Blue Hole

The BLUE HOLE Page
Did you know that the Blue Hole is the most visited spot on Big Pine? Both locals and tourists flock to the water's edge to spy a turtle, alligator or green heron.

BLUE HOLE SIGHTINGS (Updated Aug. 5, 2010)

1. Alligators - Our resident female gator is approx. 5.5’ long and has been here for about 3 years. A male, approx. 7’ long, showed up in early March, as it was the beginning of mating season. They had been seen and heard doing their courtship displays, which include bellowing, swimming together, body rubs, and blowing bubbles. It was reported that they were seen mating in late April, but so far, no nest. More alligators could show up anytime, as we do have a population in the lower Keys. (We do have American Crocodiles in the Keys, but they mainly inhabit brackish or saltwater and are pretty rare. However, there was one Crocodile that stayed in the Blue Hole for one week several years ago!)

2. Green Herons - These small herons are seen here year round, but especially in the spring, as they begin to build their nests at the Blue Hole. During non-breeding season, their legs are yellow, but in breeding season, they are turn bright orange. They make great parents, as they build the nest together, take turns sitting on the eggs and feeding their young.

3. Key deer - There are approx. 500 Key deer on Big Pine and approx. 100 on No Name Key. The best time to see them is at first light in the morning, or an hour or so before the sun sets. You could see them at the Blue Hole, but please don’t entice them or feed them.

4. Freshwater Fish - Blue Gill (some people call them Brim or Perch), Gambusia (small mosquito fish which eat the mosquito larvae), Sailfin Molly, Killifish, Sheephead, and other exotic fish illegally released.

5. Saltwater Fish - Tarpon, Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Mojarra (Normally the Blue Hole has only freshwater fish, but Hurricane Wilma’s storm surge on October 24, 2005, brought saltwater fish in, and now they are landlocked and mostly surviving. Tarpon are one of those fish which can survive in both saltwater and freshwater, but some of the other fish have amazed us that they are still surviving.)

6. Freshwater Turtles - Red-bellied, Peninsula Cooter, Red-eared Sliders, Yellow-bellied, and Florida Soft-shell turtles.

8. Land Snakes - Black snake, Corn snake, Rosy Rat snake, Ringneck snake (we do have Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes in the Keys, but have not encountered one at the Blue Hole - yet)

9. Turkey Vultures - During the winter months, there are literally thousands of these in the Keys. Watch for them circling and not flapping their wings. They have weak chest muscles for gaining altitude, so Mother Nature has given them the instinct to be able to find the updrafts, or thermals. Watch for Bald Eagles and different kinds of hawks flying with them in these “kettles”.

12. Bats - Free-tailed bats can be seen in the summer right at sunset, eating those pesky mosquitoes!

IF YOU SEE ANY UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS NOT LISTED HERE, PLEASE REPORT THEM AT THE KEY DEER REFUGE VISITOR CENTER, LOCATED AT THE WINN-DIXIE SHOPPING CENTER ON BIG PINE KEY.

Anhinga	Kestrel
Antillean Nighthawk	Kingfisher
Bald Eagle	Lesser Scaup
Barn Swallow	Magnificent Frigatebird (Watch them swoop down and get a drink while flying)
Barn Swallow	Merlin
Black Vulture	Osprey
Black-Crowned Night Heron (two adults and one juvenile here in April)	Peregrine Falcon
Black-whiskered Vireo	Pied-Billed Grebe
Blue-winged Teal	Purple Gallinule
Broad-winged Hawk	Purple Martin
Cape May Warbler	Purple Martin
Cardinal	Red-Shouldered Hawk
Cattle Egret	Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle	Ring-necked Duck
Common Merganser	Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Common Moorhen	Short-tailed Hawk
Common Yellowthroat	Sora Rail
Cooper’s Hawk	Swallow-tailed Kite
Eastern Kingbird	Tree Swallow
Gray Kingbird	Veery
Great Blue Heron	White-eyed Vireo
Great Egret	Wood Stork
Great White Heron	Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

Theses two were taken on January 14 by Joe Isnardi of BPK. He forwarded to me to put on our website...these are of our resident female gator, lying on rock next to observation deck, with a dead tarpon in her mouth. This was during that severe cold spell we had the first of the year, and chances are, she found the dead fish floating and decided to grab it to eat. Ironically, it was too cold for her to eat also (gators usually don't eat until air temp. is above 70 degrees), but she looked like she was determined to hang onto that fish until it warmed up.

Here's a pic of a Veery, taken by a visitor, Robert Doe, on 5/1/10 at the Blue Hole. I spotted the bird and identified it (my first Veery in the Keys) and he confirmed the sighting with this picture.
Hugs...Carlene

Most of our wonderful volunteers have gone back north for the summer, so we are down to a skeleton crew. If anyone is interested in spending just a few hours a week, volunteering at the Blue Hole, watching Mother Nature in all her glory, please contact me at 305-872-1473 or Jim Bell at 305-872-0774. Everyone have a great summer!

Click John Grubka for some pictures taken by John Grubka, some of which were published in the Keynoter Sunday magazine.