1/12 Big Cypress National Preserve & Kirby Storter Boardwalk

The Big Cypress National Preserve includes 729,000 acres of the western part of the Everglades, but it is NOT part of the Everglades National Park.  This does not mean that it is a lesser place or has lesser beauty and diversity of animals.  It was created in 1974 to preserve land that was likely to be developed for a Jetport, homes, and businesses in the huge Big Cypress Swamp.  It encompasses parts of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribal land, as well as some of the most beautiful ecosystems in Florida. 

I discovered this area when I first started full-time RVing and was unhappy with a nearby state park that was cramped and buggy.  I left early and headed east along US 41, which is otherwise known as Tamiami Trail, and found Midway Campground.  Midway is one of my favorite places in Florida, even if it is 25 miles from a gas station and 50 miles from a big grocery store.  I have come here at least once or twice every time I come to Florida because it is so beautiful and there is so much to do, assuming you are interested in birds and animals.  (If you prefer camping "resorts" with pools, kiddie activities, and hot tubs, you need to go elsewhere!)  

On my way here on Tuesday, I stopped at Kirby Storter Roadside Park, which is about 45 miles east of Naples, FL. This place looks like a regular rest area, but the key thing here is a one-mile round-trip boardwalk that takes you through various types of swamp ecosystems. 

I discovered this boardwalk when I was staying at Midway and could not get cell phone service there.  I was teaching online college classes, so I would have to drive out once each day either to this place or the nearby Oasis Visitor Center to get a signal for my Verizon hotspots so I could upload and download student papers and check my email.  Sometimes, I just stayed parked in the parking lot, but other times I would enjoy a walk on the boardwalk to see what birds were hanging around.

First, some photos of the boardwalk.  The part closest to the parking lot is mostly dry and has smaller cypress trees in it because it is a foot or two higher than other parts of the area.  These cypress trees, by the way, are a lot older than they look because they are dwarfed.  They are called "bald" cypress because they lose their leaves in winter, so look "bald."  (FYI - "Live" oaks are called "live" because they have leaves on them all winter, in contrast to some other Florida trees like the cypress.)

About halfway in, the ground is lower, so there is often a lot of water here, and water attracts birds in the swamp because there are fish and mollusks to eat.  And by the way, it is not full of mosquitos because it is not "standing" water and also because tiny fish eat any larvae from mosquitos!! 

Surprisingly, the soil here is very shallow because the limestone rock is not very far from the surface.  Because the tree roots cannot penetrate the bedrock easily, the cypress trees roots are spread out to better support the trees. 

 

 

The green stuff floating on the water is not "pond scum."  It is a couple of kinds of tiny water plants that turtles and other animals eat.  

This is a particularly pretty anhinga.  They dive for fish, but their feathers are not waterproof, so they have to hang them out to dry between dives. 

 

 

And this cute guy is a green heron.  He is not very big, but he is a good fisher of smaller fish, using his long, sharp beak to spear his prey.  Note that his feathers are green, brown, and grey, with some white stripes. 

 

And this is a juvenile white ibis.  I know this because of the curved shape of his beak and the color of his legs.  He is also beginning to turn white in a couple of places.  They are common wandering around yards and parks in Florida, looking for insects in the grass.  

 

It was a surprise to see this bird here because he is an osprey and most often seen in tall trees and on light posts along lakes and more open ponds.  He sat on this branch about 15' above a group of people for at least a half an hour before he flew off.

 

 

He looks mean in this photo. 

 

 

 

One way to identify a bird as being in the hawk family is by his or her hooked beak, which is clearer in this photo.  The better to tear up prey!  

 

 

There are not very many plants in bloom yet, but this is a cardinal air plant, and it is very close to blooming.

These small ferns on the tree branch are called resurrection ferns because they dry up most of the time, and only turn green for a day or two after a rain.  If you see a lot of dead-looking stuff on top of tree branches, check back after a rain and be surprised.

 

This, believe it or not, is a sleeping tricolor heron.  It was hard to identify because it has its beak completely tucked into its shoulder, and its long neck of curled up and appears shorter than it really is.  If it woke up and stretched itself out, it would look a lot like a smaller great blue heron with a white breast, but as long as I watched it, it stayed in a deep sleep!  Must have had a rough night! 

 

 

I THINK this is also a heron of some sort, probably a great blue or a tricolor, but he is hiding behind a branch and has its neck tucked up.  The bit of yellow makes me think it might be a tricolor heron, but hard to tell, so for now it is a mystery bird.   

 

 

This is a Florida softshell turtle.  It can be identified by its flat shell and its long "pig-like" snout that it uses to breathe through while remaining submerged.  Its feet also look like paddles. 

This is a mud turtle.  It shell is rounded and smooth, its head has a blunt snout, and it has some yellow stripes on its head and legs.  This one's shell is also covered with algae so it looks green.  (Correction:  This might be a cooter of some sort.  Hard to tell because pattern on shell is covered with algae.)

 

 

A little later, a different softshell turtle tried to crawl on the same log as a mud turtle, but was quickly shoved off.

 

Another very pretty little green heron.  He is staring down into the water, looking for small fish to stab.

Another neck-tucked-in tricolor heron.  

This is the platform overlooking the deep pool at the end of the boardwalk.  Such pools are dug and maintained by alligators so they have a place to crawl into during dry periods.  These pools also provide homes for fish and a lot of other birds and animals.  It is also a very pleasant place to sit on a bench and relax for an hour or so, as I did!!  Weather-wise, it was a very pleasant day with a slightly cool breeze.

A great blue heron.  This one has a major squabble with a great white heron over ownership of a small, slightly deeper hole. The blue heron won. They are VERY noisy birds, by the way! 

And another anhinga, showing its coloring on its wing. 

On my way back into the campground, I took this photos of the two types of vultures who live in Florida.  They were in the grassy area next to the campground entrance.  You will no doubt recognize the brown vulture with the red head as a turkey vulture.  Near it are three black vultures, who live only in warm areas along the south coasts of the U.S.  They are entirely black, but have the bald head and neck like turkey vultures.  This keeps their heads clean while sticking them into large carcasses.

You can't tell by this view, but black vultures are smaller than turkey vultures, and frankly, I think they are the prettier birds because of their glossy feathers.  They are said to have a poorer sense of smell and weaker abilities to open large carcasses than turkey vultures, so they follow the bigger birds when searching for dead animals.  Turkey cultures tend to hunt alone, while black vultures hunt in small flocks, which means when a turkey vulture finds a prey, it often will lose it to the more numerous black vultures.  

However, I have often seen both types of vultures eating on a carcass, and the turkey vultures appear to be well-fed and healthy, so this seems to work for both types of birds.   You can see, however, why black vultures are said to be the smarter birds. 

More on the campground in a few days.