3/16 Everglades Royal Palm Visitor Center & Bad Birds!

I decided to leave Midway Campground a day early and drive down to the far south part of the Everglades and spend a night at Flamingo.  One of the most popular spots along the drive there is the Royal Palm Visitor Center.   There are several large ponds in this area and a long walkway and boardwalks so you can see birds and alligators.

 

I remember visiting this place many times over the last 40 years.  This part has not changed much.

Pretty cormorant!  Up close, the feathers on their backs are lighter brown but edged in a darker brown.   

 

 

 

Got to keep those feathers clean!

 

A photo of part of one of the boardwalks.

This is an anhinga.  It also is a diving bird that has to dry its wings out. 

 

Did not see too many birds, probably because of the heat, but here is a little blue heron.

The "bad" birds are the local vultures who have taken up chewing windshield wipers as a hobby.  They do not eat them, just chew them into pieces, along with any other pieces of rubber they can find on a car.  So for the past several years, the park service has been providing tarps for visitors' cars.  Note the instructions for use and a picture of one of the local culprits on the upper right.

Here is an article about the problem:  http://www.weather.com/news/news/everglades-vultures-cars-20121231

Not everyone chooses to cover their cars, but many do. 

Here is one of the turkey vultures sitting on an uncovered car.

 

And here is one I found on top of my motorhome.  Shooo!  Luckily he was not there long enough to do any damage.  I got in and drove away which made him fly off.

 

 

 

3-15 Oasis Visitor Center

From U.S. 41 Tamiami Trail, this visitor center doesn't look like much.  There is only one short boardwalk, but the pond along the front where the boardwalk goes is full of alligators!  It was a short bike ride or drive from Midway Campground, so I went there several times to get cell service.  (The northeast corner of the parking lot is the best spot.)

Here is the pond and boardwalk along the roadway.

And a few of the alligators.

Lots of gar and bluegills for the alligators to eat.

3/14 Midway Campground and Thiefs

Just some more photos of the campground and Tamiami Trail that goes past.  A lot of people, including me, ride on the narrow strip along the roadway, but the camp host says that is the most dangerous thing you can do in the Everglades!

All along the roadway is a creek or ditch containing tons of alligators and birds.  A lot of people stop along here and fish.  Pretty.

This is still one of my favorite campgrounds.  No amenities, no activities, no playground, but very friendly and quiet. 

Campers, especially tent campers, should NOT leave food unattended.  I caught two crows in the act of swiping a bag of potato chips, and no doubt they made most of the mess here.

Bad birds, but certainly smart and ambitious.

3/13 Shark Valley Loop by Bike

I drove the 20 miles down the Tamiami Trail today to ride the loop road via tram or bike it.
The loop is paved and 15 miles long. There is a two-hour narrated tram ride you can take, or you can ride a bike (they rent them) or even hike it if you are so inclined.  I have taken the tram in the past, but it is not an impossible bike ride, either.
Since it was already hot, even though it was mid-morning, I thought the tram would be lazier, so I bought a ticket but then found out it would be over an hour wait and the tram would be full of a school group.  So I got my money back and then got my bike out. Luckily I had a full charge on my battery.  So off I went!  As you can see, any stretch is pretty deserted so you have the river of grass pretty much to yourself.

That is, except for the alligators.  It is a dry time of year, so there were not as many birds and wildlife as I had seen in the past, but alligators were hanging around any little pool of water.

I brought two bottles of water and some snacks in the pack on the rear of my bike.

The loop is narrow in some places so you can see people on the opposite side.

There is a tower at the very end with a terrific view and restrooms.

You can see the east side of the loop here.

And this is the west side of the loop.  It is dead straight.

This great blue heron is hiding in the reeds in the creek that is next to the west side loop road.

It's nice to have so much space and peace and quiet to yourself.  (Of course, with my electric bike, I leave everyone else in the dust!)

3/12 More Big Cypress & Midway

The photos below are a combination of the ones I took on a boardwalk yesterday and some from this morning's bike ride.  This first photo shows a typical swamp buggy you see a lot of around here, mostly on weekends since only locals keep these around.

And here are a couple of bikers heading somewhere along the Tamiami Trail.  Looks hard to handle.

And the one-mile long Kirby-Shorter boardwalk.

This is the dry season, so usually these cypress would be standing in water.  Aren't their buttresses impressive?

Just an interesting fern.

And some alligators.  http://youtu.be/c0T_gp3LzxM 

River of Grass.

This is what happens when you sit too long in one place!

The pond at the campground.  Still have not seen the alligator, but the camp host says they have captured three boa constrictors here since Christmas so to be careful walking dogs at night.