Everglades National Park and Cypress National Preserve-Alligators and Birds Oh My!

Jan.-Feb. 2022

Everglades National Park and Cypress National Preserve, Florida

The Florida weather in late January/February is so pleasant that we were able to visit both the south and north parcels of Everglades National Park in comfort.  My goal was to see as many species that inhabit the Florida Everglades as possible.  We exceeded that in our weight of alligators and birds. We started down in the southern parcel of Everglades National Park near Florida City, Florida.  

Many of the larger Florida bird species are in this area (American Pelican, Anhinga, Great White Egret, Snowy Egret, Reddish Egret, Tri-color Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and Green Heron to name a few).  Can you name these birds?

  I began a bird list, because there were so many.  My friend Annie says “you should always carry a camera and a journal for writing down your bird list.  She is so correct though this time around I really wished I had a 600 mm telephoto lens.  The birds seemed just out of reach for photography in many instances.  We hiked a couple of the boardwalks just to get an idea of the landscape.  The most interesting feature of the Everglades (for me) was the underlying limestone geology that creates a stabilizing PH for fish and other water species, and just a small increase in elevation from organic matter accumulation (mere feet) that create islands of diversity.  The National Park describes these “islands” as looking like "schools of fish moving downstream and out to the ocean."  It really intrigued me that just mere inches causing a the buildup of these islands, corresponds to an increase in biodiversity.  I immediately asked where to see the largest number of birds in this area -at the main Visitor Center.  They recommended Nine Mile Pond, so we took our time and drove very slowly, getting out of the car again and again to spot different species. 

We ended up at the Flamingo Visitor Center at the end of the southern drive.  “Where are the Flamingoes?” I asked.  The volunteer ranger indicated that they were extirpated from the Everglades in the 1920s for their feathers, but they were doing well in areas such as Central and South America.  No wonder the Floridians love their pink Roseate Spoonbills so much.  They have no other pink birds to speak of.  Here is an interesting fact: Though the Flamingos and Snowy Egrets were nearly extirpated as species in the 1920s, the bob hairstyle saved them, as women stopped wearing hats with feathers. Yeah for fashion eh?  

I highly recommend taking a walk around the Flamingo Visitor Center Area as there are excellent mangroves, manatee in the harbor, and we even spotted a black-tipped shark foraging out in the Bay near the shore.  We stayed in Florida City, so I am going to recommend that when you come back out of the southern section, to stop at “Robert is Here" Fruit Stand.  This business started in the 50s when Robert’s father put a young Robert out to take care of a fruit stand on the side of the road.  His father was afraid that no one would see him, so he made a big sign “Robert is Here.”  That little roadside stand has grown into a huge tropical fruit business, but do not miss the milkshakes they make there.  They are spectacular.  I had a key lime milkshake and still dream about it now that I am home. 

We then ventured into the Northern section of  Everglades National Park for a couple of days.  The first stop was at the Shark River Unit.  Don’t let that name fool you.  There are no sharks, but the river runs all the way through the unit and out to the sea.  We walked the Anhinga trail in this unit (named for the large number of Anhinga birds that inhabit the swamp) and saw a life lister for me-the Purple Gallinule.  They are the funniest bird.  They hop from lily pad to lily pad with their long splayed toes. I could not get enough pictures of them.  

There were a few alligators, but not much to write about.  Mostly tons of birds on this walk.  Then we stopped at the Shark River Visitor Center.  The trail there has a bicycle rental, tram out to a lookout point, and a developed trail system with alligators all along the trail.  We actually walked the trail looking for birds, but also found lots of alligators right next to the trail.  

I photographed in color and black and white.  Which one do you like?

We then made our way to the Big Cypress Reserve, which butts up to the National Park to the North.  Their Visitor Center was right next to a river teeming with fish and alligators.  The raised boardwalk in front of the Visitor Center is so useful to view all of the wildlife.  I could not get over the size and number of the gar (fish) that were swimming right next to the multitude of alligators. There is so much to learn about this area.  I found some really good books and will be reading them when I get back to Tucson.  

We just did not have enough time in this area.  There are so many cool trails to walk through, but we were on out way to Sanibel Island to do some shelling.  We will be back, but for now, stay tuned for the western part of Florida.