 At Robbies Marina, in Islamorada visitors buy pails of fish to feed the resident tarpon. Some may think it odd that I live in the Keys, the fishing capital of the world and I don't fish. It’s not that I don't like the water. I love photographing its varying shades of blue and aqua. I came to the Keys in the mid-1980’s in a round-about way. I actually left my hometown of Ft. Lauderdale in 1979 aboard a yacht, and spent nearly five years, logging more than 47,000 miles by sea, including seven trans-Atlantics, as crew aboard the schooner “America.” Upon my return home, I had tamed my adventurous spirit, and satisfied a lifetime of “been-there-done-that’s” and also noticed the Ft. Lauderdale of my youth had vanished, as high-rise buildings were popping up in the once small town.  Though fishing for the “Silver King” was generally a sport reserved for men, that didn’t dissuade Shultz Heitman with her 185 lb tarpon catch circa 1900 (Credit: Archives State of Florida) Imagine what it would have cost to have chartered a yacht, and spent years living in exotic destinations? Yet we live in one of those special places called the Keys, where tourism and fishing have been the backbone of the economy for decades. Here we have hot weather, warm water, and skilled fishing guides for those willing to spend a lot of money to fulfill an item on their “bucket” list, to experience the rush of stalking and hooking a tarpon. The “Silver King” tarpon was the first major game fish sought in Florida waters.  This photo of hooking a tarpon was started out as a challenge and a dream, that actually came true. A pioneer in the sport of fishing, Stu Apte, age 94 still lives in Tavernier with his wife Jeanine. After serving from 1955-1958 as a Navy fighter pilot during the Korean War, he became a pilot for Pan Am. most importantly because their routes included the places he wanted to fish. Stu holds many records for fish, but his largest record on fly was for tarpon, a record he achieved twice on one day (May 28, 1982) fishing in Homosassa Springs; he broke the record in the morning with a 162-3/4 lb. tarpon, only to break his own record in the afternoon with one that weighed 164 lb. on 12 lb. tippet.  “The requisites to success in tarpon-fishing are a favorable locality, hot weather, warm water, infinite patience, plenty of endurance, coolness, skill, a good guide, carefully selected tackle, and a knowledge of how to use it. —“Tarpon Days,” Harper’s Weekly, June 26, 1897 When he wasn’t fishing, Stu was photographing and writing, or guiding other anglers to world records. In 1962 his angler Kay Brodney landed a 137.6 lb. tarpon on a 12-pound tippet, at Coupon Bight, Big Pine Key, fishing alongside a half dozen others, with baseball great Ted Williams, among the boats present. “It was fantastic to have her tie into that fish in front of all of those people,” Stu recalls. Now known as Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve, it is a 5,400-acre protected area located south of Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys. An environmentalist in a time before sustainable fishing was even invented, Isaac Walton (1593 to 1683) in “The Compleat Angler” wrote: “The Earth is a solid, settled Element; an element most universally beneficial both to man and beast: to men who have their several recreations upon it; as Horseraces, Hunting, sweet smells, pleasant walks: the Earth feeds man, and all those several beasts that both feed him, and afford him recreation.”  In 1962 Kay Brodney record 137.6 lb. tarpon on a 12-pound tippet in the Florida Keys with legendary fishing guide Stu Apte. That quote was my inspiration: Can we still in the 21’st century have a battle with a powerful beast within sight of the trappings of mankind? I wanted a photo of a jumping tarpon on an anglers line with a traffic filled US-1 in the background for the America 24/7 (Day in a life of America) book project. I arranged for two guides, one as my photo “chase” boat and the second with long-time fishing guide Capt. Ron Wagner and two British anglers Pip and Ashley. My heart sunk when Capt. Ron said they’d been out all week and hadn’t hooked a tarpon. Undeterred, we approached the Channel 5 area where Capt. Ron put a small crab on the hook, cast it and within moments a tarpon grabbed it, jumped high into the air and the battle had began.  Following the fish through the concrete arch of the former Florida East Coast Railway Extension. I have heard stories of anglers while fishing at Channel 5 Bridge, would hook a tarpon, it would head through the bridge to the ocean and turn around and go back again. You have to follow the fish, and in heavy current it is easy for them to breathe, they have more oxygen and it gives the fish more stamina to fight harder. On this day this tarpon headed that way, in heavy current toward the bridge. The experienced Capt. Ron maneuvered the fish, line, and the boat through the concrete arches of the Channel 5 bridge and through to the ocean side.  Closer to the boat, the tarpon lept out of the water in front of me.  Landing a tarpon in view of US1. My camera captured many different views, but always in mind was the shot I wanted… a tarpon battle with a background of US1. As the sun got lower and the fish more tired, the angler Ashley brought it closer to the boat and it leapt out of the water in front of me. The shot made the book.
SO I guess I DO fish after all, sustainably, with my camera and lens, I RELEASE the shutter to capture a moment.
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Although I espouse the principles of planting for wildlife, I always seem surprised when it actually works. Wildlife need food, water, cover and a place to raise their young in order to live. Though there’s little in this world I can control, there’s an opportunity to make a difference when we plant for wildlife.  A common misconception about possums is that they hang by their tail. This possum is perched on a thick branch of a Wild Tamarind (Lyceloma) tree. Though sometimes I may put a handful of sunflower seeds on the “seed table” for the resident cardinals or blue jays, I don’t feed the critters. I do make sure my planting choices and practices are compatible with the needs of our native creatures. The best thing you can do to attract wildlife is plant native plants and they will come.  Side view of the possum shows one of its 50 teeth, more teeth than any other mammal in N. America. Critters can be pretty sneaky. Case in point: the gardener picked a ripe avocado and put it beside his lunchbox only to return to find it had disappeared. Hmmm? He assumed I had picked it up. I had not. A short while later we opened a storage box and there was movement and I screamed (of course), as I’ve never become accustomed to actually seeing wildlife in my yard, and an enormous possum crawled out. It must’ve weighed 15 pounds! It had been the culprit that stole the avocado, and by the looks of things may have consumed many more. The possum just lumbered off when it saw us.  Not sure if the possum cared that I was photographing it. Maybe it couldn’t see me or was just used to my presence? My thought is there’s enough here for both of us, and I don’t mind sharing some fruit or produce from my garden. One morning in January while surveying the yard, looking for ripe fruit or vegetables, and clearing up any rotting fruit on the ground, I came across what appeared to be a dead possum. It was intact, no appearance of foul play, although I am aware that some homeowners put out bait to kill the rats, so perhaps this critter was an unfortunate secondary victim, since their diet consists of mice and rats… perhaps it ate a poisoned rat. Opossums are nature’s “Sanitation Engineers”. They also eat insects including cockroaches, crickets and beetles, and snails, as well as dead meat.  Sleeping or just sniffing out it’s next insect meal. I picked it up, placed it in a grocery bag, and put it in the trashcan. I didn’t think any more of it. That is until I told the story to a naturalist who asked me if I was sure it wasn’t “Playing Possum”… you know, acting dead to dissuade a predator. A possum will hiss, growl and flash a mouthful of 50 fierce-looking teeth in hopes of scaring a predator. If that doesn’t work they will play dead, since the predator is less interested in dead meat. The naturalist said it’s an involuntary comatose-like state induced by extreme fear, and somehow the opossum’s body knows when the danger has passed. They could not control it, but would “come to” again. Nature’s mystery! Putting it that way, I was not able to say I tested for temperature or life signs. It just looked dead.  Is this possum “Playing Possum” or is it dead? That made my husband Ted remark,”When I die will you make sure you get a second opinion? to make sure I am dead?” He is one of a not so small fraternity / sorority / “e-ternity” of people who have died (for Ted 8 minutes flat-line) and come back to life. People who have had this experience return with glowing stories of family reunions, or a sense of knowing about the glory of the afterlife.  “We discovered a large possum enjoying some scraps outside the front door the other night. We used to have one who came so regularly every evening you could set your watch by him. I do believe that nothing in nature is ugly; however, I must also admit that there are some things that aren't exactly beautiful, and the possum is one them! This particular one was quite tame and would be quite still to be stroked. His coat was as silky and soft as goose down which made him beautiful to touch. Perhaps we lay too much store in believing beauty to be a visual thing, whereas in fact it should involve all the senses.” (January 1980 - TORN (The Ocean Reef News) AN OPOSSUM RESCUE One lucky orphaned possum was adopted by my webmaster Brittney Novalsky, who named it “Paris”, and she raised it from the size of a tiny mouse until 3 years old. Brittney says Paris loved to cuddle, go on bike rides, and had a very special diet to keep her healthy. She drove an hour round trip to get her quail eggs. Though a possum’s life span is a short 3-4 years, Brittney says the experience of knowing love from an opossum was worth it.
The opossum is North America’s only marsupial. Infants stay inside the mother’s pouch to nurse and develop, but if the mother dies while still nursing, her offspring rarely survive. At 7 weeks old, the young leave the pouch but stick close to mom, still nursing and often riding atop her back. Never will I forget the words of Jean Geddes, full-time Keys resident, fisherman and naturalist, and one never afraid to speak her mind. whom I met in the early 80’s. She said her favorite time of year was when the White Crowned Pigeons arrive and at the same time, the winter “snowbirds” depart. It is the frenetic pace of the season with the “three activities a day crowd,” plus feedings, that keeps Keys service workers and professionals in our tourism economy busy, and longing for the calmer days of the off-season. All they have to do is endure “Spring Break.”  Common Yellowthroat male with a dark mask. These birds feed on insects, and here is perched on a Giant Milkweed branch. For years I’d make note of the first White Crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala) I’d see, usually in late March or April, after they’ve flown from Central and South America, across the Gulf of Mexico. When they stop here they need water and food. Figs are high on their list… all sorts of figs, which are full of nutrition for our feathered travelers. My home is surrounded by a majority of native plants, including a large Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis.) White Crowned Pigeons also favor gumbo-limbo, blolly, poisonwood, rough strongbark, and ironwood trees.
 This year, while sitting under the fig tree and waiting, I managed to photograph my first White Crowned Pigeon. It is a challenge is to maneuver into a good clear vantage point for viewing the birds, without alerting them to your presence. I found it particularly helpful to use my Nikon 180 - 600 mm lens and stand in the shadows so I could watch without being discovered. In just a few weeks benefiting from the tips about what to look for and where to stand, I was able to get close-up photos of various birds in my yard including a Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), White-Crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala), and Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor).  White Crowned Pigeon in a Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) Figs which are a preferred fruit.  Prime viewing spot for birds is under this Banyan Tree in my yard. Some ficus, such as the Banyan tree require a lot of space for their roots to grow yet not disturb water pipes, but they are full of food for birds After all I’ve learned about finding migrating birds in the outdoors, my most unusual bird sighting was inside the home of Gail and Spike. While working on a photo project we were distracted by the flapping of a bird trying to get out. From high above on the window ledge the bird looked out and repeatedly was repelled by the clear glass barrier keeping him in. It darted up to the curtain and clung onto the fabric, probably wondering where is my branch? Confused, hungry and thirsty, this bird needed out. We called Ocean Reef’s naturalist Jeanette, who was there instantly and within a couple minutes had netted the bird. Jeanette took him out into the sunshine among the trees and flowers and butterflies and released it and as the bird flew off, I recognized that bird as the one often seen flying in pairs in the late afternoon catching mosquitos. From my photos the bird was identified as a Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica), and sure enough it feeds primarily on flying insects and it mates for life. It also likes chimneys, but it is unclear if the bird entered the house through the chimney or an open door.  After my efforts to locate migrating birds in the wild, I encounter a Chimney Swift inside a home.  The bird clung onto the drapery fabric, probably wondering where is my branch?  Ocean Reef naturalist Jeanette swiftly netted the bird and admires its beauty. The small beak is ideal for catching flying insects. It is helpful if you can identify the birds by learning their songs. The Merlin app which listens for birds can give a pretty accurate ID to aid in visual identification. Unfortunately the spring migration coincides with the departure of our snowbirds, who also have a loud call… caused by the rumble of their jet engines warming up on the nearby airport runway, which successfully drowns out any bird call.  Insects are the main source of food for the Prairie Warbler  A Palm Warbler seeks food on the ground.  A Prairie Warbler seeks insects in the Wild Tamarind Tree.  With the help of charts such as the one featured here, homeowners can improve their yards by choosing plants that will attract and nourish wildlife. From “The Florida Keys Environmental Story” article by Jim Duquesnel. "Practical bird-protection means not only preventing the destruction of birds but creating conditions which shall make the world more habitable for them. Tree planting for birds should be given especial consideration on Arbor Days"
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CAROL ELLIS
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