This weekends trip

[Batch]

I suck at video and pictures and my brother and dad do not usually try.

My nephews have been down from Woodstock, Georgia for a couple of weeks and the first weekend was all hell with the rain and lightning. So we went out this last weekend.

The weather was bad and we had several inches of rain just before we hit camp. My brother called from camp and said it was fixin to get bad so he drove out of camp to a big pole barn and parked his truck under the pole barn during the storm.

I videoed a swallow tailed kite soaring with a black vulture. Came out like crap. We saw lots of game. We had what we first thought was a bobcat run in front of us and then we thought nutria. Then the next day I figured it had to be a Capybara.

Had flocks of Sandhill Cranes which are usually paired. We went on a night walk and I usually touch the big spiders to show that they don't pose a threat. My nephew Cory told his little brother Sean that we were going to walk back through spider alley. But, to watch out as I had pissed off every spider. LOL

Here is an 8 poinet that crosses in front of us. But, my video skills suck. LOL


http://youtu.be/Azuodi_ylm8

[rebel]

Good vid. It reminds me of home in north central FL.

[BENESSE]

That's a good video, Batch! Talk about getting away from it all!

[Winnie]

Lovely! Always nice to see 'over the fence' into someone elses' back yard.

[crashdive123]

Glad you had a good trip despite the dampness.

[Batch]

Here is a video of a Night hawk on a dead and broken thistle. there were a bunch out on the grade and several on posts. I love the nighthawks when they fly during the day. We were kicking them up a little before dusk.

Though I really like kicking up a Chuck-will's Widow. You can be looking straight at the ground and then you'll see a blur take off and land on a pine limb and blend right in. Takes you a minute to find them at first. LOL


http://youtu.be/hOBZL5QcHEo

[hunter63]

Very cool.....talk about wide open and flat.....Nice buck.
Thanks for posting.

[Batch]

My nephew Cory's first try at throwing a hawk. He insisted on using two hands.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4420_zps84f6fae6.jpg

Cory tending the fire

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1005632_10200410761614950_510430451_n.jpg

Sunset from my iPhone (grainy)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/996880_10200410345884557_440977293_n.jpg

Nephew Sean wants to sleep in my hammock

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1017689_10200410238041861_186954305_n.jpg

[Batch]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4420_zps84f6fae6.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4404_zps52d22467.jpg

Guava bark. This tree wasn't fruiting though there is a huge tree on one of the back main grades that is loaded. It was too wet to take the boys because they didn't have but one pair of shoes. There are guava trees in about one third of the hammocks.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4408_zps85380ff7.jpg

Oaks

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4409_zps22623333.jpg

[Batch]

Small sour orange tree.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4412_zpscfd43788.jpg

Immature fruit

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4413_zpsb33f96de.jpg

Oaks and resurrection fern

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4416_zps59e65780.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4418_zps355eb9b2.jpg

[Batch]

Hog Plum

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4423_zpsc0ba0e22.jpg

Baby papaya in camp. There were much taller trees in this hammock and in the back which was very wet there is some immature fruit. On the way to camp and further back are tall trees that have fruited out or are bearing. All parts are a great meat tenderizer.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4425_zpsb1bf8308.jpg

Another buck

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4438_zpsb0cae2cf.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4446_zps2e596d29.jpg

[Batch]

Little gator

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4448_zps4f9a608a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/IMG_4449_zps6060bccf.jpg

[Rick]

Batch - The term "little" is often a misnomer. When it comes to dinosaurs size is of no consequence. Avoidance is the proper concern. That's why I live 1000 miles away. That doesn't ensure that one won't find it's way up here but by the time he walks that far he should be too tired to bother me.

[Batch]

We were riding a back grade when something came out of the marsh on the left side and ran the road in front of the truck. At first we thought bobcat crouching and running. But the gate wasn't right. Then we thought nutria which we don't see but that are always listed as fair game during small game. We also have friends that have seen them while hunting.

Later I was thinking how nutria have tails and this definitely didn't have a tail. That is why we thought it was a bobcat.

A little googlefoo the next day finds that we have had some caprybara escape to the north west of here and they are reporting more and more road kills on them.

Again not the best video but it is tough to zoom in on a giant swamp rat in the marsh while moving. LOL

I couldn't find my camera quick enough to catch it on the road.


http://youtu.be/1x8BgenjK8E

[Rick]

"Capybara - Highly elusive predatory mammal often confused with Bigfoot, Jackalope, Jersey Devil, or Chuck Norris. Capable of swallowing a man whole."

Since this video was pretty clear I think we can rule out Bigfoot. It's too far south for the Jersey Devil so we definitely have a Capybara, Jackalope or Chuck Norris.

[Rick]

Customs Official: "Hey, we have some kind of weird animal in a box back here. What should I do with it?"
Boss: "Um, send it to Florida. They don't have enough weird stuff running around down there yet."

[Batch]

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/mammals/capybara/

[Rick]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone. "Animal killed on Interstate 10 in 2001...Not reported breeding." As God as my witness a gal I went to school with WAS killed on the road while breeding. They were actually on a Harley with the lights off in the middle of the road at 2:00 a.m. The car that hit them wasn't part of the plan. But that's just a summation on my part......Capybara....Female classmate. How weird of a coincidence is that?!

[Batch]

Yeah, I know the dates. But, like I said we initially thought bobcat when the thing came out in front of the truck. we thought it was a nutria. But, then I remembered the tail or lack there of that made us think bobcat. Plus Sean said it had a guinea pig head.


Capybara- Strange sheep-sized rodents with webbed feet are showing up in Florida’s rivers and canals! These weird looking animals are capybara – a 100-lb guinea-pig-like creature. Capybaras have heavy, barrel-shaped bodies with short heads. Their fur is reddish brown on the upper parts and yellowish brown underneath. Adult capybaras may be as long as four feet and are 1.6 feet tall. Capybara spend most of their time grazing in dense grass and swampy vegetation around rivers, lakes and marshes. They can run fast, and if they feel threatened will dive into the water and swim with only their nostrils, eyes and ears above the surface. Today, capybara are native to Central and South America, found from Panama south to Argentina. But they used to live as far north as Florida. Eleven thousand years ago, in the Pleistocene, two species of capybara roamed the grasslands and waterways of peninsula Florida. The capybara that are being seen today are most likely the descendents of escaped captives, but people still find fossilized capybara teeth and bones from Florida’s original capybara in the Santa Fe, Suwannee, St Marks and St Mary’s Rivers in North Florida. You may also find capybara fossils in springs and spring runs like the Ichneetucknee River.

From here http://www.floridiannature.com/rodents.htm

A 2011 report stating one seen near a water treatment plant.

http://koolfmabilene.com/giant-rat-roams-florida-waterway/

Paso Robles, Florida is all the way across the state from where the escaped animals where the dead capybara were found. They also reported that there were four seen eating on the side of I-75.

Also, you have to take into consideration the FWC. I saw a panther on a boardwalk by the youth camp at JW Corbett. The FWC said none were known to be in the area. That one was sighted the year before in the area and a biologist was dispatched the following day and found no evidence of a panther. So the sighting was listed as mistaken identity with a footnote that a panther was killed on the road near the mistaken sighting the day after the biologist wrapped up their very indepth and decisive investigation.

[Batch]

Florida Sandhill Cranes sub-species are supposed to be endangered. Yet another protected species we see all of the time. LOL


http://youtu.be/BPdYbRUxjIc

[1stimestar]

Very cool. Good photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Batch]

Well, we had another year go by and Sean and Cory came back down for the summer. Camping was so wet that very few pictures were taken.

The boys bending sheet metal at their dad's old work where Uncle Sean and I and both work now.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10492192_912209542126102_6958462874_zpsab75e6eb.jp g

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/20140718_180509_zps9c2f40e1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/20140718_183931_zps6765f6d8.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/20140718_191718_zps2b3f4792.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/20140718_193514_zps37a98771.jpg

We had my youngest grand-daughter's birthday.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10509566_1444906875796334_332464055_zpsd0e8dc42.jp g

Sean with a tarantula

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10561803_1444907105796311_411871240_zps709a8b64.jp g

Bri with an alligator. Though not her first and its restrained.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10562974_1444908062462882_333158646_zps846033d0.jp g

Python

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10464103_1444908079129547_219730699_zpsfc498a8b.jp g

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10455237_1444908162462872_507960508_zps3b741834.jp g

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10556392_1444908245796197_294817022_zps7e77672c.jp g

Porcupine

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/5314_1444908732462815_8978582275186_zpsc0835c72.jp g

Skunk

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/1610762_1444909025796119_3255903792_zpse5fe3ab1.jp g

Ant eater

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10559801_1444909119129443_191409528_zps17d86f9d.jp g

Wallaby

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10399452_1444909342462754_452220715_zpsfe7e1db9.jp g

2 toed sloth

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10525980_1444909635796058_616209752_zps2f65b113.jp g

[Batch]

The rain and lightning and heat made the first day camping kind of dark. But, this is what the boys look forward to. So, we soldiered through and were rewarded by cool a cool night.

Gathering our firewood in the rain.


http://youtu.be/xsZlTnSeAuE

[Batch]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/P10100093_zpsce8986c2.jpg

[Batch]

A couple of Crested caracara

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10527911_1444879785799043_762561197_zpsbc6bc0f7.jp g

Wet from rain

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10553314_1444881479132207_347584054_zps70c0812c.jp g

Cory tends the fire

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10489944_1444880899132265_106797371_zps2a331397.jp g

The guys talking.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10534685_1444883652465323_540889398_zpsf6775c57.jp g

[WolfVanZandt]

Whadaya mean there's not enough weird stuff in Florida. People think that the stuff Carl Hiaasen and Dave Berry write about Florida is fiction. The stuff couldn't possibly happen on this planet - in this more or less Newtonian universe. Thank again. It's all true. I was born in south Florida and spent a lot of time with relatives there while I was growing up. Florida is not weirder than you imagine - it's weirder than you can possibly imagine.

[crashdive123]

Looks like a great trip and family visit.

[Rick]

Tarantulas...not sure how I missed them but....on the list! Looks like everyone had a great time and stayed safe. Nice family and great pics!!

[1stimestar]

Cool. Fun memories being made right there.

[Batch]

My nephews are back in Georgia and they already went on a trip to Alabama to Gators house.

They had to pull their 4 wheelers up to the fire. LOL

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/bigcypress/10403719_916155045064885_8648502485_zps880d8859.jp g

[hunter63]

Thanks for taking us along....looks like fun.

[crashdive123]

You can always tell from a picture when there is a summer fire vs a winter fire by the distance people sit from it.

[Batch]

LOL, yes! But, we still need the fire.