SGribbin Photography
Sophia Gribbin ~ Photographer
This lizard was proudly displaying his dewlap to warn other lizards that this was his territory. Photographed at Ocklawaha Prairie in Marion County, Florida.
As I was walking along the trail at Marshal Swamp, I heard a scurry under some palmettos. So, I decided to stoop down for a peek to see what made the ruckus and found this Broad-headed Skink hiding there. I had read about these beautiful skinks, but I had never seen one until I found this one. Just like all skinks, this guy was super quick in running away after getting his photograph taken.
This is a Florida Cottonmouth (venomous); my first sighting of one! I was walking the boardwalk at Ocklawaha Prairie, as I've done many times, and lo and behold there was a Cottonmouth lying on top of the floating plants in the shadows casted by the boardwalk and early evening sun. I positioned my camera as best as I could so not to startle the snake & to keep myself at a safe distance. Unfortunately, I was not able to photograph the entire snake, but I feel blessed to have captured this shot.
This was my first sighting of a Striped Crayfish Snake (non-venomous). I was surprised how curious it was of me, as it did not flee as most snakes I encounter do. This one was meandering through the grass alongside the lime rock trail at Ocklawaha Prairie, but came out onto the road to investigate me. I was uncertain of any potential aggressive tendencies of this snake, so I gave it plenty of space.