Observations by gottman_m_05

Description: grayish brown in color, with a white undercoat and bushy tail. Running around the tree and area nearby. Only about 6-7 inches tall.

Habitat: woodland and urban areas, especially near oaks and hickory trees. Very active during the day. Native to all areas of North America.

Reference: myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/squirrels/

Description: brown body, with speckled designs, resembles tree bark. Padded toes, and large brown eyes. Only about 3-4 inches long and found on a palm tree. Was noticed because it was making a “barking” noise.

Habitat: Cuban tree frogs are not native to Florida but were brought here from Cuba. Live all over Florida, near natural areas. Breeds in any shallow, fish-free water and swamps and other similar areas.

Reference: ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/frogs/cubantreefrog.shtml

Description: colony of ants, had about a 5 inch mount and a 1 centimeter wide hole in the center. Ants are very small, and there were well over 200, reddish brown in color. Moving very quickly.

Habitat: lives in all areas of Florida. There are 22 species of harvester ants in the United States but the Florida harvester ants only occurs east of the Mississippi River.

Reference: entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/ants/harvester_ant.htm

Description: brown body speckled design, resembles a tree or leaf coverings. About 2 inches long. Slugs produce a lot of slime.

Habitat: they are moisture-loving creatures, commonly encountered at night after rain. The leatherleaf slug originated from the Caribbean.

Reference: www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/slugs-our-slimy-neighbors

Description: light green, growing on, around and near the trees. Flat on the ground for the most part. Takes up about 4 ft in total (only one small section is observed). When dry the moss turns pale, when wet or moisturized it is green. What ya sheen observed seems to be more dry than moist.

Habitat: sandy wooded area, and humus-rich soil in most areas of Florida.

Reference: http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/biota/moss.php

Seems to be a young plant, stands about 2-2 1/2 feet tall. The flowering buds are a pinkish color and in clusters. The leaves are fairly wide, about the length of my hand. They are seen in other areas of the park as well. There are no berries on this particular plant.
Reference: https://garden.org/ideas/view/wildflowers/147/All-About-American-Beautyberry/

Light greenish in color, stands about 2 feet tall. Has a bundle of leaves at the top of one stalk, unsure what that could be. The habitat of Starkey Park, is a damp and moist wooded area, with varying degrees of sunlight. From my observation there are several other ferns growing nearby this one.
Reference: https://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/florida-ferns.html

Two pelicans about 5-7 ft from the shore, wading in the water. The caps of their heads had white feathers, the majority of their body feathers were brown. Compared to the seagull the pelicans were about twice its size. They had very long gray bills, unable to distinguish between male and females. They are found in coastal habitats, such as sandy beaches and lagoons; can also be found in waterfronts and marinas. Year round these birds live in Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coast coastal areas such as Florida, Mexico, North Carolina.

Reference: www.nhptv.org/natureworks/brownpelican.htm