More Everglades National Park

Lovely bunch of coconuts. Great hiking trails.

Love the signs, elevation-wise ....

We didn't see any Florida panthers (only nine left in this great big park?) -- too bad. We wondered if this was a panther tracking device near Eco-pond?  But we never found out if it is.

Everglades NP - lots o' critters!

What a wonderfully diverse park.

Oh yeah, there were plenty of alligators!

Holy cow! American crocodiles! Everglades is the only place in USA where they exist.

Yellow rat snake with a big belly! And basking red slider turtles.

A butterfly hitchhiker. Walking catfish! Bee hive (honeycomb) at the base of a gumbo-limbo tree. (We didn't tarry long.)

Everglades National Park - best birding!

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Flying woodstorks. Two red-shouldered hawks (one immature). Turkey vultures everywhere!

Check out the cormorant's eye. Black-crowned night heron. American bittern.

These anhingas displays were striking. (check out that eye!) Nice catch!

Great white egret. Yellow-crowned night heron. Nesting osprey up top, red-bellied woodpecker opposite it's hole-home beneath.

Green heron. Great blue heron. Immature ibis.

Roseate spoonbills feeding while wading in shallow water. Barred owl (with two fat, fluffy white chicks in a nearby nest). Whoo-whoo, whoo's cooking for youuuuuu...!

What a great national park.

Everglades National Park - great canoe paddle!

   

       

On Monday, 2/19 at 8 AM we joined a ranger-led (and free!) 5-mile paddle in shallow brackish water from Nine-mile Pond, thru red mangrove tunnels, winding out onto sedge flats, and back thru two small ponds, one of which was guarded by a fair-sized alligator at the entrance! This fascinating trip took four hours because there was so much to see. Birds galore: red-shouldered hawks, bald eagle, roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets, wood storks and so on. Blue tilapia, large-mouthed bass, Florida gar, and a huge Florida softshell turtle are some of the water creatures we spotted. Ranger Tim was informative and a fun guide. This paddle ranks right up there on our WOW list.

Everglades National Park 2/16 - 2/23

The RV set-up. Reading under the palm tree. Biking thru the Park.

Warm, sunny days, cool nights with zillions of stars, and - oh yea! - no bugs! That's ENP. Flamingo campground on Florida Bay at the bottom of mainland Florida is great - peaceful and quiet. (We learned how to relax!) Sunrise and sunset thru the palm trees was a sight to behold. Water everywhere for canoes, kayaks and fishing boats. Good bike trails, too. Wonderful week.