When in Drought – The Roseate Spoonbill

Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 10th, 2012

I could be a meteorologist in Florida. In May the weather forecast is a chance of rain through November. The rainy season coincides with the tropical storm season. A nice afternoon rain shower is par for the course on any given day.

Lake Trafford is a 1600 acre inland lake in northeast Collier County. It’s been called the headwaters of the western Everglades. There are no springs or creeks to fill it up. The lake relies solely on rain water. At its deepest point it’s about thirteen feet deep. As the afternoon rains have fallen across south Florida, the clouds have parted as they’ve passed the lake. When Tropical Storm Isaac skirted the gulf coast, rain bands slipped past the lake on either side. The result is a 1600 acre lake that has dried down to about 1200 acres with mudflats extending far out from shore. The lake is more than four to five feet lower than normal.

Roseate Spoonbills on Lake Trafford © Pete Corradino

The consequence is a high concentration of American Alligators, estimated at about 3000-4000. A variety of wading birds are also enjoying the late summer shallows. The Roseate Spoonbills are most conspicuous. In a landscape of leafy greens and muddy browns, the cotton candy pink plumage of the spoonbills is a carnival of contrast.

The bald-headed, spatula-spoon-billed bird has a distinct method of feeding, sweeping the bill back and forth over the shallow mudflats, sucking in water, fish, crustaceans and insects and straining out anything undesirable through its serrated-edged bill. The pink is diet related. Certain algae contain carotenoid pigments which shrimp consume and then pass on to spoonbills. These pigments are displayed in the pink flight feathers as well as the creamcicle-orange tail feathers.

Spoonbill populations have suffered for over a century in part from plumage hunters who collected the feathers for ornamentation in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. Populations declined further due to the use of the chemical pesticide DDT that caused thinning of the eggshells and low birthrates. The population has increased in the last few years and despite the lack of rain on Lake Trafford, the low water has created a refuge of sorts. If every cloud has a silver lining, than it’s reflection on Lake Trafford is pink. 

Fake Rubber Snake

I was wrong. I can admit it. Normally I would say “I don’t know what that is.” but in this case I was quite sure that the Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) that had landed near me during my alligator presentation at Lake Trafford, FL, was eating a snake. I don’t mind being shown up so I placed the juvenile American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) back in its exhibit and directed all eyes to the four-foot tall wading bird wrestling with a two foot long “snake” at stage right.

With cameras snapping pictures of the spectacle, I explained that Wood Storks are tactile feeders who wade in the shallows, swinging their sturdy beak through the water and feeling for fish, crabs, frogs, baby gators and other critters to gobble up. I noted the rarity of a Wood Stork feasting on a snake as I too focused my camera lens on the impromptu natural theater.

When a second Wood Stork dropped in to “share” the bounty, the first Wood Stork displayed a bit of justifiable avarice and took off with its catch to devour it in solitude.

When I returned home I uploaded my photos to my computer and was embarrassed when I realized that the Wood Stork appeared to be eating a fake rubber snake. It was slick and pliable, but I could see no scales or pattern in the photo whatsoever. And then it hit me – it was an Amphiuma! I had never seen one in person, but it was clear now that the Wood Stork had captured a rarely seen Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) during its foraging.

Two-toed Amphiumas are slippery, long-bodied creatures found throughout the southeasternUnited States. On land they are often confused for snakes and in the water mistaken for eels, when in fact they are toothed amphibians that can inflict a nasty bite.

They can reach nearly 30 inches in length and have two useless anterior limbs that have, as their name suggests, two-toes on each. Amphiumas are nocturnal predators that can be found in ponds, marshes, canals, ditches and slow moving streams. They spend the sunlight hours burrowed in mud, hidden in crayfish holes or generally tucked away from probing beaks and prying paws.

This Amphiuma was not so lucky, and thanks to a hungry Wood Stork, was a rare sighting for an excited group who might never see such an unusual creature again.

Puke Breath

"Let me warn you about Vultures" the woman on the phone at the animal rehab center said. "It's ok - I know where you're going with this. They're pukers."

While on tour on Friday we spotted a juvenile vulture sitting on the ground under a palm tree. Unusual. It hopped about and clearly could not fly. So after a quick call to C.R.O.W (Center for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) out on Sanibel I confirmed that the Vulture had most likely fallen from the nest and was in need of rescue.

Vultures eat carrion. Dead stuff. On occasion the Black Vulture will help a sick or injured animal into the next world but fresh road kill is always the chef's choice for our roadside clean up crew.

Vultures don't seem to have much in the way of a defense system considering their weak talons but it might be a toss up if I had to rescue an injured owl vs a vulture. Vultures puke. They vomit when stressed. They barf if you get too close. So the idea of rescuing an injured vulture requires considering this consequence.

I prepped myself by climbing into a stinky dumpster to get a cardboard box big enough to transport the bird to CROW, grabbed a towel from the Lake Trafford Marina and headed down the road to wrangle the bird.

I know it's a juvenile because it still has feathers on the head. Adults go bald which is a great benefit when you spend your days with it stuck in a dead animal carcass.

Upon approaching the bird - it hopped about and tried to get lift off. I followed it around the Marina sign. I followed it around a Sabal Palm. There was no way I was going to catch this bird. It was healthy. It just had no idea it could fly. So I made one mad dash towards the potential puker and it leaped skyward, landing 6 feet up on a chain link fence. I approached again and the bird hopped down and headed towards the canal - I followed and when the bird ran out of space and was cornered by me, my box and my barf-shield, it leaped again, soaring a few feet down into the canal. Just before splashing into the gator-filled water, it flapped with several heavy wing beats, soared skyward and landed on a branch where it looked back at me as if to say "I had no idea I could do that". The vulture could finally fly. Good luck my new vulture friend and may the cars and roads bring you good fortune.

Backhanded Slap From Fay

I need to keep my mouth shut. 500 tours and I have never had one as wet as today's. It was my first Everglades tour since Fay headed North and with a forecast of partly cloudy (a departure from the usual thunderstorms), we figured to have an interesting day of checking out Fay's damage. Our first stop was Lake Trafford where we take our airboat ride. The lake had hit an all time low of 4 feet in June. By August 4th the level had risen slightly.

Fay passed directly over the lake and dumped 12 inches on Tuesday, a few more yesterday and despite the "partly cloudy", dumped another 6 inches of rain today as one of the rain bands whipped back down south and provided a lengthy monsoon rain, soaking everyone on the airboat. There was no room on the boat, so I had to stay behind. When they returned, one little British girl was covered in mud but no one was sure how or why!
It continued to rain all day and the lake level has come back to a near record high with 3 months left in the rainy season. I wanted excitement. I got it. Picture above is from July 11th. Below is from August 21st. Same dock. Vegetation is gone.
The Everglades National Park was still shut down from the storm and Everglades City had been under a foot of water on Tuesday, but our walk in the Fakahatchee was productive with many alligator sightings and this happy little pup, glad that the rains have come back.

Sweet Mother Gator

So startled was I when the mother gator hissed and lunged that I tripped over my own feet and nearly plunged into the water with the mother gator while - yes - trying to run away.

I knew mama gator was around. She's in the same spot nearly everyday, protecting the nest of eggs under the dock. But alligators can make some incredibly loud noises and this 9 foot mama is no exception. Nesting started at the end of June and it takes 63 days or so to incubate so mama will stay put, driving away raccoons, possum, snakes and birds that will try to eat the eggs. She has to be wary of any males that may wander through and eat the babies after they hatch.
The dock that she nests under is taped off to keep tourists out. I was on the dock taking a picture of a grasshopper near the nest when mama let me know I was too close.
For the best results - turn the volume up before playing the video. This was her second attempt to drive me away after my heart rate had settled.

Bite Me - Muérdeme

An alligator bit off the hand of a man fishing in Lake Trafford on Thursday. This is the lake I take people to for an airboat ride on our tour. Lake Trafford has an estimated 3000 adult alligators. It is the highest concentration of alligators per acre in the world.

Read the news article and watch the video (which is hilarious for the reporting alone).

Currently due to the drought, the lake is 7 feet below normal. That's bad and that means the alligators are packed in like sardines. It also means that people can't fish from the pier. Their worms would just hit mud when they cast out. Instead some of the locals have turned to cast netting which involves walking out into the lake (full of alligators) and casting their net in the hopes of catching fish.

(photo not mine)

When Luis Hernandez did this on Thursday, he reached down to pull in his net and an alligator bit his hand. Not off initially, but the bones were crushed and the hand was dangling by a tendon. That too is not good. My first reaction was "what an idiot". We see these guys wading into the lake every day while we show people hundreds of alligators. They have been warned by law enforcement and wildlife officers. But since they are supposedly catching exotic Tilapia and not native fish, they are not breaking any laws by wading into the lake (full of alligators). I say this without exaggeration. The lake is normally 1600 acres when full. It's 1000 acres or less now and we see hundreds of alligators every day.

Normally the fishermen wade out with helpers. One to watch for alligators and the others to haul in their catch. It's still dangerous but the fish are free and Tilapia costs $4.99 lb at the local Winn Dixie. I don't know this man. I don't know his situation. I don't know how desperate his situation is. For all I know this is the only way he can put food on the table. Is he an idiot? No. Is he taking a risk? Absolutely.
His hand will not be reattached.

Another sad result of this dangerous behavior is that an alligator ended up getting culled. Fish and Wildlife reported catching the 6 foot gator after an hour of looking. This is preposterous. To find the alligator in that lake (which is full of alligators) is like finding 2 snowflakes that look like alligators. It's that ridiculous. So instead, to quell panic and fear of a man eating alligator they no doubt killed the first alligator they could find.


So I feel bad for Luis Hernandez who may or may not have had to wade into a lake (full of alligators) to feed himself. I'm sure he didn't want to lose his hand but he might as well have had a sign on that said "Bite Me" (Muérdeme en Español)

Big Mama - Angry Gator

True for most any species of wildlife that exhibits maternal care - get in between mama and her babies and look out. When the mama in question has 80 teeth and can exert 1200+ lbs of pressure per square inch - its best to keep your distance.

Lake Trafford in Immokolee, Florida has an estimated 4000 alligators in about 1600 acres of wetland. Probably the highest density of alligators per acre in the world. Alligators range in size here from hatchlings to 15 footers and around the lake there are quite a few mama gators ferociously defending there young. Right now the lake is down about 6 feet from normal due to a 2 year drought and 2 summers of dredging. Normally the water should be close to the base of the dock seen below but you would have a good 5 foot plummet into the water from the dock if you tripped.

Mamas have had to find new nesting areas on the lake and two nests in particular are a little too close as far as the marina is concerned. One is just beneath the dock where we once loaded people onto airboats. They've blocked it off and only I can go out there. Apparently they think I'm responsible.

These pups were born last September and have been so well protected by mom that they appear to be emaciated. Let them out to eat mom! They grow about a foot a year but these little ones are tiny. Mom usually keeps them close by for the first 2-3 years of their lives until they are old enough to defend for themselves. The 8-foot alligator below was resting under the dock I was standing on. She wasn't waiting for me to fall in so she could eat me, but instead uses the dock for shelter. There are enough fish and other alligators in the lake for her to eat. But when airboats pass by she lunges, hisses and growls. She must be quite proud. She's scares off 10 boats a day.
This mama has enjoyed the low water. She was able to make a den in the embankment. She can crawl in head first and turn her entire 7 foot body around inside. She had babies from 2005, 2006 and 2007 under her protection. We'll assume they are all hers.
She too growls and lunges. She's a good mama. In the next few weeks it will be breeding season and not long after she'll make her nest in the woods, scraping together grass and mud and laying anywhere from 20-80 eggs. Heat from decomposing plant material warms the eggs and helps them develop. If there's not enough moisture for this process - mama pees on the nest. Incubation lasts 65 or so days and they usually hatch out in late July or August. Then the growling starts all over again.

Jungle Pete and the Canoes of Antiquity

The cypress log jutted from the water's surface, stuck in the mucky bottom of Lake Trafford. In June, the lake had receded to the lowest levels in recorded history. Partly due to lack of rain, partly caused by the dredging project. But here was the anachronistic log. Out of time and out of place. There are no cypress trees for miles and no streams or rivers flow into the lake; only out.

The airboat captain slowed enough for me to get a good look and sped off without a word. Later he would tell me that the log was most likely a Seminole Indian canoe from their time living in this area over the last 2 centuries. Lake Trafford is in Immokalee, a town whose name is Seminole for "My Home" and was just that in the not so distant past and here was a potential remnant of their lives, exposed by the lack of water.

Cypress wood is relatively rot resistant and Seminoles had learned from their Calusa predecessors how to hollow out the logs and make 12+ foot pole boats for pushing about in the swamps and marshes of the Everglades. Here was history, but the presence of it was being kept quiet. If anyone were to find out, they may stop the restoration project here and the lake could lapse into a state of anoxia (no oxygen) which would kill most life in the lake.

It's not unusual for me to repeat lines in my head from my favorite movie Raiders of the Lost Ark - and here I found myself saying "It belongs in a museum". I understand the consequences but certainly reasonable people could compromise here and we could save the canoe and protect the lake.

My next trip out on the airboat we noticed two more canoes sticking out of the mud. One only a few feet long with obvious tell-tale burn marks and another nearly 5 feet with parts obscured by muddy water.


I called a rep for the Collier County's Historical & Archeological Preservation Board later that week, knowing I could jeopardize the restoration project and potentially my job. The state investigated and my next trip out, there were at least 7 sites marked off. Instead of zipping by, the airboat driver carefully navigated closer to one and explained that he had been asked to mark the sites! So everyone was on board with protecting the canoes. But these were not just Seminole canoes; these canoes are estimated to be over 2000 years old and belonging to the Calusa themselves! The state is currently in the process of doing carbon dating to get a more precise date, but this find is now forcing historians to rethink many of the theories of the Calusas. (For more info CLICK HERE) Apparently they navigated from the ocean, through the Corkscrew Swamp and inland to Lake Trafford where the inhabited the area for quite some time. Long enough to generate a shell mound near the lake that will be investigated soon.

from http://www.pineislandfl.com/

Before the state could get out to the canoes, one of them had disappeared. Thinking it was one of theirs, the Seminoles, with their proud cultural heritage grabbed it in the dark of night! The state asked for it back and soon enough it will be in a museum. Indiana Jones would be proud.