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| Roseate Spoonbill on the Everglades Loop Road |
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| The gallery in the swamp |
Although the prospect of slogging through potentially waist-deep swamp water was a little unnerving, I was in.
Plus, Scott wanted to reprise some of the drives that he and Will and he and I had done before, although he wasn’t exactly sure where we were going.
Instead of a chronological account (because we did some drives twice), I am just going use two posts to cover the various locations, finishing up with the Clyde Butcher swamp walk.
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| Bald Cypresses in the swamp |
But, I am going to start by talking about the cottage.
A Delightful Cottage
When I have visited the Everglades and Big Cypress before, lodging has always been a pain because everything I found was on the edges and a pretty far drive to the good stuff.
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| Right in the middle! |
I had something rustic, damp and primitive in mind.
Au contraire!
This was a beautiful, air-conditioned house with a lovely screened porch, a full kitchen (which is good because there are no restaurants nearby), satellite TV, a comfy bed and a charcoal grill.
It is found down a secluded private drive on Butcher’s property. Yes, it is a bit pricy – ranging from $250-$350 a night – depending on the season, but what a find.
It’s a shame we don’t spend much time in our hotels when we travel. This would have been a great place to just hang out and listen to the gators (it was mating season and they have some otherworldly mating calls).
Another big advantage was that we didn’t have to get up before dawn and drive for an hour to do our swamp walk. Nope, our guide met us right outside the cabin. So convenient.
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| I had to walk around this Gator that was on the road just across from the gallery |
But, more about the walk later. Let's start with drives we did on our own.
Janes Memorial Scenic Drive
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| Lots of plant life |
The last time we were in far south Florida, Scott had tried to find a drive that allegedly is a good place to see Florida Panthers. We had actually found it, but he didn’t recognize it and we turned back before seeing anything. This time, we found it and drove it, but still didn’t see much.
It was the Janes Memorial Scenic Drive in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, the largest State Park in Florida. This area is home to a variety of plant and animal species that can be found nowhere else in the continental United States.
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| A Crow welcomes us to the wildlife road |
The 11-mile dirt road extends from a visitor center (closed due to COVID) to Fakahatchee's border with Picayune Strand State Forest.
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| It's mixed environment of swamp, prairie and lakes |
The road (and all the trails in the park) are cleared tram roads that were created when the land was logged in the 1940s through the 1960s.
A “strand” is a type of swamp in Florida that forms a linear drainage channel (or slough) on flatlands. A forested wetland ecological habitat, strands occur on land areas with high water tables where the lack of slope prevents stream formation. For the most part, strand swamps occur south of Lake Okeechobee.
According to its website, Fakahatchee Strand has abundant wildlife.
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| I wish! Photo: LiveScience.com |
Not so much for us. Our midday drive, while pleasant, didn’t yield a lot. We did see Fish Crows (a lifer for me) …
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| Looks like a parent and fledgling |
Gray Catbirds (I had no idea there were so many in the swamps) …
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| Gray Catbirds like to lurk in the shadows |
Florida Oscar fish fry in the tannic water …
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| They grow into fairly large fish; this one was about an inch long |
White Ibises …
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| This is a juvenile |
Florida Red-bellied Turtles …
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| One of many, many turtles |
And lots of American Alligators ...
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| They were everywhere we looked |
But, no Panthers. I think we need to commit to late-evening sitting to see Florida Panthers. And, unfortunately, late evening was rainy when we were there.
Turner River Road
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| American Alligators along Turner River Road |
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| A good trip through the Preserve |
The 21-mile-long Turner River Road goes directly north from the Tamiami Trail through Big Cypress National Preserve, a Federally protected area consisting of 729,000 acres of cypress strands, wet prairies and pinelands.
Made of sand, shell and rock that was dredged out to create the canal along its edge, the road is only a few feet above water level.
A one-way-in, one-way-out route, it extends slightly north of I-75, passing under the Interstate.
Turner River Road gets its name by the nearby "Turner River," which is a favorite destination of canoeists and kayakers.
It’s a great place to see Red-shouldered Hawks …
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| Definitely the most common Florida hawk |
Black Vultures …
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| A very impressive bird |
Lots and lots of Black Vultures …
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| Coming in hot |
… including a few feeding on an unlucky Alligator that was most likely hit by a car …
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| A tasty lunch |
Dragonflies ...
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| Roseate Skimmer |
Turtles ...
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| Another Red-bellied Turtle |
And a variety of birds. We saw an Anhinga showing off its lunch catch …
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| This Anhinga swam around and around with the fish |
Grackles …
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| A female Boat-tailed Grackle |
Red-winged Blackbirds …
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| One of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds |
Osprey …
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| An Osprey soaring by |
And even an Eastern Kingbird …
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| A pretty eastern Kingbird |
Plus, and this is a heartbreaker, we saw some Swallow-tailed Kites, a lifer for me. We had seen a few while driving on I-75 on the way down, but I told Scott not to stop because we would see more when it would be easier to photograph them. And, we did see more, including a fairly close fly-over.
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| Surce: TheCornellLab |
But, I never managed to get a photograph. Not even a bad photograph. This is my biggest disappointment on the trip. I got a lifer, but didn’t get the shot. Now, I need to go back!
Let's not forget the Alligators. Hundreds of them.
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| The Gators mainly just chill in the canals and ponds |
Everglades Loop Road
Another great road for wildlife is the Everglades Loop Road, which I have had great wildlife luck with (I saw my first Red-shouldered Hawk there years ago).
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| Several Gators by a pond |
It’s a tricky road. It appears on all park maps, but it is not well-marked when driving east on the Tamiami Trail. We missed it. When you come in from the east, heading south, then west, you drive through some neighborhoods before you hit the actual wildlife drive. It can be a bit confusing, but it is worth it.
We drove it twice and saw some pretty great stuff, including Roseate Spoonbills, which are undoubtedly South Florida’s prettiest bird.
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| Roseate Spoonbills used to be plentiful, then took a big dip in population |
The juxtaposition with the green, green plants is stunning.
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| Now, Spoonbills are making a comeback |
Another beautiful bird is the White Ibis with its deep pink bill and bright blue eyes …
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| Preening in the trees |
The swamps are full of iconic Great Egrets, which we saw on many occasions, slowly walking through the swamp …
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| Great Egret on the hunt |
So much fun to watch.
There are a number of white egrets and herons. You can differentiate a Great Egret from a Snowy Egret by size and leg and bill color. The Great Egret has black legs and a yellow bill ...
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| Great Egret |
The much smaller Snowy Egret has black legs with yellow feet and a black bill with a yellow gape ...
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| Photo taken at Lido Beach, Florida |
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| Photo taken at Biscayne National Park, Florida |
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| Photo taken at Colleyville Nature Center, Texas |
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| An iconic Everglades photo |
Speaking of herons, we also saw a juvenile Great Blue Heron that was standing stock still in the shadows – it was in the same place doing the same thing both days we drove by ...
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| Juvenile Great Blue Heron trying to be invisible |
In the same spot, we had a real thrill. I had been photographing a Green Heron hunting on one site of the road ...
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| Adult Green Heron |
... when some fellow tourists on the opposite side pointed out another Green Heron and asked if it was a chick ...
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| The differences are hard to see |
While I was trying to discern differences from the adult in the failing afternoon light, an adult Green Heron swept in with some kind of prey and several chicks (including the one we were looking at) ran out to get fed ...
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| The nest seemed to be to the right of the Cypress |
This was the first time I had ever seen baby Green Herons. I wish it had been lighter, but I did manage to get several good pictures.
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| Green Heron Chicks |
During this trip to the glades, we saw lots and lots of Alligators.
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| Posing for a portrait |
Although we had some rain when we were there, it had been exceptionally dry, which causes lots of the water throughout the Everglades to recede.
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| Looking for a nice, wet habitat |
As the wetlands shrink, the gators relocate to remaining pools and canals and are much easier to see en masse.
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| American Alligator |
I lost count, but I am sure we saw more than 100.
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| Sliding into the pond |
Anhingas, of course, were everywhere, perching precariously in the trees ...
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| A very Florida bird |
A few other sightings included flocks of Wood Storks …
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| Flying Storks |
A Red-bellied Woodpecker …
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| This Woodpecker tried to hide, but I got her |
A Great-crested Flycatcher (hiding its crest and looking a lot like a Western Kingbird) …
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| This one had me fooled for a while |
And, two Florida Cottonmouths, both just chillin’ on the road. One was slow and on the fat side; I think it had just eaten ...
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| I was a bit nervous shooting this, but he was very sluggish |
The other was a little lighter and quicker.
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| Roadside Cottonmouth |
The world's only semiaquatic viper, the Cottonmouth (AKA water Moccasin) is native to the southeastern United States. It is the only venomous North American water snake and one of 21 venomous snake species in the U.S.
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| Photo: Springfield NewsLedger |
When threatened, a Cottonmouth may respond by coiling its body and displaying its fangs. When it does so, you can see the white lining of its mouth, from which its name is derived.
Fortunately, I have not had that experience.
Cottonmouths live in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams and marshes. They are strong swimmers and have even been seen swimming in the ocean. However, they are not fully marine, unlike true sea snakes.
The ones we saw were fairly small – maybe 24 inches. They can reach up to almost six feet long.
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| The ones we saw were relatively small |
I was surprised by the one we saw because I always thought Cottonmouths were black (and, indeed, they look darker when wet).
Actually, they are brown, gray, tan, yellowish-olive or blackish with a series of 10-17 dark brown to almost black crossbands. Our guide on the swamp walk told us that there is also a very rare emerald green morph and that he had actually seen one. I could find nothing to verify this.
Everglades City
This area isn't all swamp and prairie; there is also ocean and bays. Although we didn't spend much time on the ocean side, we did make a quick run into Everglades City, where the main attraction was Brown Pelicans ...
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| This one was not phased by being photographed |
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| A Brown Anole and a Northern Curly-tailed Lizard |
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| Northern Mockingbird |
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| Big Cypress swamp walk |
Trip date: April 1-19, 2021
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