Flamingo Bay - Everglades

We camped in the north part of the park where there were fewer mosquitoes. But we took a trip to the south portion.  On the way to Flamingo Bay we stopped for several hikes. This slough is actually a river that is eight miles wide but very shallow. Small woods (they are called hammocks here) are spotted through the area. This particular one has large mahogany trees in it along with mangroves. We’re used to seeing cypress knees. I guess the small sticks (pneumatophores) you can see covering the ground is similar in that it provides air to the roots.

These cypress trees look dead but they come alive in the spring. The whole area is like a grassy prairie.

While the north part of the Everglades had lots of alligators, the south tip of Florida has crocodiles. Several live near the marina though for safety you are kept fairly far away.

We also saw five manatees near the marina. We attended ranger talks on both crocodiles and manatees. Lots to learn that we didn’t know. But, manatees aren’t the most exciting animals to watch (at least from above the waterline). All you see is their noses breathing once in a while or their back if they are floating high enough. The ones we saw moved really slowly. Seeing their tail flip up and the Mom and child is about as exciting as it gets.

I was surprised to see two different osprey nests near the visitor center. They were far closer to people that I would have expected.

We saw a kaleidoscope of butterflies (love that name!). These white butterflies only live in the area but we saw hundreds of them along the road and path. If you look closely, you can see a turquoise tip to the antennae.

A pelican in the pond…

For some reason, the highlight of the day for me was seeing this coconut palm tree. We’ve seen a lot of palm trees in Florida, but never the type with coconuts. It may have been planted here years ago or perhaps a coconut washed in from the Caribbean. Now I really feel like I’m on Gilligan’s Island.