The flora and fauna of Northwest Florida is rich and varied. The climate and lush foliage make a perfect year round showcase for animals -- both those native to Florida and exotic ones as well. My home is on Saint George Island, one of the last inhabited, yet unspoiled, barrier islands of Florida. There are miles of uncrowded beaches for sunning and shelling, clear Gulf waters for swimming and excellent fishing, and pristine marshes for wildlife viewing. The barrier islands of the Gulf Coast are important "rest stops" for a wide variety of migrating birds during the fall and spring. The area's outstanding wildlife habitats, including floodplain forest, sawgrass marshes, and pine flatwoods, support significant populations of both rare and common wildlife. The Apalachicola ecosystem supports the highest diversity of amphibians and reptiles in North America, north of Mexico, as well as the greatest number of freshwater fish species (86) in Florida. This gallery contains an ever expanding sampling of the wildlife existing within this beautiful and unspoiled area of Northwest Florida.
This intense looking brown pelican is about four feet in length. It was photographed in Apalachicola Bay. It has a brown and gray body and a white head with a light brown crown. Its neck is dark brown during breeding season. Young pelicans are all brown. The brown pelican has a very long gray bill with a large pouch of skin. Its pouch holds two or three times more than the its stomach can hold -- close to three gallons of fish and water! Males and females look the same.
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This intense looking brown pelican is about four feet in length. It was photographed in Apalachicola Bay. It has a brown and gray body and a white head with a light brown crown. Its neck is dark brown during breeding season. Young pelicans are all brown. The brown pelican has a very long gray bill with a large pouch of skin. Its pouch holds two or three times more than the its stomach can hold -- close to three gallons of fish and water! Males and females look the same.
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