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American alligator
Start at the freshwater slough along the Anhinga Trail or the canal at Shark Valley. An American alligator often shows a broad, rounded snout and darker skin than an American crocodile. Look along the bank and water’s edge from the path, particularly when dry-season water levels draw animals into the remaining pools.
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American crocodile
Flamingo’s brackish marina and mangrove channels suit this more coastal reptile. A crocodile often looks lighter than an alligator, with a narrower, more pointed snout. A large lower tooth can show when the mouth is shut. Use binoculars from shore and give either animal plenty of room.
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Anhinga
Around the Anhinga Trail’s freshwater slough, watch for a long neck and daggerlike bill poking up while the body swims mostly underwater. Later you may see the bird perched with its wings spread. A straight, pointed bill helps separate an anhinga from a cormorant, whose bill hooks at the tip.
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Roseate spoonbill
Try the Florida Bay shoreline around Flamingo when exposed mudflats draw waders. Pink plumage gives away many Roseate Spoonbills, but the flat, spoon-shaped bill is the more useful clue. Watch it sweep the bill from side to side in shallow water.
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West Indian manatee
Look from shore over the water around Flamingo Marina for a broad gray back, a blunt muzzle rising for air, or a rounded paddle tail. This is the Florida form of the West Indian manatee. The water can hide most of the animal right up to the moment it surfaces.
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American white ibis
Watch a shallow marsh edge or the coastal flats around Flamingo for a bird sweeping its red, downcurved bill through mud and water. Adults are white, with black wingtips easy to see in flight. Young ibises have much browner plumage, but the long, curved bill still gives them away.
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Wood stork
Look for a large white wader with a dark, mostly bare head and a heavy bill. A Wood Stork feels for fish with its partly open bill. The dry season can concentrate prey in shallow pools, while mixed flocks around Flamingo offer a chance to compare the stork with smaller ibises and egrets.
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American purple gallinule
Scan the floating leaves and emergent plants along the Anhinga Trail. A Purple Gallinule’s long yellow toes help spread its weight on that green surface. Adults have a blue-purple body and a red bill with a yellow tip. A young bird looks much browner, so check the legs and where it is walking.
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Florida gar
In the clear slough water along the Anhinga Trail, watch for a long, spotted fish hanging near plants. Florida gar have a long snout and can gulp air at the surface. Other gar can look similar, so take the shape as an invitation to stop and watch rather than proof of the species.
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Florida red-bellied cooter
Scan logs and other basking spots along a freshwater slough such as the Anhinga Trail. This cooter can have reddish bars on the shell and a red or orange underside, though the underside may be out of sight. Several turtles use the same logs, so look for more than a dark shell breaking the surface.
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Pomacea paludosa
Look at plant stems rising from shallow freshwater, as well as the water itself. The native Florida applesnail leaves clusters of relatively large, pale eggs above the waterline. Bright pink egg masses usually point to introduced apple snails. Leave the animals and eggs where you find them.
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Snail kite
A Snail Kite is a chance sighting above an open freshwater marsh with patches of low vegetation. Watch for a head tipped downward as the bird searches for apple snails. A deeply hooked bill helps it remove a snail from its shell. Even in suitable habitat, this is a bird to hope for rather than count on.
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North American river otter
Along the Anhinga Trail and Shark Valley, look for a brown head moving quickly through the water, then a sleek body and a long tapering tail. The park reports spring observations at both spots. Otters can vanish in a dive, so stop and watch the next opening in the vegetation before moving on.
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Heliconius charithonia
At the edge of a shaded hammock, watch for a slow-flying butterfly with long black wings crossed by narrow yellow stripes. It is Florida’s state butterfly. The shaded woodland edge gives you something very different to look for after scanning the freshwater marsh and coastal flats.
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Barred owl
In a shaded hardwood hammock, listen before looking. Barred Owls give a rhythmic call and may roost high in the trees. Dark eyes, a rounded head, and vertical streaks down the belly help identify one if you get a clear view. A quiet scan of branches is more fruitful than expecting an owl at any particular tree.
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Florida panther
Treat the Florida panther as a reason to notice the wooded uplands, where it finds cover and prey. Hardwood hammocks and pinelands are part of its habitat. An encounter with this long-tailed, tawny cat is very unusual for a visitor, even when the forest looks right.
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