marsh just outside the tree line containing wetlands more appropriate for Spotted Turtle trapping.
Coastal marsh just outside the tree line containing wetlands more appropriate for Spotted Turtle trapping.

Monday

Today I started out in the office organizing tasks for Spotted Turtle trapping. We are aiming to start trapping in February/March, which will creep up before I know it and I wanted to make sure I have everything squared away as early as possible. That means going over my supply list to make sure I have enough equipment for four people to be able to get in the field. There are some big items on that list but luckily Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals benefit biologists as well as people trying to get the best deals on Christmas gifts! I was able to get a considerable amount of money off the dozens of traps I need for the spring (plus some free fishing line and a rod rack as part of the Black Friday deal that I am hoping will find utility somewhere within Orianne). Unfortunately, I was not as lucky getting deals on the new GPS units and those are purchased full price. Purchases mean expense reports, so after I finished buying supplies that I cannot get in one trip to a hardware store, I worked on getting my receipts together for my November report. For the rest of the week, I scouted sites in Florida and chose Tallahassee as my home base, so in the afternoon I made the four-hour drive to my hotel room.

A wooded area covered with cypress, deciduous trees, and lots of palmettos.
The southern portion of Tuesday’s site was covered with cypress, deciduous trees, and lots of palmettos.

Tuesday

This morning, I was greeted with a sinus headache. As someone who has spent much of her life in the Midwest, I am coming to terms with my susceptibility to allergies in the Southeast. But I did my best to push through and drove to my first site on the list. It was large and split into multiple units, so I headed to the most promising one. Most properties I visit have an informational kiosk with a map, and I was pleased to find this one marks the several types of habitats that can be found here. I was even more pleased to find that this site is almost entirely forested wetland, which is exactly what I was looking for! 

Since the site was large and made up of dozens of tiny pockets of wetland, and my headache had gotten worse, I aimed to see as much of the property as possible from the truck, and was able to find areas that have better habitat than others. The site was right next to the beach, and the wetlands were dominated by palmettos which are common for sites close to the coast. 

Unfortunately, it was in the path of Hurricane Helene and while the roads were clear, there was so much debris in the water, I wondered if we could feasibly trap here. A second requirement of Spotted Turtle trapping, behind good habitat, is being able to get traps out in the water. I decided to head back to the hotel so I could work on an Eastern Box Turtle summary to add to our website.

The Northern portion of Tuesday’s site is predominantly covered with pines and deciduous trees.
The Northern portion of Tuesday’s site is predominantly covered with pines and deciduous trees.

Wednesday

I still had the remnants of a headache when I woke up, but I felt much better today. I drove to a site located directly across from the one I was at yesterday. Like yesterday’s site, it was largely forested wetland and split into three units, so I started out by driving around the southernmost portion. I saw a lot of what I saw yesterday – wetlands dominated with palmetto. There was water everywhere I looked, and nearly all of it looked suitable though I worried it was slightly too deep. I saw a decent-sized alligator basking in a sunny patch of grass, which is usually a sign that the water is not quite shallow enough for what I am looking for. 

After exploring the southern extent of the site, I drove up to the northern portion. It was further away from the coast and had more isolated wetlands and pine upland. Some wetlands have the nice deciduous trees and button bush shrubs I’m looking for but are almost too choked with vegetation to get to. Still, the northern wetlands seemed like they had more ideal water levels and vegetation. Based on these observations, I’d prioritize these areas for trapping in the spring.

Pine Woods Treefrog on edge of wetland.
Pine Woods Treefrog on edge of wetland.

Thursday

The headache was completely gone today so I was excited to get out and do more extensive exploring than I was able to the past couple of days. Today’s site was another large one and had isolated wetlands scattered all throughout it. The first stretch of land I visited was mostly flood plain as a river runs right through the middle of the property. It was mostly large cypress trees that indicate to me the water is normally too deep for traps. I was able to find a few pockets that seemed to stay shallow. 

This ended up being a common pattern throughout the property. There were many large tracts of wetland and swamps that retain deep water surrounded by little pockets of shallow wetland. These pockets are where I would trap. I was excited to check out a large swamp on the edge of the property, but heard the barking of hunting dogs in the direction I wanted to explore and did not want to risk interrupting a hunter.

Downed trees from hurricanes can be found across all sites and make access to wetlands tricky.
Downed trees from hurricanes can be found across all sites and make access to wetlands tricky.

Friday

I chose a smaller site today since I must make the long drive back home. This one was probably my favorite of all, this week! There were plenty of isolated wetlands that looked great for trapping even if they require me to climb over or crawl under fallen trees and tangles of limbs. I am more than willing to do so for good trapping water, as a large and ugly bruise from falling into a particularly sharp limb can attest. I even managed to scare some feral hogs relaxing in one dried up wetland, though I think they might have scared me more. By early afternoon I had seen most of the property and had found more than enough spots for trapping so I de-wader, disinfect, and settle in for the four-hour trip back home.

Just outside a small isolated wetland. The stand of trees marks the edge of the wetland.
The view from just outside a small isolated wetland. The stand of trees marks the edge of the wetland.
The view from inside a shallow hardbottom wetland with leafy vegetation and downed woody structure, perfect for Spotted Turtles.
The view from inside a shallow hardbottom wetland with leafy vegetation and downed woody structure, perfect for Spotted Turtles.

Learn more about Spotted Turtles, one of our priority species.