Sea Pines Wildlife Journal

Sand Dollars

2008-10-29T11:53:00.009-04:00

I'm not sure whether these sand dollars were found during Hurricane Fay, or the other one.. *Can't remember* These sand dollars are kind of old, but I thought I'd take a picture anyway.

We find these sand dollars occasionally, sometimes at VERY low tide or after a big storm. After that one hurricane we had lots all over the beach; some still alive. You aren't allowed to bring anything alive back from the beach, so I just picked up the dead ones. (You can tell if they're dead either by the fact that their little 'underhairs' aren't moving, or they turn kind of greenish.)

I know I'm being very vague in this post; I'll get some more information soon. :B

Another Snake

2008-08-29T12:51:00.002-04:00

This snake was really hard to identify, and even now I'm not positive I'm right. But I think it's a Dekay's Brown Snake. It isn't venomnous. I think one of my sisters spit on it when I went to go get the camera... But anyway, for more information you can go here!

Pine Woods Snake

2008-08-26T12:37:00.002-04:00

My sister was poking around in the dirt, and she found this pretty Pine Woods Snake! Not a very good picture though... He was around four or five inches long, and this really pretty burnt sienna color, with a brown head.

Here is some information I've gotten off the internet:

Description: Pine woods snakes are small, slender snakes, ranging from 10 – 13 in (25 – 33 cm). Coloration is generally brownish, ranging from golden brown to reddish brown with a darker head and lighter venter. There is a dark stripe passing through the eye and the upper lip scales are yellowish, leading to one of its common names, the yellow-lipped snake.
Range and Habitat: Pine woods snakes are found in scattered populations throughout the Coastal Plain in the southeastern U.S. Although common in a few sections of Florida they are generally uncommon to rare in our region. The most inland populations that have been discovered are in South Carolina on the Savannah River Site. Pine woods snakes can be found in a variety of woodland habitats and are apparently particularly common around wetland margins. Like other small fossorial snakes this species is most often found in rotting logs, under tree bark, in loose soil, or under leaf litter.
Habits: Little is known about the ecology of this uncommon snake. They are generally fossorial (live underground) and are most often found hiding beneath logs, leaf litter, or other debris. Pine Woods Snakes have been known to eat small frogs, salamanders, snakes, and small lizards. Although not dangerous to humans, this species has toxic saliva that it uses to subdue its prey. Pine woods snakes lay 1 – 4 eggs in spring or early summer.

For the entire thing go here.

It is now officially JELLYFISH season!

2008-08-19T10:48:00.005-04:00

Yes, it's now jellyfish season, so watch out! The Jellyfish season is About from August until people stop swimming for the winter.

That picture above is my leg, which got stung yesterday. I think it was either a Sea Nettle, or a Sea Wasp. Either way it hurt like mad... X(

The best thing to prevent getting stung is wear a wetsuit or something. Even something as thin as pantyhose will keep the stingers away! But if you don't want to go to those extremes, then you should bring a bottle of vinegar with you. Also if you go to the lifeguard he'll spray you with his. If you get stung, you should rub wet sand on it, which gets off the barbs and stuff that hasn't stung yet. You should NEVER put freshwater on a jellyfish sting, only saltwater. Also, contrary to popular belief, peeing on your sting doesn't work.

This sting I got yesterday was different from the others I've gotten. This one was much stronger, and I got muscle pain all up my leg above the sting. (Very uncomfortable if you need to bike home.) It also had some effect on the rest of my muscles and my bowels. Yesterday once I got home it was very hard to sit still without my muscles going funky, so I walked around a lot. My dad said it was good to do that because it was my body's way of telling me to let the poison move around and sort of dilute through my body. Okay, I can go with that.. :) It's completely numb now, by the way.

It was kind of funny yesterday when I got stung; all these little kids were crowding around me saying stuff like "What happened to you?" "Does it hurt a lot?" I told them what to happen if they got stung and stuff, and one little girl said, "I heard it helps if you put shaving cream on it then scrape it off with a credit card." I replied "Great idea! Except I don't have any shaving cream or a credit card on me at the moment." Little kids.. ;)

Anybody home?

2008-08-05T09:36:00.007-04:00

Our neighbors' little 4-5 year old kid must found this cool turtle shell. At least I think he did... He ran up to my sister and gave it to her as a present. XD

I think it's a Yellow-Bellied Slider, because of the markings on the shell and the yellow at the base.

These turtles can be found from south eastern Virginia to northern Florida, living in freshwater habitats, such as our lagoon.

I read the juveniles are more carnivorous, eating stuff like insects, tadpoles, dead fish etc., while the adult prefers things like roots and stems, fruits and leaves, that sort of thing. The little sliders can't swim as fast as the fish, so if they catch fish, they were probably unhealthy.

If you've been to Hilton Head, you've probably seen them somewhere basking on sunken logs, or on the banks of lagoons. I think especially cool/cute when they all stack on top of one another! I have to see if I can get a picture of that..

Crustaceous!

2008-08-05T09:27:00.005-04:00

I left a small plastic cup out in the yard to catch rain, and my sister found it and used it to get lagoon water. She had only left a little in it when it rained, and the cup was filled up. Later when I went outside I found two shrimp-like things swimming around in it! They were about a centimeter long, and their legs all stuck out at odd angles.

Weird huh?

All this wildlife, right outside my door!

2008-08-02T11:11:00.007-04:00

I found all this on our /small/ front porch.

A cicada...

A cute Green Tree Frog. He was very dark!

A pretty moth got stuck in a spider's web.

A scared little lizard ran away, so only his tail is showing.

More on Mysterious Froggies..

2008-08-02T09:52:00.008-04:00

Well, I've done some research, and the closest I can find is the Northern Spring Peeper. Alright.. Yes.. I know. We are not in the north and it isn't spring. :/ (In the Tideland Treasure it leaves off the 'Northern' part but I suspect it's the same frog.) But anyway this is what I found.

The Spring Peeper is a small frog about the size of a quarter at adult size. (These are probably juveniles). Their color is a mixture of brown and gray, and they have a distorted 'X' pattern on their backs. This info fits the frogs I found.

Apparently the Northern Spring Peeper makes a loud 'peep' call at night. I hear a lot of frog noises at night but I can't pin it on these little critters, as I don't go out at night often.

These frogs live in damp areas, (by our lagoon?!), and hunt for smaller invertebrates in low vegetation. (I put the little amphibians in a plastic cup, and it's obvious they can't climb.)

New Photos!

2008-08-01T12:19:00.009-04:00

My mom generously lent me her camera, so I went and got some new wildlife pics! Here are some of them..

Yes, I know.. My nasty fingernails need to be trimmed. X(

We have all these TINY little frogs in our backyard! And there are tons of them everywhere! I have to find out what they are...

See if you can spot the teenie tiny froggeh head!

Baby Anole

2008-05-31T19:10:00.002-04:00

Here's a photo of a cute baby anole! He looks like he's in mid-color change. His head is turning green. :)

More on rolled up leaves...

2008-05-11T19:15:00.003-04:00

My Dad googled 'insect burrito leaf roll' and he found what they were. :) They're Leaf Rolling Weevils! Interesting little critters..

Rolled up leaves?

2008-05-03T16:26:00.002-04:00

This is very bizarre. I was outside in the yard, and I found all these little rolled up leaves about a centimeter long. I'm assuming some sort of insect made them. I haven't found out what they are, though.

Chocolate Jimmies? I think not.

2008-04-29T19:42:00.010-04:00

Don't they look yum? If you're a tourist and you've ever walked on a Hilton Head beach, you may have seen these little holes with the jimmie-shaped pellets on top, you may have wondered what they were. The holes belong to Mud or Ghost shrimp, and the pellets are shrimp poo!

That, mud, and other feces from sea-life gets mushed together into this:
(You don't know how hard it was to take this picture...)

More on Cannonballs...

2008-04-29T16:59:00.008-04:00

I'm pretty sure that this Cannonball jelly was still alive at the time this photo was taken. It was pulsating very slightly. In addition to that, it looks like a sphere, while the dead one below has deflated. :(

These jellies are strong swimmers, but I guess they have to wash up some time. :S

My sister found one jelly that had a rock crab stuck in it! The crab's normally hard shell was all soft and gushy.. O_o... I think that the crab tried to eat the jellyfish, but got trapped inside and died. I don't think the jellyfish tried to eat the crab because I've read several places that these jellies only eat zooplankton.

Lotta Jellyfish...

2008-04-29T16:07:00.014-04:00

Hwhooh! We've been getting a lot of jellyfish lately. :) And I got some nice photos which I'll post.

Most of the time, for my 'research' on the local wildlife, I usually use my indispensable book, the Tideland Treasure, but this time the book didn't help me out much. The jellyfish pictured above is a Cannonball jellyfish, or Cabbagehead, but Mr. Ballantine, (the author) captioned it as 'Jellyball'. Is this a nickname for it maybe? I googled Jellyball but got no results... >_<

But all that aside, more about the jellyfish! This Jellyfish washes up in droves in the spring, and this kind doesn't sting! I've probably astounded a couple tourists by picking them up. :D (The jellyfish, not the tourists.)

I also found out an interesting thing about them. I'm not sure whether they just do this when they're dead, but when you touch the red stuff, it comes off! (See picture at right.)

Phlegm Attack!

2008-04-28T20:08:00.005-04:00

Is this a melted jellyfish? Shark guts? Egg sac mucus? Heaven knows what it is..

My sister found this scentless sludge on the beach, and we have yet to discover what it was. :)'

Erm

2008-04-28T19:59:00.009-04:00

I haven't been on in a while... This was mainly due to the death of my beloved camera, so I haven't been able to put up pictures. :( But my Mom has generously lent me hers, (:D),and I'm gonna start putting up artwork too.

Just how many "re-openings" can we survive?

A pretty little Mole Crab.

2008-01-08T18:52:00.001-05:00

It looks like a wierd cross between a sandy cockroach and a purple lobster, but nothing like a crab. Go figure.

Mole crabs, (AKA Sand Fleas) burrow into the sand from predators like fish and seabirds. Most of the time I think they're varying shades of brown and white, but this one is dead and bleached. Plus, I've also found one that looked sort of opally. I don't know what that was about. This one's sort of got a camo pattern now.

Mole crabs are found from Massachusetts all the way down the coast.

I think the correct word would be... yuk?

2007-11-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

Eww. What a creepy little fetus thingy. You know those little black egg cases you find on the beach? Mermaid's Purses? I found one and cut it open. At first it just had sand in it, but I hosed it out and viola... I am not sure what this is. I've researched and I think it's a skate, (like a stingray), because of the little flaps on the sides, but I also see mermaid's purses defined as the egg cases of Dogfish. Hmm. It was interesting, anyway.

Good gravy I hope that tail fin was larger when it was alive...

2007-06-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

Here is the dead pufferfish I was telling you about! It's actually called a spiny boxfish. It's about 6 inches long. It was quite stinky, and I nicked myself with a spine. :(

Fish backbone piece

2007-06-01T12:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a tiny fish vertebrae. It was about a centimeter long. Fish bones are not that common on South Beach, where I went, but are quite plentiful on the beach near Harbor Town. There are many large bones there, and I'm assuming that's because people go and fish, then come back and clean their fish on the docks, and throw the carcasses over the railing. The carcasses are eaten by crabs, and the skeletons wash up on the beach. At least that's how I see it. :)

Limpet.

2007-06-01T12:09:00.000-04:00

Here is a limpet shell. Have you ever heard the phrase, "cling like a limpet"? That's what limpets do. They cling onto other shells for transportation and shelter. Notice how this one is curved. It probably lived in some whelk or moon snail shell as a very small limpet, and grew larger and larger, and curved as the shell was curved, to accommodate its tight lodging. And yes, my fingernails need trimming.

Misc. II

2007-06-01T12:01:00.000-04:00

Here are some miscellaneous shells and a fuzzy caterpillar. The only one I could recognize is the one second to the bottom. That one is a broken Olive shell, (South Carolina's state shell), with a little star coral attached.

Some broken shell

2007-06-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

I had a hard time identifying this. It's either a Knobbed Whelk or some kind of conch. Probably a knobbed whelk. By the way, there is a way to help identify these things. There are two main kinds of whelks around here, knobbed whelks, and lightning whelks. If you turn some unknown whelk on its "back", then you will see the opening is on a particular side. Knobbed Whelks have the opening on the right side, while Lighting Whelks have it on the left. See how that eliminates Lightning Whelks as a candidate for this shells' identification? Hope that makes that clear. As I've said, I'm bad at condensing. Just type in knobbed or lightning whelk in the google image search engine, and you'll see what I mean. :)

P.s. I pronounce it conch, like a Northerner. Not conk. (It can be pronounced either way.)

Misc.

2007-06-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Here's some miscellanous feather from some seabird I found.

Star Coral

2007-06-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

This is, (in case the title didn't give you a hint), star coral. It is also known as Astrangia, and personally, it's one of my favorite things to find on the beach. It's Hilton Head's only stony coral, (stony as in not brittle or soft, and rocklike instead.) There are very often chunks of it scattered along the beach, and I've never found any alive with polyps. (Polyps are the little creatures that live in those pretty cavities.) If you decorate your house with shells and other ocean things, star coral looks very attractive in a small bowl or other piece of glassware.

Spider crabs

2007-06-01T10:57:00.000-04:00

And here we have Spider Crabs! They're about 1-2 inches long, but some can grow up to 3 inches, mabye a bit longer. These crabs are unique because they grow gardens on their backs! On all these photos, you see stringy brown stuff, a little goop, and sand. (The sand wasn't supposed to be there.) These crabs collect ooze, bacteria, and plankton on their rough, spiny shells. The gooey mess attracts other plants and animals. Some of these are seaweed, sponge, tube worms, hydroids, and bryzoans. Interesting! The crabs will even snip off plants from the ocean floor, put them to their mouth, coating the organism with gluey mucus, and sticks it to their backs! 8) Wierd...

Moon snail

2007-05-22T13:18:00.000-04:00

Some locals call these Tiger Eyes. I prefer to call them by their real name: Moon Snails. These are some of the most common shells I've found on the beach.

Moon Snails are carnivorous, tracking down their prey and drilling a hole through the poor animal, (usually another mollusks, and even other moon snails), with its tubular proboscis. (A proboscis is sort of like an elephant's trunk.) This explains all of those shells on the beach with a several-millimeter-wide hole in them, as well as Moon Snails themselves, since they're cannibalistic.

Oh, and one other thing. Have you ever seen those wierd sandy-colored collar-like things on the beach? At this time of year there are tons of them. Those are Moon Snail eggs. The exact recipe is Moon Snail slime, eggs, and a whole lot of sand. These collars dry out on the beach and crumble, and then high tide takes them back in. :)

Let's begin with...

2007-05-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

...A pen shell! This one is around seven inches. These are mollusks related to mussels, and they live in soft, sandy mud. They don't dig or burrow in the mud, they grab their food.They anchor themselves by using their small "foot" to excrete out sturdy thin "byssus" threads. Byssus threads are what mussels and such use to anchor themselves as well. These threads are so sturdy that the romans spun them into clothing! Would you like to go around wearing a mollusk's excretion? Ew. :S

All in a day's beachcombing...

2007-05-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

Ah. All in a day's beachcombing. (You're going to be so sick of that blue mat once I'm finished...) :)'

NOTE: All of the creatures, shells, etc. were dead when I found them. On Hilton Head it is against the law to take living things away from the beach, ie. live sand dollars, hermit crabs, starfish, etc. And you can't kill them so you can bring them back dead with you. (But you probably already knew that.)

Grand RE-opening!

2007-05-22T12:37:00.001-04:00

Whew! I finally decided to clear away the cobwebs and start fresh! And what a way to start then by me giving you detailed descriptions of a dead pufferfish and a skate fetus? I mean honestly? ;)'

Linus!

2006-06-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

For the last two and a half weeks, A small gator has been swimming around in our back lagoon. We've named him Linus, after the Charlie Brown character!

Green Tree Frog

2006-04-02T17:13:00.001-04:00

Here's a photo of a Green Tree Frog. This photo shows it a bit browner than it is, but you can easily tell it is a Green Tree Frog. This frog is fairly common, it can be found in swamps, borders of lakes and bayous, on floating vegetation, in trees and bushes near water, in Spanish moss or under bark on trees, and any place well supplied with water or dampness. At night they can be found clinging to house windows or windowsills preying on insects attracted by the artificial light. At night in May right through July, they can be heard easily with their little voices trilling what some people describe to sound like "quenk, quenk", sort of like cowbells. Froggie love songs! I myself have never heard the frogs, but next month is May, so I will be listening! They have some other nicknames, such as Cowbell Frog, Bell Frog, and Fried Bacon Frog! Weird, huh! :)' They are the Louisiana State Amphibian, and their latin name is Hyla Cinerea. They eat all sorts of bugs, like crickets and moths, worms, and small grasshoppers, among other things. Did you know that Kermit the Frog was modeled after a Green Tree Frog?

Eastern Gray Squirrel

2006-01-30T13:08:00.000-05:00

Here is another photo of a squirrel, presumably the same on in the picture below. The ledge the squirrel is standing on is hollow, and a hole has been chewed in it. A family of at least four squirrels lives in the hole. If you look at the ledge closely, you see places where the squirrels chewed to try to widen the opening. A few moments before I took this photo, another one peeped its head through the gnawed hole. It was really cute! Have you seen any squirrels living in strange places? If so, please comment.

Squirrel Sitings

2006-01-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a photo of an Eastern Gray Squirrel. Sorry, this photo is not very good.This one looks like it has been stocking up for the winter! :)' For a cool website concerning this kind of squirrel, click.

Anoles in my house! 2

2006-01-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

Here is the other one. This isn't a very good photo, though :(

Anoles in my house!

2006-01-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I noticed an anole crawling up our curtain things. When I got closer, I saw there were two of them!

Carolina Anole

2006-01-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

Here is a photo of a Carolina Anole, and this one is full grown. To see more on Carolina Anoles, go to my previous post.

Lichen Bug 3

2006-01-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

Here is yet another photo of the Green Lacewing larva, (see more below). If you click on it to enlarge it, and look really closely at it, you can see its little feet.

Lichen Bug 2

2006-01-12T15:01:00.000-05:00

Here is another photo of the Green Lacewing Larva.

Lichen Bug

2006-01-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

This looks like an unassuming piece of lichen and debris, right? Wrong! This is a Green Lacewing larva! I found this little critter on our deck today, and it fascinated me. They camouflage by putting bit of lichen, leaf-litter, and who knows what else on their backs! X(' Here are some pics I took, and if you look closely at the one below above, you can see its speckled legs. Have you ever seen some lime green stick-like fly things with fairy-like wings? Those are Green Lacewings. Here are a couple of websites I found with info on them. On this website there are three different columns with a different language in each, and English is in the middle. I hope this isn't confusing. Here is another one. This guy didn't know what they were, so that's why I had to get another website.

Nature Walk 4

2006-01-08T20:17:00.000-05:00

Woodpecker damage to a dead tree. It's cool how the holes are so neat and so round!

Nature Walk 3

2006-01-08T17:53:00.000-05:00

Here you see another cool print, a deer footprint.

Nature Walk 2

2006-01-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

Here is a photo of an adult female Anhinga.

Nature Walk 1

2006-01-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Dad and I went on a nature walk in the Sea Pines Forest preserve, where I took some pictures. This photo was taken near the beginning of Boggy Gut Trail. You can see Boggy Gut on a map here: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1313/1894/1600/SPFPmap.0.jpg You can often find a lot of footprints in the mud of Boggy Gut Trail. This photo shows a dog print, a raccoon print, and a deer print. Cool, huh?

More on White Ibis

2006-01-04T15:59:00.000-05:00

The White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, (its Latin name) has a Length of about 22 inches, and its wingspan is about 38 inches. They like to roost in trees together, and there are a lot of 'em. It's really cool to watch all of them up there! During the mating season, White Ibises have legs the color of a red grapefruit, but normally they have grey slate-colored legs. Both female and male look basically the same, but juveniles (young birds) are colored brown above and white below, with brown bills and brown legs. They stretch their necks out when they're flying. White Ibis droppings fertilize the water, which increases the growth of plankton, the basic food of all marsh life. Eww. X(' It's gross but it's interesting. At first the White Ibis seems sort of insignificant, but when you take the time to learn about it, you can see it helps the local environment a lot!

Oops! Retraction on the White Ibis :S

2006-01-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

Oops! Sorry, I read the article wrong about spawnfish and White Ibis. Actually, the Ibis eats crayfish who eat spawnfish who eat mosquito larvae. At first it doesn't make sense, but if you let it sink in and think about it, you can understand it. I need to read more closely! :S

Today's wildlife focus: The White Ibis

2006-01-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

As you can see, the "wildlife focus" for today is the White Ibis. I took this photo of several White Ibises preening and bathing on the banks of Hilton Head Prep. (I took this photo with my *new* camera!) They like to eat crustaceans, with crayfish and crabs being major items. They also eat insects, snails, frogs, marine worms, snakes, and small fish, such as spawnfish, who in turn eat mosquito larvae. My books say this is good, and that this keeps the mosquito population down, but I don't really understand. The birds eat the fish who eat the mosquitos? Not good! If you have other information to disprove what i've just said, please comment. This post is sort of weak, since I didn't post much info, but if you know something I don't about the White Ibis, please comment!

New photos!!!

2005-12-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

Yippeee! I got a digital camera for Christmas, so I will be able to put more photos up!!!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!!!

To anonymous Part II

2005-12-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

About the armadillos, yep I've seen some squashed on the road near the Sea Pines Country Club, but I've never seen any alive. Other people probably have seen them too. The Nine-Banded Armadillo migrated to Texas in 1849 when it was expanding its population. The armadillo's progress was helped along by pranksters and animal dealers. A circus truck let some loose in 1936, and a Florida zoo released some in 1924. It migrated north and east for 150 years, and now it is widespread in states such as Kansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, and, ;D , South Carolina. Sorry if this is too long, it's hard for me to write stuff in a nutshell.

To anonymous

2005-12-24T15:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry if I have been making you wait, I haven't gone on my blog in a while. I think this link can explain your question about the difference between 'gators and crocs. I could explain it myself, but this website will probably explain it more completely. Here it is :http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/brittoncrocs/cbd-faq-q1.htm

Today's wildlife focus: The Diamondback Terrapin

2005-12-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today's wildlife focus is the Diamondback Terrapin, which is a turtle living in salt marshes, lagoons, etc. In cold, sunny weather, sometimes you can see them sunbathing with the 'gators on the banks of HHI Prep. School. They prefer little creeks and lagoons to an open bay, as it gives them more shelter;But some have even been found swimming in the Atlantic Ocean!The Diamondback Terrapin is the most commonly spotted turtle on Hilton Head, which is sort of obvious. ;)' They are about as big as a shoebox. They eat Fiddler Crabs, Periwinkle Snails, little fish, and even grass! They can eat almost anything, which could be a hazard to their health. You don't know what finds its way into our back lagoons. Speaking of hazards, these little turtles lay their eggs in early summer, and most of the time they cross the road to get to the spot they think is perfect. I have seen several turtles squashed by cars, and they are not a pretty sight. Poor little things. :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-23T16:58:00.000-05:00

This is a reference for future posts.

More on American Alligators in Sea Pines Part II

2005-11-23T16:00:00.001-05:00

This is a photo of an *abandoned* alligator nest, which you can see yourself near the right side of Rice Field Boardwalk as you go in, which is located in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. (see the map above). If you go here you are NOT allowed to take bits of the eggshells. That is a big no-no as you probably, um, know. :S
Alligator mothers are extremely protective of their eggs and will not hesitate to attack those who try to snag em' for their own devilish reasons. Alligator mothers don't sit on eggs all the time, but cover them with leaf litter and other stuff. Have you ever gone close to a compost pile? If you have, it was probably warm over there. Bacteria break down leaves and other stuff, and the bacteria reproduce rapidly, resulting in heat. Well, this process helps keep momma's little babies warm, while she looks for food.

More on American Alligators in Sea Pines

2005-11-23T13:28:00.000-05:00

This a photo of a young 'gator in my back lagoon. If you look closely, you can see the osteoderms , or, the bony plates on its back which help it look like a log, so it can catch unsuspecting fish and waterfowl, etc. In my opinion this little guy doesn't seem much like a big bulky log. But it doesn't have to, because young alligators like this one only eat snails, insects, and other invertebrates, and the occasional frog or small fish. What a diet. :('
Alligators don't hibernate, like some animals, but they do go into an inactive state. They hide in underwater or underground dens. But if it gets sunny, and if it isn't cold, they will "wake up" and come out. I wonder where this one's den is !?

Today's wildlife focus: The American Alligator

2005-11-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Alligators living around here can be found just about anywhere that has freshwater and that can accomodate an alligator of its size. They are numerously found on the banks of Hilton Head Prep, and swimming in or sunbathing near the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. We even have a few in our back lagoon! (photo coming later today) They sunbathe to retain a steady temerature of 89* in body temperature. They eat birds, crabs, fish, snakes, basically anything they can get their greedy claws on! Sadly, this diet can easily be adapted to Big Macs, burritos, french fries, Cheetos, and other stuff that "comes their way". If you feed them, then they will constantly expect more, even though they only need 1 lb. of food a week. If not fed, (or even if they are, if they're in a bad mood) they will get mad, and however slow they may look, you DON'T want to get a gator mad. *slashing motion across the neck* Even if they dont eat you, they will prob'ly try to get other people, and will have to be killed. So if you leave 'em like they are, both of you will be the better for it! :D More coming today!

Carolina Anoles

2005-11-22T18:37:00.001-05:00

This is a photo of a Carolina Anole (AKA Green Anole) in my hair. This one looks almost exactly like the one I saw today on my bike ride ! Anoles live everywhere around Sea Pines, From The Sea Pines Forest Preserve to my backyard! They have red wattles, and will puff 'em out if they're frightened or if they are trying to attract a mate. They can also change colors from green to brown, like a chameleon. I wonder why they called it a Green Anole, if it can change colors?! These eat all sorts of insects and spiders, including cockroaches! Yuck! :(' This one is pretty young, by the looks of him, and very delicate at that. If you break off an anole's tail at a certain point, it will grow back. But I do not suggest doing this to see what happens, because it probably hurts the lizard. I'm not sure, as I have not read anything about whether it hurts or not, and I have never experienced being a lizard when i's tail gets pulled off. :/

Today I saw....

2005-11-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

Today I was biking, and I saw a squashed shrew. It doesn't say what kind it was in my books, but it was pretty unrecognizable anyway. :( I also saw a juvenile Carolina Anole, or a tiny lizard for short. It was sunbathing on the bikepath. If you know about shrews, or tiny rodents around Hilton Head, please comment.

Great Book Link!

2005-11-22T16:18:00.000-05:00

The best reference for Sea Pines wildlife, or wildlife on Hilton Head for that matter, that I have found is "Tideland Treasure" by Todd Ballantine. You can get a link to it at the sidebar below. It has very specific information, hand-drawn and hand-lettered entries, and it is very useful!

Sea Pines Wildlife

2005-11-21T18:37:00.000-05:00

This blog is for observing, reporting, and identifying animals in the gated community of Sea Pines, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This blog will give identification of animals sighted, animal book recommendations, tips for observing specific animals and so on. Please report animals you've seen in Sea Pines, describe them, and I'll identify them as best I can.