The Killdeer–June 12, 2013
The first day I ventured onto the Nassau Peninsular I met a couple. We chatted briefly, and the gentleman lamented that there was little wildlife in the area–a few rabbits, he said. 
I think that depends on what you call “wildlife.” The snake laying by the side of the path today qualifies as wildlife to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I figured out what I was looking at, and then nearly jumped out again after researching it on the internet. It appears to be a water moccasin, or cottonmouth, very venomous. It’s hard to be certain because its head remained in the foliage, but looking closely it fits the bill. I will say, though, it was well behaved. After letting me photograph it, it slithered off.
Yesterday, I found racoon tracks. Today, I was surprised to see a set of deer tracks.
The brush is thick in most areas, and about 4-5 feet tall. It’s is easy for animals to go unseen. There are also areas where a few larger trees are clustered. The deer may rest beneath these trees during the day. There may be only one deer, not many for sure.
There is a large collection of birds. In addition to the killdeer shown above, there are red wing blackbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, crows, and, of course, the yellow-crowned night herons.
Seagulls fly overhead–though, I haven’t seen them land.
And, of course, there are rabbits.
Green Thought: The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.
– Claude Monet
