hesterberg's Identifications

It was hard to take a picture of this guy, there was snakes in the forest so I’m guessing it was looking for food. I see these in my yard all the time during spring time, but it’s when I’m chasing them away from my pet bunnies.

Weather- hot 90 degrees, making me wonder why I left the AC

This white ibis is mainly white in color, with red/pink legs and face. The legs are long in proportion to the body of the bird, which has a narrow head with eyes on the side of it, and a long beak that fades in color from red/pink to gray. The beak and legs are about 6 inches long. This observation was made near a pond that had grass, many pine needles on the ground, bushes, trees, along with ducks and turtles. No reproductive structures were observed. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White_Ibis/id

I found this lizard outside of my friend’s house. This creature is brown in color and has some tan colored detailing to it. It was about 5 inches long. I believe it is a lizard but I’m not sure the specific kind. It was very sunny outside and around 95 degrees. It acts very similar to other lizards that I have seen as well as looked up because it was climbing on trees and had a dewlap, which is a term that I looked up in the dictionary (Lexico Dictionary, Dewlap).

I believe this organism is a protostome. I found this organism while I was walking my dog in the morning. The organism was about 3inches long and a brownish color. It was muggy outside and very humid. I think this organism is a slug of some sort because the organism that I found looks very similar to the pictures of slugs that were posted. I know that this organism is a slug because it lacks a shell, which I read in an article written by the University of Florida (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/gastro/slugs_of_florida.htm). It also moves very similar to this species.

I found this flower along the sidewalk, as I was walking in the morning. I was quite humid outside, but sunny and around 90 degrees. There were many of this organism cluster in this area. I believe this organism is a Romerillo because, it looks similar to the photos. Additionally, the petals seem to be the same shape and the center of the flower is a gold color like the flowers in the pictures taken by others. These flowers are small in size and have white flower petals. According to a research paper done in Thailand, Romerillo's were introduced as an invasive species to the country (https://www.cabi.org/ISC/FullTextPDF/2016/20163298157.pdf).

I think this organism is Spanish moss. It is grey in color and sits in a bunch. I found this hanging in one of my neighbors trees. It was very sunny and humid out. When I looked up spanish moss, it said that this organism usually grows in South and Central America, as well as Southeast North America, (https://www.
mentalfloss.com/article/67807/10-things-you-should-know-about-spanish-moss).

The organism pictured above is a Greenthread flowering plant.
I observed this organism while on walking on a trail in Riverview The organism was off to the side of the trail growing with several other like it. The organism has yellow petals with a dark brown center and a thin green stem.
Resource: http://www.southeasternflora.com/view_flora.php?plantid=1763

This individual's shape had that recognizable and distinct typical fern structure, the size was very large as the individual plant was very overgrown and merging with neighboring other ferns, the color was a rich green. Typical characteristics included the hard and stiff stem that runs down the middle of the branch where the leafs connect and the many tiny bump like structures were observed on the leafs themselves. A description from UF IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants listed a few characteristics such as oblong leaf shape and a explained the growing arrangement as a wide base which was observed within this individual. This description supports the identification as a belonging to the Nephrolepis genus. The habitat that this individual was found in a mix of freshwater and forest as it was found near trees bordering a near by freshwater pond.

Mollusk was observed on a dock in Sarasota Bay. Mollusk was about 2 inches in diameter, and covered all of the dock pylons in the area as well as the seawall. Water was warm to the touch and tide was low, when the tide is high the mollusks are completely submerged.
Apparently there was a recent study to map the locations of the eastern oyster in Sarasota county
http://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/SC-Oyster-Mapping-Report_6-2-2016.pdf
and it found that they will not grow on metal seawalls or pylons wrapped in polyethylene material, which is consistent with my observation, as the pylon I observed was unwrapped.

reference
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140657

Observed on June 9, 2020 at 2:25pm at Palm Field in Palm Harbor, FL. The bird was seen in its nest with a baby leading to the assumption that the bird was female. The male adult later returned with a fish of unknown origin. The female had a white underside and brown feathers on top. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission database assisted in determining this species.

Noticed a pink flower in an area of green grass and thought it was nice. I looked it up online and found it looked similar to the Caesar Weed flower. The pink flower was small, about half an inch, and it grew in an axillary cluster on the side.

The seeded vascular plant was found near a woodland area; standing below two feet the white florets surrounds the yellow disk florets creating emphasis on the center. @hesterberg https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-erigeron-quercifolius/

The Muscovy Duck standing roughly under 3 feet was found swimming in a pond. The Deuterostome has red warts around their eyes and fashion black feathers with white patches.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Muscovy_Duck/overview
@hesterberg

Found this frog hopping around my patio. This bright yellow frog was about 2 inches long with large brown eyes and big toe pads.
Reference: https://www.evergladescisma.org/the-dirty-dozen/cuban-treefrog/

The organism pictured is a square back marsh crab. I observed this organism at the beach. The crab was sitting on top of rocks that were along the water under a pier. The crab was black and appeared to have a hard square shell (hence the name). The crab had two back legs and two front claws. There were no reproductive structures visible.
Resource: https://bugguide.net/node/view/467453

This large heron was seen at hillsborough river state park searching for fish. Great blue herons are large grey bird with a distinctive dark blue or blacm patch of feathers on the top of its head, plume, that typically extend beyond its head however in these photos it does not appear to extend that far. Its body is a bluish gray color with a very long neck, beak, and legs. I compared these images to those posted the the identification page for great blue heron on allabout birds.org (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/id). And the description and images match up.

The plant above is known as a cinnamon fern. I observed this plant near the edge of a lake. The plant was growing along the moist soil that the lake created. The location of the growing plant is one thing that allowed me to identify it (they are known to grow near edges of lakes or ponds). The organism was on the taller side, about a few feet. The leaves were a nice bright green color and they were long and narrow (another known characteristic).
Resource: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees&cl=US/FL

The observation above is labeled as a Pleopeltis. I found this in Glencliff park. They are a genus of ferns, which are seedless plants. Typically they are found in parts of North America and Asia. The heigh in this looks roughly 4 inches. The average ranges from anywhere from 3-6 inches. It has a very vibrant evergreen color to it which is the norm. They are often found on growing trees as can be seen in the pictures. The texture of the fern appears coarse. This plant tends to appear dry and dead during dry seasons but rejuvenates with rain.
Reference: plants.ces.ncsu.edu
@hesterberg

The organism above can be labeled as a Anolis cybotes. I found it near Glencliff park. They are a type of deuterostome. The back has dark spots and the legs are a lighter shade of brown. He is extremely camouflaged in the tree but not in the grass. This would assist him in getting away from predators. He has a larger head than the others in the species which is a distinguishing factor. They are native to Hispaniola and the small islands nearby. This can be perceived as a male because of his coloring. Then tend to have a larger head and brown color with lighter stripes. This organism looks to have a scaly rigid reptile texture and is about 4-5 inches. They have been introduced to Florida, however they still have a small breeding population.
Reference: eol.org
@hesterberg

This fern is composed of long blades like fronds that come from a central point creating a crown like appearance. The leaves on each stem are alternating which is a identifying factor of these fern, and the leaves are also long and slender but packed closely together, which separates it from a giant sword fern. The sword fern matches images privided by the University of florida.
Edis.ifas.efl.edu/ag120
This particular fern was found approximately 10 yards from the edge of the lake on the ground, it was surrounded by several other ferns and other plants such as vines and oak trees.

Seed plant characterized by its bright yellow petals and dark brown center. Stems are thin, long, and lack leaves. Had a few brown spots. Was standing a few feet tall. Spotted in a forested dry area off the trail in Flatwoods Park next to other plants. Usually located in Florida in forests.

Reference: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp142

Decent size turtle (around a foot) spotted crossing a side path going into the forest in Flatwoods Park. Dark-colored shell and distinctive orange underside. Striped yellow and black pattern on its neck. Environment was dry and forested, however there was a small body of water in the direction the turtle was going. Usually found in Florida on rocks or trees near water.

Reference: https://allturtles.com/florida-red-bellied-cooter/

These belong to the seed plant ground, as well as the plant kingdom. These plants tend to contain white petals with a vibrant yellow in the middle. They have a circular shape in the middle from where the four petals branch out. They tend to be one to two inches across. The habitat these were found in was along the edge of a woodland, like they usually are found to be (Grow Native!).
Reference: Bur-Marigold” Grow Native!. Retrieved June 12, 2020, from https://grownative.org/plant-picker/plant/bur-marigold/

This observation belongs to the Deuterosome group, which belongs to kingdom anamalia. The habitat that it was found in was a wooden area. They usually tend to me a brownish color with a white tail. They have a lifespan of up to 3 years (National Geographic).Their size usually is around 15.5-18.75 and weigh anywhere from 28-54 pounds (National Geographic).
Reference: (2018, September 21). Eastern Cottontail Rabbit. Retrieved June 12, 2020 from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/e/eastern-cottontail-rabbit/

Description: The turkey was about a foot and a half in height. It was a light brown-caramel color with dark brown spots here and there. It had a rounded body shape with a slim long neck.

Habitat: Found in an open wild wooded area in Lakeland, Florida. Wild turkeys are woodland birds and prefers areas with an open forest edge.

References:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/game-birds/wild-turkeys/

The Florida Ornithological Society
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wild_Turkey/media-browser/65616061