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Date: March 13th 2022

Arrival time: 12:48 pm
Departure time: 1:25 pm

Location: -The Ponds of Lutz (Oak Grove Boulevard)

Number of observers? : one, I am the only person in the area.

Directions to observation location:
500 Ft off of Oak grove Boulevard and 54. Facing east at the first pond.

Weather:
The temperature upon arrival is 65° Fahrenheit. The relative humidity is 48% and wind speed is about 10 miles per hour. The skies are clear.

Habitat notes:
There are several small ponds within the neighborhood. This specific pond is only a few inches deep. The pond was filled with several lily pads and a forest surrounds the edge of the pond. The area is heavily littered and there are several roads and houses in the nearby area.

Species observed (common and scientific name if you know): Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus)

Description of species phenotype (color, size, age, sex; If you do not know the species, then you MUST be specific; e.g. bird with long, narrow, and orange beak, long legs, all white plumage):
The Double-Crested Cormorant I am observing is black/brown in color and appears to be an adult because it has the small yellow-orange patch on the face which is a characteristic for adults. It has a small head with a kinked neck. It has a thin, sharp hooked bill that is not very long. It has a heavy body that sat low in the water. This particular cormorant had short black legs and green eyes. I could not determine if it male or female.

Description of observation (i.e., what was the vertebrate doing?):
The bird spent much of his time basking in the sun on the small log. In addition to this, the bird would splay the wings to dry them out in the sun. Every so often he/she would walk into the water to search for small organisms and fish to eat.

Describe a character you find particularly distinct in this species:
There are several characters that are distinct in these species. For instance they have relative short wings since they have to high economical movement underwater. They spend a lot of time searching for food underwater and following this they spend a significant amount of time drying their wings. In addition to this, they have a the highest cost of flight then any other bird due to the length of their wings.

Time length of observation: 37 minutes

Arrival time: 10:46 am
Departure time: 1:27 pm
Observers: 2
Location: Weedon Island preserve (St. Petersburg off Weedon Dr. NE )
Weather: sunny 79 degrees

Habitat: thick bed of ferns inside hardwood area
Description: long black body, round pupils, white chin
Description of observation: nestled among the brush, waiting to cross the foot path
Special character: blackish/grey coloration
Observation time: 5 min (slithered away)

Date: March 13th 2022

Arrival time: 12:48 pm
Departure time: 1:25 pm

Location: -The Ponds of Lutz (Oak Grove Boulevard)

Number of observers? : one, I am the only person in the area.

Directions to observation location:
500 Ft off of Oak grove Boulevard and 54. Facing east at the first pond.

Weather:
The temperature upon arrival is 65° Fahrenheit. The relative humidity is 48% and wind speed is about 10 miles per hour. The skies are clear.

Habitat notes:
There are several small ponds within the neighborhood. This specific pond is only a few inches deep. The pond was filled with several lily pads and a forest surrounds the edge of the pond. The area is heavily littered and there are several roads and houses in the nearby area.

Species observed (common and scientific name if you know): Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus)

Description of species phenotype (color, size, age, sex; If you do not know the species, then you MUST be specific; e.g. bird with long, narrow, and orange beak, long legs, all white plumage):
The Double-Crested Cormorant I am observing is black/brown in color and appears to be an adult because it has the small yellow-orange patch on the face which is a characteristic for adults. It has a small head with a kinked neck. It has a thin, sharp hooked bill that is not very long. It has a heavy body that sat low in the water. This particular cormorant had short black legs and green eyes. I could not determine if it male or female.

Description of observation (i.e., what was the vertebrate doing?):
The bird spent much of his time basking in the sun on the small log. In addition to this, the bird would splay the wings to dry them out in the sun. Every so often he/she would walk into the water to search for small organisms and fish to eat.

Describe a character you find particularly distinct in this species:
There are several characters that are distinct in these species. For instance they have relative short wings since they have to high economical movement underwater. They spend a lot of time searching for food underwater and following this they spend a significant amount of time drying their wings. In addition to this, they have a the highest cost of flight then any other bird due to the length of their wings.

Time length of observation: 37 minutes

Date: March 15th

Location: 5540 Bob Smith Ave., Plant City, Hillsborough County, Fl near Knights Community Club

Arrival time: 12:00 pm

Departure time: 12:45 pm

Number of observers? 1

Directions to observation location: Walk through the main gate and travel about 130 m NE to the metal gate on the side of the green horse barn. Walk through the gate and turn left to the pine shavings pile covered by a tarp.

Weather: 81° F, partly cloudy, 56% humidity

Habitat notes: Found in a pine shavings pile near a horse barn, buried into cool, damp, and dark hide beneath the pile of shavings. The pile is surrounded by grasslands and a barn behind it consisting of stalls with pine shavings.

Description of species phenotype (color, size, age, sex; If you do not know the species, then you MUST be specific; e.g. bird with long, narrow, and orange beak, long legs, all-white plumage):

The blue-tailed mole skink was small in size, about 15 cm in length including the tail (about 6 inches) with a snout-vent length of about 7.5 cm as the tail was about half the size of the entire length of the skink. The blue-tailed mole skink had a thin ad cylindrical shiny dark brown body that had yellow-cream colored striped running along the dorsal side from the snout to the base of the tail as well as a rust-colored tip of the snout and chin. The ventral side of the skink was the cream/ yellow color of the stripes. The skink had a thin bright blue tail that moved from a royal blue to a more pink/purple tip of the tail indicating that the tail was broken and regenerated. The skink had five think long toes on each of the front and hind limbs. I would assume that the skink observed was not a juvenile and was a adult as some of the dorsal stripes were faded and the tip of the tail was pink/purple meaning that it had regenerated the tail, indicating an older age.

Description of observation (i.e., what was the vertebrate doing?):

When I first started observing the blue-tailed mole skink, it emerged from under the shavings pile from a cool, damp environment under a tarp and walked to the edge of the barn where there were old spider webs with small insects trapped in them. The skink was flicking its tongue out of its mouth to smell its environment looking for prey. The skink would flick out his tongue about once every five seconds or so while walking. I noticed that whenever the skink would walk, its bright blue tail would move side to side, almost like a worm. Whenever the skink would become startled, it would turn very fast by flipping his head around under his tail, coiling himself up for a moment, then straightening himself out with his tail following his body. The skink would run and burrow into the grass and into the pine shavings, and after a few minutes would appear onto the surface again. While hunting the skink caught a small grasshopper in its jaws and shook its head with the grasshopper in its mouth, and would open and close its jaws, clamping down on the grasshopper to chew it and be able to swallow it. After a few minutes of resting in the grass, the skink returned to the shavings pile and burrowed back under the tarp into the dark, cool, and damp area he came from.

Describe a character you find particularly distinct in this species:

A distinct feature of the blue-tailed mole skink was its bright blue tail that was royal blue in color as well as its yellow/ cream colored dorsal stripes running from its snout to the base of the tail on the back and along the sides of the skink.

Time length of observation: 30 minutes

Arrived: 3:15
Departed: 5:00
Seen: 4:12 pm
3 observers
Sunny 85 degrees
Hillsborough river state park just off state highway 41
Habitat: sitting along rivers edge in a patch of grass
Description: large (about 1ft) dark brown shell, light brown/tan body, long neck and narrow snout
Description of observation: sun basking in riverbank
Special character: these turtles have particularly long necks, pointed noses and of course, soft shells (unlike other turtles)
Length of observation: 10 mins

Weather: 86F, 50% humidity, 6mph W
Location: Hillsborough River State Park, on Baynard trail. Was located at the northern point of the trail, all the way to the east side near the river. Found on the other side of a fence bordering the park
Habitat notes: Grassy, mostly wooded area with many palms and dead tree debris
Observation: Group of 3 pigs, seen foraging through the brush for food
Description: 3 boars, seemed to be young due to size. One was a light pink/grey color with some black spots, one was completely orange/brown, and one light brown in color. Seemed about 2 feet tall. Had pointed ears and pointed snouts with a blunt nose.

Weather: 86F, 50% humidity, 6mph W
Location: Hillsborough River State Park, along the river trail on the opposite side of the river than Baynard trail.
Habitat notes: Located next to a river, with some shrubbery and many tall trees
Observation: Individual was seen and heard pecking at a large, tall tree which was a light grey color.
Description: Black body with a thick white L-shaped line going up the neck and under the eyes on both sides of the head. Top of the head had a red crown and a pointed tip at back of the skull. Pointed peak and had a medium-length black tail.

Weather: 86F, 50% humidity, 6mph W
Arrival and departure time: 3:22PM- 3:30PM
Location: Hillsborough River State Park in park area before suspension bridge
Habitat notes: Grassy area, mostly open space with some trees and picnic benches
Observation: Squirrel was seen wondering through grass, likely looking for food. Later was seen and heard eating what was likely nuts due to the loud crunching. Very curious individual, wondered very close to me
Description: brown/grey fur with a lighter perimeter of fur and lighter fur on the underbelly. Bushy tail with whitish fur on the perimeter

Weather: 86F, 50% humidity, 6mph W
Location: Hillsborough River State Park, on Baynard trail. Go left after entering trail past suspension bridge, about a 3 minute walk
Observation: Was seen resting on a tree before jumping off and running through brush. Had some head bobbing
Description: brown in color, some yellow spots and lines going down the sides of the body and tail

Weather: 81F, 9mph SE, 47% humidity
Location: Flatwoods State Park, from main entrance/parking, go down main road and then turn left at the first trail. Located about 1/2 mile from start of the trail
Length of observation ~4 minutes (1:27PM-1:31PM)
Observation: Anole found on a tree, remained motionless for a couple minutes and then jumped off tree and ran through leaves/shrubbery.
Habitat: Grassy/wooded area with many dead leaves and sticks on the ground
Description: Brown in color, elongated tail extending down tree, head was propped upward, black and white striping and lines going down the back and tail