On our last day in Florida, Scott had a meeting to attend, so I had a few hours to kill.  I decided to try to find a Pigmy Rattlesnake, and headed down towards the coast.  The afternoon was hot, cloudy, and muggy, as I visited a spot where I had found the little rattlers on my last visit, a patch of wet forest with stands of sabal palm and palmetto. There was a small pond nearby, and on this visit there was very little water in evidence. I walked slowly through the area, lifting up each fallen palmetto frond and paying close attention to the bases of trees and getting a search image fixed in my mind's eye.

Clouds rolled in from the ocean, bringing a spatter of rain and a welcoming breeze. I was sweating quite a bit, feeling like I had a hot, wet, wool blanket thrown over me. Twice I nearly walked into the large webs of Nephila clavipes, the giant orb weaver known locally as banana spiders.  While I'm not afraid of spiders, I didn't want a face full of web, or a large spider crawling on my nose for that matter. They are very beautiful and I stopped to take a few pictures. In this species, the male is quite small and drab in comparison with the female, who have this wicked deaths-head look to their cephalothorax.

Poking around on a raised hummock, I was surprised to find a cottonmouth resting up against the base of a tree, under a bit of palm leaf.  The setting reminded me of photos I've seen of Fer-de-Lances in tropical forests. It looked like a very good place to hang out, perhaps a little cooler there with a chance for a breeze, and maybe a meal wandering by. I took a few pictures and moved on without disturbing the snake.

Where were the little rattlers?  This area was very dry, compared to my last visit.  I found a low swale with a few moist spots, and scared up a few cricket frogs.  That was encouraging; I thought the small Sistrurus might hang around here if there were frogs to eat.  I kept a careful watch as I worked my way along the low ground, but it wasn't until I turned around and came back that I finally found what I was looking for.  Coiled up at the base of a buttressed tree was a small Pigmy Rattlesnake. About fourteen inches long, it was large enough to have four rattle segments, and it sat quietly and let me take some photos.

Pigs are one of my favorite rattlesnakes, and finding one was a great way to top off a great vacation.  Scott and I had gotten in some canoeing and fishing, the girls had enjoyed themselves with movies and shopping, and we all had a relaxing, wonderful time.  A little field herping was icing on the cake!