Everglades National Park: Birds, Birds, Birds

Great Blue Heron from the Shark Valley tram

The Everglades are a massive watershed that begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, discharges into Lake Okeechobee and then forms a slow-moving seasonal river 60 miles wide and more than 100 miles long. This “river of grass” (a term coined by writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas) comprises sawgrass marshes, cypress swamps, mangrove forests, hardwood hammocks, pine rockland and the marine environment of Florida Bay.

Two areas of the Everglades are managed by the National Park Service: Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. We visited both. 

This blog covers Everglades National Park. While there, we did five things: visited the all the Visitor Centers, walked the boardwalks of the Anhinga Trail, took a boat tour at the Flamingo area, took a tram tour through Shark Valley (so named because it is the headwaters of the Shark River, not because it is inhabited by sharks) and drove out to Chokoloskee on the southeastern bay-side of the park.

Shark Valley tram: Tricolored Heron flying across the sawgrass

I highly recommend doing all of those things if you visit the Everglades to get a feel for the diversity of the area. During the busy season (winter), I also highly recommend getting reservations - especially for the Shark Valley tram. Also, be advised that parking in Shark Valley is tight. We got a space, but many people had to park along the main highway and walk about a half mile to the Visitor Center to catch the tram. You can connect to the various private concessionaires through links on the NPS website.

Anhinga Trail: Junior Ranger

I am not covering what we saw by activity, but rather by animal species. But, I did label each picture by activity.

Shark Valley tram: Tricolored Heron and White Ibis

The Everglades have two seasons: dry from November to April, and wet from May to October. About 70 percent of annual rainfall occurs in the wet season; the dry season has little rain and low humidity. This year, however, December began with a record nine inches of rain, which totally messed up the eco-system. Alligators were not where they normally are in December, migratory birds had left before they normally do and the weather was a steamy 20 degrees above normal.

I had seen about 50 or more Gators along the Anhinga Trail when I visited in May 2014. When Caty and I visited Anhinga, we saw no Gators. We did, however, see lots of birds, which I will get to in a minute.

Anhinga Trail: Male Anhinga

The first written record of the Everglades was made by Spanish cartographers who featured it on maps for decades without having exploring it because it was so difficult to penetrate. A British surveyor who mapped the coast of Florida in 1773, called the area "River Glades" and, somehow, the word "River" was later replaced by "Ever." The Seminole call it Pa-hay-okee, meaning "Grassy Water."

Shark Valley: American Alligator

Settlers wanting to develop plantations began trying to drain the Everglades in 1882. In the first half of the 20th century, the state built 1,400 miles of canals, levees and water control devices that transformed some of the area into farmland and diverted water to Miami. Now, approximately 50 percent of the original Everglades is agricultural or urban land, which, of course, has had a devastating ecological effect.

Anhinga Trail

Conservation efforts began in the 1970s. Construction of a large airport north of Everglades National Park was blocked and a canal that had straightened the Kissimmee River was removed. Now, the area is involved in the most expensive and comprehensive environmental restoration attempt in history.

Shark Valley: swamp lily

Much of that conservation is aimed at protecting the animals that live there. And, many of those animals are birds.

Although I am not quite a birder, I think I may be headed in that direction. And even though the migratory birds had moved on, we had a great array of year-long birds to photograph. And, now, I really have a handle on which is which.

So, let's start with the Anhinga, which is the iconic bird of the Everglades.

Anhinga Trail: Male Anhinga

Sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter or Water Turkey (you'll see why when I post about Big Cypress National Preserve), the Anhinga uses its sharp, slender beak to spear fish and other small prey while swimming. Because it is a diving bird, it has dense bones, making it heavier than many birds, and its wings are not waterproof. As a result, it spends a lot of time drying its wings, giving it its characteristic pose.

Anhinga Trail: Male Anhinga

Most of the male's body is a glossy black green with the wings, base of wings and tail a glossy black blue with white feathers at the tip. The back of the head and the neck have elongated gray or light purple-white feathers and the upper back of the body and wings is spotted or streaked with white in a "piano key" pattern. The blue around its eyes is quite striking. 

The female Anhinga is similar to the male except that it has a brown head, neck and upper chest. The lower chest or breast is a chestnut color and as compared to the male, the female has a more brown back.

Flamingo boat tour, Buttonwood Canal: female Anhinga

Anhingas are often mistaken for the Double-crested Cormorant, but the Anhinga's tail is wider and much longer than the Cormorant's and the Anhinga 's bill is pointed, while the Cormorant's has a hook-tip. Anhingas have duck-like feet for swimming.

Shark Valley: female Anhinga

Another iconic bird is the Great Blue Heron, a very large bird with a head-to-tail length of up to 54 inches and a wingspan of up to 79 inches. Great Blue Herons have gray-blue flight feathers, red-brown thighs and a red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the face is nearly white with a pair of slate plumes just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The dull yellowish bill and gray lower legs briefly becomes orange at the start of the breeding season. 

Shark Valley tram: Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is found throughout most of North America, ranging as far north as Alaska. They rarely venture far from bodies of water and usually nest in trees or bushes near water's edge or on islands away from predators.

Shark Valley tram: Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons' primary food is small fish, although they also opportunistically feed on shrimp, crabs, insects, rodents, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. They locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole. Adult herons, due to their size, have few natural predators, but can be eaten by Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles and Great Horned Owls. An occasional adult or, more likely, a fledgling may be snatched by an American Alligator or an American Crocodile.

The Great White Heron, an all-white version of the Great Blue Heron, is found only in the Caribbean and southern Florida. We saw a few (not many compared to other birds), but I didn't get any good pictures in the Everglades.

Biscayne National Park: Great White Heron

The Great White Heron can be differentiated from the more common, slightly smaller Great Egret by its yellow, rather than black, legs.

Anhinga Trail: Great Egret

Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, the Great Egret stands up to 39 inches tall and has a wingspan of up to 37 inches. 

Shark Valley tram: Great Egret

Males and females look identical; juveniles look like non-breeding adults. In breeding season, the all-white bird gets delicate ornamental feathers on its back, which cost many of them their lives around the end of the 19th century when they were killed for plumes decorate hats. The Great Egret feeds mainly on fish, frogs, small mammals and occasionally small reptiles and insects. It stands still and allows the prey to come within striking distance of its bill, which it uses as a spear. Predators of eggs and nestlings include Turkey Vultures, Common Ravens and American Crows. Red-tailed Hawks, Black Bears and Raccoons are known to also take fledglings.

A Heron that I had never heard of before (or, at least didn't recall) is the Little Blue Heron, of which we saw many.

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center: Little Blue Heron

The Little Blue Heron is only 24 inches long with a 40 inch wingspan and weighs only 11.5 oz. It has a pointed blue or greyish bill with a black tip. 

Flamingo boat tour: juvenile LBH   

Breeding adult birds have blue-grey plumage except for the head and neck, which are purple and have long blue plumes. Non-breeding adults have dark blue head and neck plumage and paler legs. 

Young birds are all white except for dark wing tips and have greenish legs. They gradually acquire blue plumage as they mature.

The Little Blue Heron stalks its prey methodically in shallow water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, frogs, crustaceans, small rodents and insects. 

Young, still white, Little Blue Herons often mingle with Snowy Egrets, which tolerate their presence more than adults with blue plumage. The young birds actually catch more fish when in the presence of Snowy Egrets and gain a measure of protection from predators when they mix into flocks of white Herons. That may be why they remain white for their first year.

Flamingo Marina: juvenile Little Blue Heron

Continuing on the Heron thread is the absolutely beautiful Green Heron (sometimes called the Green-backed Heron), another small bird (only 17 inches long). Unlike the bigger Herons, it usually pulls its neck in tight against the body, making it seem even smaller. 

Anhinga Trail: male Green Heron

Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back, grey-black wings that grade into green or blue, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front, grey underparts and short yellow legs. The bill is dark with a long, sharp point. Females are smaller and duller. Juveniles are even duller, with streaked heads, necks and underparts.  

Anhinga Trail: male Green Heron

Green Herons tend to be nocturnal, but eat actively during the day if hungry or feeding young. They mainly eat small fish, frogs and aquatic arthropods, but may take leeches and mice if they can catch them. Intolerant of other birds when feeding, green herons do not forage in groups. They typically stand still on shore, in shallow water or on branches to await prey. Sometimes they drop food, insects or small objects on the water's surface to attract fish, making them one of the few known tool-using species and putting them among the world's most intelligent birds.

Yet another new bird for me is the absolutely gorgeous Tricolored Heron. 

Shark Valley: Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Herons have a blue-grey head, neck and back and upper wings that range from a light blue/purple to a rich dark purple. They have a prominent white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long blue plumes on the head and neck and buff ones on the back. I had never seen one before and we thought at first that they were strange Little Blue Herons.

Shark Valley tram: Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Herons are smallish, up to 30 inches long with a wingspan of 38 inches. They stalk their prey in shallow or deeper water, often running. They eat fish, crustaceans, reptiles and insects.

Shark Valley Tram: Tricolored Heron

And, that's it for the Herons we saw. The Everglades is also home to the Reddish Heron, but the only one we may have seen was swiftly flying away. Maybe next time.

But, that's not it for birds. When I was in the Everglades in 2014, the tour guide raved about the beauty of the Purple Gallinule. I didn't think I got a good look at one and then realized that what I thought was a coot in a picture I had taken was actually a Gallinule; but, I wasn't that impressed.

This time, we got a better view and now I get it. This beauty showed off why the call it the gem of the Everglades.

Anhinga Trail: Purple Gallinule

Also known as a Swamp Hen, the Purple Gallinule is 10-15 inches long with a 20-24 inch wingspan. Adults have big yellow feet, purple-blue plumage with a green back, and a red and yellow bill. They also have a distinctive pale blue forehead shield and white undertail.

Anhinga Trail: Purple Gallinule

Omnivores, they eat a wide variety of plants and animals, including seeds, leaves and fruits of both aquatic and terrestrial plants, as well as insects, frogs, snails, spiders, earthworms and fish. They nest is a floating structure in a marsh and one of the ones we saw was feeding on swamp plant flowers. 

Anhinga Trail: Purple Gallinule

Darkness or low light can dim the bright purple-blue plumage to make them look dusky or brownish, although the forehead shield color differentiates them from similar species. That's why the one I saw last May wasn't impressive; the light was low. But not this time.

We also saw a number of American White Ibises, which I often see in flocks (during breeding season, they gather in huge groups as large as  30,000 birds). Oddly, all my Everglades Ibis pictures are of individuals!

Ibises are very easy to distinguish because of their white plumage, downward-curved orange bills, orange legs and blue eyes. Ibises also have very prominent black wing tips that are usually only visible in flight. They range from 21-28 inches with a 35-41 inch wingspan. Males are larger and have longer bills than females.

Flamingo boat tour, Buttonwood Canal: White Ibis

Ibises prefer to eat crayfish and other crustaceans, but also take aquatic insects and small fishes. For the most part, the American White Ibis forages for food by tactile probing, slowly wading through shallow water and sweeping its bill back and forth across the bottom to pick out food. On land, Ibises seek small prey when other birds are not around, because they must break up food into small pieces to eat and other predators such as Herons and Egrets often rob them of their catch.

Anhinga Trail: White Ibis

Native American folklore held that the Ibis was the last to seek shelter before a hurricane, and the first to emerge afterwards. The bird is thus a symbol for danger and optimism (and the University of Miami's mascot).

As we were leaving Shark Valley, we saw a brown-streaked bird hiding at the edge of a pond. We thought is was an immature Ibis, which are brown, but it turned out to be a Limpkin - the only one we saw.

Shark Valley: Limpkin

A unique species with no close relatives, the Limpkin's name derives from its odd, undulating walk. It is 25-29 inches long with a wingspan of 40-42 inches. Males are slightly larger than females, but there is no difference in plumage, which is a drab brown with white streaks. Its bill is long, heavy and downcurved with a darker tip. Limpkins inhabit reedy freshwater marshes, swamps and mangroves. They eat mollusks, primarily apple snails. They are largely nocturnal and crepuscular, except in Florida, where they do not fear people. They are strong swimmers and, because of their long toes, can stand on floating water plants. 

On our boat tour, we saw a large "covert" of American Coots, with their shiny black plumage and distinctive white bills. 

Flamingo boat tour, Water Water Lake: American Coots

We saw a couple of Ospreys, too, but none as close up as my last trip there: one in a nest was making a lot of noise, but only showing a few tail feathers and a few flew over our heads.

Flamingo Marina: Osprey

Finally, we were treated several times to views of Red-shouldered Hawks. The best sighting was in Chokoloskee, where we happened upon a Hawk that had just taken down some prey and patiently waited in a nearby tree as we took its picture.

Chokoloskee: Red-shouldered Hawk

Ranging from 15-24 inches long with wingspans of 35-50 inches, these beautiful birds have prominent stripes and lovely reddish chests and shoulder bars (hence their name).

Red-shouldered Hawks have very sharp vision and reasonably good hearing, with talons capable of killing animals at least equal to their own size. Prey includes Voles, Gophers, Mice, Moles, Chipmunks, Rabbits, tree Squirrels, Crayfish, amphibians, reptiles (especially small snakes), small birds and large insects. They will also attack birds as large as Pigeons. They are forest raptors that search for prey while soaring or perched in trees. They then drop directly from the air onto the unsuspecting prey (which is what we observed in Chokoloskee).

Shark Valley: Red-shouldered Hawk

Human threats to Red-shouldered Hawks include hunting, collision with electric wires, road accidents and logging. Natural predators include Raccoons, Martens, Fishers, large arboreal snakes, Great Horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Barred Owls, other Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Goshawks, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons and Bald and Golden Eagles. In Florida, Red-shouldered Hawks sometimes collaborate and peaceably coexist with American Crows (an enemy to other birds because they eat eggs) to cooperatively mob mutual predators, mainly Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks.

Chokoloskee: Red-shouldered Hawk

Before 1900, the Red-shouldered Hawk was one of the most common North American raptors.Hunting and deforestation caused precipitous population decreases as Red-tailed Hawks, occasional predators, saw population increases. Local forest regrowth and hunting bans have stabilized Red-shouldered Hawk populations and the species is not currently considered conservation dependent.

I also mentioned Vultures a few times in this blog, but realized that I didn't photograph any in the Everglades. They just ain't that pretty! I will share a nice photo when I talk about Biscayne National Park.

My next blog will address Alligators, Crocodiles and few more insects. Two things we didn't see: mammals, which have been almost completely eradicated by invasive Burmese Pythons; and Flamingos, which no longer frequent the Everglades as they did in the past.

Shark Valley tram: me

Trip date: December 27, 2015-January 3, 2016