Comments on: Pinky Expedition: St. Johns River, Part 2

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:33:03 +0000

I also am green with envy, Loren!!!

Keep posting!!!

Sand Hill Cranes and Blue Herons in Florida IS strange.

What is going on here?

Good thing nevertheless.

By: Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:57:00 +0000

The banded snake you mentioned was most likely a Southern Banded Water Snake, (Nerodia fasciata), a species i am very familiar with. The ones in that area belong to the Florida subspecies, not the broad-banded subspecies which is found in Louisiana and Mississippi. You also mentioned the ivory-bill-(or the abscense of them)-I do believe these exist in Florida, but probably only in the Panhandle, in the Apalachicola River and Choctawhatchee areas. Still, any Pileated that you see in an old growth cypress stand might be worth a second look. Good luck on your Pinky search, and even if you don’t find him, at least you got to see Sandhill Cranes and Limpkins.

By: Maine Crypto

Maine Crypto — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:28:14 +0000

Loren, it seems like you are getting lots of observations done! Do the Great Blue Herons remind you of home? Thats probably all the reminder you want right now as it is SNOWING! and has been all day.
Best of luck to you on the rest of your expedition, we can’t wait to hear more.

By: sschaper

sschaper — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:19:06 +0000

Sandhill Cranes and Blue Herons in Florida! Who woulda thunk it?!

In recent years, they seem to be expanding out from Nebraska, but I was clueless that they were covering that much territory. Wouldn’t that be a different migratory path than you’d expect from Nebraska?

By: vance

vance — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:01:13 +0000

Hmm,
The snake you found has been called simply the “Banded Water snake” by many here. For Skunk ape, go from the River where I believe you are about 3 miles east, make a left on an obscure road called “Satellite Blvd” and see if you can spot some locals to question about such things - with out being shot. There are a couple of estuaries hidden back there that go for miles and miles. If you are there for this weekend, I bet you find a few willing guides to take ya’ back there to find sign.

Vance

By: Hollyhcks3

Hollyhcks3 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:16:46 +0000

Really enjoying the notes from Florida though as the snow falls here again I’m choking with envy- wild sandhill cranes, too! Have you heard any comments about possible climate change in the past 50 years in that area of Florida? I don’t know if we can blame global warming for everything, but the Everglades have been steadily drained for most or all of that time and as I understand it, their watershed area extends past Orlando. Another possibility is loss of nesting habitat as first orange groves, then gated communties took over the landscape- and Pinky, whatever it is or was, moved on.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:57:46 +0000

I think from everything I’ve read here, that your quest was a major success, if not in its original purpose of finding out what Pinky could be. It seems like there was a lot of knowledge to be gained by making your way up this river where I will probably never have the opportunity to go, and I thoroughly enjoy reading your insights on the matter. It just shows what I’ve always suspected, that one can learn new things along the roads of the search towards discovery regardless of whether they ever reach their destination.

By: kittenz

kittenz — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:23:02 +0000

“I guess all my visuals of dinosaurs on this journey will have to be recalled as ones of the feathered kind.”

OH _ That reminds me!

Tiny feathers, dating from the Mesozoic, have been found in amber! The feathers have rather primitive features, and they might actually be feathers from a dinosaur!

This is the link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080311-amber-feathers.html