Today I went with my mother and her boyfriend, Steve, to Everglades National Park in Florida. Usually, when I am in nature, I like to get dirty and wander deep into the area I am exploring. So today it was an interesting and unique experience to look at things in a more relaxed and touristic fashion.
Many sites in the everglades are accessible by car. The Royal Palm visitor center was our first stop and has a wide array of animal species which appears to be just sitting and waiting to be photographed.
Of course, a turtle had to be my first picture in honor of Ylenia, the crazed turtle lover. Below are just two of the many Florida redbelly turtles that I saw. They seem to be easily identified by the yellow striping on their black neck, yellow plastron with big black spots, and the maroon outlines on their smooth black carapace. I read that they sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of alligator. Supposedly this turtle has two visible tooth-like projections (cusps) on the upper beak.
Florida Redbelly Turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni)
Family: Emydidae
Alligators were abundant. This place might look like a zoo, but I was reminded that it is still the wild as I saw a large alligator swim by with the arm of a softshell turtle hanging from its mouth.
American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
The trail (more like a boardwalk) was aptly named the Anhinga trail because of all these neat looking birds with snake-like necks. Like cormorants, Anhingas often can be seen spreading their wings to help them dry. This one was making a lot of croaking noises. I honestly am not sure if this is a male, female, or immature since the neck is not black like an adult male, but also not bright and buffy like the other females I have seen.
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)
There were several Great Blue herons on the trail. I was surprised because in other places they often flee before I can get close; but there was one was standing perfectly still for several minutes while I was just a few feet away. Maybe here was stalking some fish or perhaps looking for his car keys which he dropped in the water. The color patterns of this bird seem quite variable over its range. But, in general, it has a light colored neck with a black cap and plume. The black cap contains a light stripe running through the middle. Also I often see some rust coloration in the front of the body if it is standing upright.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius)
Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns)
I have never seen a wood stork before, so when I saw this gigantic bird with a downward curving bill I thought it was some weird mutant Ibis. But actually it is not an Ibis at all. This bird has a naked, rough-skinned head and neck (turkey-like). It feeds with its head down and bill open. It is the only stork in North America.
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
Family: Ciconiidae (Storks)
There were plenty of cormorants dancing around. They don't mind if you get really close here. These appear to be double-crested cormorants which is the only widespread cormorant of North America. But I am not sure if this is a juvenile since it is quite pale up top (adults are usually all black). Or perhaps it is a seasonal variant.
Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Family: Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants)
Egrets are, of course, very widespread. They can even be seen in the less natural or intact water bodies in Florida, so you don't need to trek to the everglades to see them. But the great egret below was showing such a nice pose that I had to snap a picture. I always forget how to tell egrets apart. The great egret has fully black legs and a yellow bill. While the snowy egret has black legs and yellow feet, with a black bill and yellow loral area in front of the eyes. Cattle egrets are slightly smaller than the snowy, and have a shorter, slightly broader yellow bill. Also, stockier, with thicker neck than snowy.
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Family: Ardeidae
I saw two different individuals of what appear to be little blue herons. But only the first one appears to fit the description in the field guide. I need to straighten this out.
Little Blue #1
Little Blue #2
[Addition 01 Jan 08: So, I was flipping through my Peterson's bird guide and I realized that one of the little blue herons I identified in the everglades was actually a tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor). I actually never even heard of this species. But it supposedly has a white crown plume (although I don't notice it in my picture), what seems to be a red eye, yellowish legs, and yellow in between the eye and the bill. It also seems to have a whitish bottom and a white stripe running down the neck and breast. It is about the size of a little blue and ranges from easter US to Brazil. I wonder why I never came across it before.]
This past summer, someone spotted a purple gallinule in Milford, Connecticut in someone's garden fountain. This species is not commonly found in the Northeast US. The bird was there for weeks and was apparently not in good health. I did not want to make the 20 minute drive during work hours to see it, and now I finally see one for the first time. Of course, it is not as special to see in Florida. But then again, I am not really interested in this "rare" bird thing or seeing something in a place where it is not normally seen. Anyway, this bird is quite a spectacular serving of colors. Most noticeable is the yellow bill tip, orange-red bill, blue (but looks grey in my picture) shield on the forehead, yellow legs, blue-purple breast and head, which transfers into a greenish-brown color as you move toward the back of the body.
Purple Gallinule (Porphyrula martinica)
Family: Rallidae (Coots, Gallinules)
There was a softshell turtle swimming around. I could not get a good look at it. The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is native to the area, but I am not sure if this is it.
USST (Unidentified Swimming Softshell Turtle)
I saw two birds I could not recognize, but I only got a good shot of one of them. The first picture looks like a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) but I am really not sure. I only say so because of the yellowish color on the same part of the wing as the red-winged, and a similar body size and beak shape. The second picture was of a much smaller bird which looks like a lot of things so I have no idea and did not get a good picture.
Unknown Bird #1
Unknown Bird #2
Here is a nicely colored anhinga with two redbelly turtles below. You can see the beautiful buffy color of the neck and upper breast, showing that it is a female (males are all black). You can see the long tail hanging down with its very colorful feet gripping the branch. You can also see that anhingas have a thin, pointy bill, whereas the cormorant's is hooked at the tip. Finally, this gal is showing how long and snake-like her neck can appear.
Redbelly turtles and a busy female Anhinga overhead
The second and final stop in our trip was to a place called Mahogany Hammock. Natural "Hammocks" such as this one look like islands of trees surrounded by wetlands. They usually consist of hardwood , broad-leafed trees (e.g. Mahogany) that grow on a natural rise of elevation. Apparently, the hammocks have higher contents of hard rock in their soil which prevents them from becoming swamp-like. When the vegetation in the hammock dies, it releases acids into the surrounding areas which leads to the decomposition of the limestone in the ground of the surrounding areas. This forms a moat-like surrounding around the hammock. The national park website says that these hardwood hammocks often have both tropical and temperate species of hardwood trees (e.g. tropical species: Mahogany (Swietenia mahogoni), gumbo limbo (Bursera simaruba), and cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco); temerpate species: live oak (Quercus virginiana), red maple (Acer rubum), and hackberry (Celtis laevigata).
Random shot from inside the hammock
West Indian Mahogany (Swietenia mahogoni)
Family:Meliaceae (Mahogany)
A poor attempt at manual focusing
This is a nice-looking brown anole, a species which has invaded Florida over the last century. Apparently there were separate introductions of subspecies from Bahamas and Cuba. Browsing on the web, it seems that only females have the diamond shaped pattern as seen below. This photo was taken in the Mohagany hammock.
Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)
Family: Polychrotidae (Anoles)
An interesting note: the everglades is not considered a swamp because it has flowing water. The water flows southward, and a few years ago I read that the everglades is drying up because much of this water is being diverted in order to service the occupants of the monotonous Miami high rises and the westward expansion of suburban developments. Of course, we all have to live somewhere, and perhaps there is no place where humans can go where we won't be destructive. But the everglades is a wonderful place, where you can still be alone with only the sounds of nature.
Engaged in the wildlife, I only got one not-so-great picture of my mom and Steve.
Mom and Steve
This was a short trip, and despite the touristic approach, I left with a sense of amazement. After all, the diversity of life is still such, even if it is neatly packaged for a days viewing. However, I now long for a time when I can get lost in the thick of the everglades and get a chance to know it. Of course, this requires the right sort of companion.
-Scott
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