This past weekend the first Lionfish Derby was held in Key Largo.  There were prizes for the most, the largest and the smallest lionfish brought in.  Over 500 were caught and killed, hopefully helping to rid the area of this toxic and invasive fish.  The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has recently blossomed with lionfish, so more derbies are expected in the following months.

Lionfish are found all over the Caribbean and Bahamas now, where they are also invasive.  Unlike most tropical fish, Lionfish are resistant to cold temperatures.  They eat important baby reef fish, like grouper and snapper.  Of course they also compete with native fish for food.   They also have long spines which are toxic to humans if touched. Spearfishers and anglers are encouraged to kill them whenever they can.

Here’s one that was caught via Hawaiian sling in Key West waters on the reef.

The chickens of Key West have personalities, which can easily be observed in how nervous they are.  The chickens in Old Town are less nervous around people.  They have apparently adapted to cruise ship tourists who try to photograph them or feed them.  You can tell the chickens who don’t live in Old Town are more wary of people, since they probably come into contact with more locals than tourists.

Locals are more likely to hate the chickens, since they have to live around them.  Chickens can be rude and wake you up at any time of night, contrary to popular belief.  The roosters will cock-a-doodle-doo at any time of night, like 3 or 4 am.  If you live next to a chicken, you will come to hate them for this reason.

But not everyone lives next to them, and many locals love them.  This can be seen in the may forms of art dedicated to the Key West chicken.  There used to be a Chicken Lady who had a chicken store in Old Town, but she relocated to the mainland with her chickens.  There are several art galleries on and around Duval that feature chicken oil paintings, wine glasses, etc.  Joy Gallery on Duval has some gorgeous oil paintings of the Key West Chicken.

Capturing the Key West chicken on film can be challenging.  Depending on the personality of the chicken you’re trying to photograph, the chickens can be nervous and flighty.   Photographing a chicken in New Town or say the parking lot of Home Depot where some of these shots were taken, requires bait.  Throw some rice or bread crumbs down and you have a captive subject for a few minutes while the bird pecks away.  He’s still in constant motion, however, so your challenges aren’t over.  Here are a Key West chickens, plus some baby chickens on Duval Street for your enjoyment.

At the southern end of White Street, there’s a long pier that’s good for getting a fresh perspective on Key West.  You can often find people trying their luck at fishing from White Street Pier, but they don’t usually seem to have much luck.  Since the pier is right at the edge of Higgs Beach, it’s a great spot for looking back on the beach.  Kiteboarders love to launch from the end of Higgs Beach, right where the Pier starts.  This also makes it a great spot for watching them jump and fly during windy weather.

On the dunes behind Higgs Beach next to the Pier there are picnic tables, small palm trees, and chickens.  The tables often have “all-day” inhabitants who’ve set up camp on them, but you can sometimes find one that’s free.  As you can tell from some of these pictures, chickens are camera shy.  The trick is to bait them with oatmeal or bread crumbs, then snap a picture.  Chasing them does not work and eventually you feel like you’re harassing the poor things if you follow them too long.

There’s a large open space on the pier, which is nice because Key West is all about tiny tree-lined streets and small cottages and lots to see and do on a small island.  The large open space on the pier is a great place to be if you need a break from coziness and small places.  It’s wide open and unencumbered, you can check the visibility of the inshore waters, watch boats zip by to and from from Stock Island, or just watch the water lapping up on the jagged rocks.

We had a pod of dolphins come to check us out when we were snorkeling, which was pretty amazing. Its illegal to purposely swim with the wild dolphins but what can you do when they come from no where to swim with you.

On the way home we found a turtle trapped in a crap pot line and where able to cut it free.