By the grace of all that is good and true in our glorious and titillating universe, cold temperatures have a tendency of dissipating in short form here in the Sunshine State. Sure, we sometimes get hit by some wicked, sustained, and nasty cold snaps. Yeah, we sometimes feel crushed beneath thick, gray, and oppressive winter clouds… But usually, if you can just hold on for a few more days, the warmth will return along with the sunshine, even in the depths of the Floridian winter.
And so it was on 12 January 2014. With mild temperatures and a sky full of nothing but blue, the family packed up and bolted north toward Washington Oaks Gardens State Park in Flagler county, Florida. The day proved to be utterly delicious with light, warmth, and wildlife.
Quercus virginiana, the Southern live oak, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
Washington Oaks Gardens holds a long and rich history, but on this day I wasn’t too focused on the past. I was entirely fixated on the present — on the gloriously sunny, warm, and inviting present. A day like this in January feelings nothing short of an act of divinity in the Here & Now. As we started making our way beneath the Live oaks draped in Spanish moss and Resurrection fern, I had a pretty good feeling that we’d find a snake…
Pleopeltis polypodioides, the Resurrection fern, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
…but before getting to the potential watersnakes at Washington Oaks, we had to make our way through the dense and luscious foliage to the actual gardens. Live oaks and Cabbage palms dominate the margins of the main Washington Oaks Gardens area. The park is situated on A1A in Flagler county, Florida. The east side of the park (east of A1A) is actually beachfront. A mix of beach dunes and limestone outcrops greet the Atlantic Ocean with grace and subtlety. To the west of A1A is the main section of Washington Oaks Gardens: a tangle of wild foliage and carefully manicured formal and artisan gardens situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Sabal palmetto, the Sabal palm, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
As you continue deeper toward the formal and artisan gardens, you’ll start to pass by more luxuriant and non-native plants such as the Sago palm (native to Japan). Sagos are quite popular in Florida. They are often planted intentionally for landscaping aesthetics (which is understandable; I find Sagos to be extraordinarily beautiful).
Cycas revoluta, the Sago palm, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
If you stop and look closer at any given Sago palm in Florida, however, you’ll likely also find a Cuban brown anole somewhere in its tangles. Cuban brown anoles adore Sago palms in north and central Florida. With plenty of places to hide and well-fortified basking spots, Sago palms are damn-near perfect for the Cuban brown anole’s lifestyle.
Anolis sagrei, the Cuban brown anole, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
Soon enough, we reached the artisan ponds and formal gardens at Washington Oaks Gardens (featured at the top of this post). Within minutes I spotted a lovely Banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) chilling out on the edge of one of the ponds.
Nerodia fasciata, the Banded watersnake, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
Needless to say, I had an absolute field day photographing the nonvenomous watersnake. As for subspecies, if you believe in such designations, the Banded watersnakes at Washington Oaks have always been a conundrum to me. By most range-map accounts, they are within the Florida banded watersnake range (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris); however, given the park’s northeastern positioning in Florida, I wouldn’t be surprised if this coastal population had some serious Southern banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata fasciata) influence in its gene pool. I suspect they’re a mix of both, though I can’t recall ever seeing any of the typical Floridian subspecies variations in this area — just the standard black-with-red-stripes pattern (dominant in Southern banded watersnakes). Regardless of subspecies, which we’ll talk about more in the next post, the snake proved to be quite photographic and cooperative. In our next post, we’ll look much more closely at this Banded watersnake. For now, however, let’s continue westward in Washington Oaks Gardens.
Kid A at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
We soon made our way to the western edge of Washington Oaks Gardens, situated on the shore of the Intracoastal Waterway, locally referred to in this area as the Matanzas River.
The Matanzas River, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
The Intracoastal Waterway is a long line of salt and brackish rivers running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean of peninsular Florida. A number of inlets connect the Intracoastal to the Atlantic, and small islands are quite abundant. It’s not uncommon to spot dolphins and manatees trekking through the river. On this visit, we spotted a couple of Bottlenose dolphins dancing about the lovely waters of the Matanzas.
Tursiops truncatus, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
The Star of the Day, however, was not the pair of Bottlenose dolphins or even the watersnake. It turned out to be a Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) perched on a tree overlooking the Matanzas River:
Ardea herodias, the Great blue heron, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
Great blue herons have a habit of noisily flying away when people get too close. They’ll usually take to the air and make a godawful ruckus, leaving the land-bound, camera-holding, would-be-photographer hominids in frustration. But not this one. This Great blue simply stuck to its perch, letting the small, gathering crowd of visitors at Washington Oaks photograph the heron upon its throne. Seriously, there were about a dozen of us standing beneath it, peering up through our cameras, pointing at it, talking to it, admiring it… and the bird just ate it all up. For awhile, at least.
Ardea herodias, the Great blue heron, photographed in Flagler county, Florida (12 January 2014).
The heron eventually took off, and so too did we. Alas, with Kid A starting to get tuckered out, we made our way back to the Jeep to return home (about thirty minutes away). I can’t really describe how nice a day like this can feel in January, and I’m deeply appreciative to live in a region that affords such opportunities in the thick of winter. It reenergizes me. I suspect I may have some turtle DNA somewhere inside me…
In our next post, we’ll look more closely at and discuss the Banded watersnake at Washington Oaks Gardens! Until then, stay warm out there!
~ janson
Filed under: Birds, Flora and Foliage, Florida, Lizards, Mammals, Snakes, Volusia county Tagged: Anolis, Anolis sagrei, Ardea, Ardea herodias, bird, Cycas, Cycas revoluta, Dolphin, Flagler county, Florida, Florida State Park, Heron, Mammal, Nerodia, Nerodia fasciata, Nerodia fasciata fasciata, Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, Pleopeltis, Pleopeltis polypodioides, Quercus, Quercus virginiana, Reptile, Sabal, Sabal palmetto, Snake, Tree, Tursiops, Tursiops truncatus, Washington Oaks Gardens, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
