March 8, 2020 - Florida Turtles and Frogs

One of the turtle species we saw in Florida was the Suwannee Cooter. These cooters were basking in the sun at a small pond in Apalachicola, Florida.

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The colorful underside of a Suwannee Cooter can be seen in this photo taken at Wakulla Springs State Park.

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This Gulf Coast Box Turtle was along the path at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR). It pulled its head and feet into its shell and wasn’t about to bring them out again while I was standing there.

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I turned the porch light on at night while we were in Florida to see if I could attract any moths. The light also attracted frogs. This is an American Green Tree Frog. The white strip running from its eye to the middle of its body is diagnostic. I’m sure it was mostly interested in eating the insects that were attracted by the light.

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This frog looks very much like the previous one, but this is a Squirrel Tree Frog. Note that it does not have the white stripe that I pointed out in the previous photos. You can’t tell from the photo, but another difference is that this frog is noticeably smaller than the Green Tree Frog - 1½ inches vs. 2½ inches.

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This is also a Squirrel Tree Frog but as you can see, they have the ability to change their skin color from green to brown.

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