Sorry, no pics today. We followed directions to Sparrow Fields Trail north of us, but when we got there, there was no trail. We stopped on the side of the road and chatted with 3 bicyclists and told them we were looking for birds. They suggested a place they knew called the loop road. Lots of birds and gators they said. When we followed their directions we soon realized they were sending us to Shark Valley. We laughed and thought that was okay because we had seen lots of activity there and would walk the right side of the loop toward the observation tower until we got tired and then would turn back. We didn't even get that far. There was a long line trying to get into the park. Apparently they were only letting cars in one at a time as a car left. We waited about 20 minutes with no cars leaving the park so we turned around and headed back. We had a lovely car ride, but no walking or birding. We stopped for gas and then went back for lunch. I sat by the pool for a bit until it got unbearably hot. I made a reservation at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary for tomorrow. It is a long drive (2.5 hours), but we are guaranteed some good walking on the boardwalk and some bird sightings. We will eat in again tonight and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
2/18/23. Back to the Everglades
It was very cloudy and humid this morning so we went back to the glades where the weather is usually a bit better. And it was - the sun popped through the clouds around 10 and warmed everything up. We did the Anhinga Trail again as that seems to have the most birds. The first thing we spotted was a boat-tailed grackle and then a juvenile ibis. This was all before we got on the trail itself. The gators were just coming out to warm up on the shore and as we turned the corner we saw two Great Blue herons. There were plenty of cormorants drying their plumage on the railings and several of them were at the top of a small tree to do the same. There were plenty of gallinules around. One of them was munching on a water lily and another was perched in a tree as there was a gator directly below him. He stayed there a long time as we took that loop twice and he only took off when we came around the second time. We spotted a strange round flower that I had to take a picture of and an American egret. We saw several yellow-bellied sliders - one had a shell that was at least a foot in diameter. We caught an anhinga fluffing his feathers in the sun. He was funny as he looked like he had a mohawk! The last pic is of an unknown songbird perched in the top of a tree. We stopped for the last time for supplies at Publix then came back to make lunch. We are eating in tonight. Starting tomorrow, the temps are supposed to be in the mid eighties so we should have a good last week.
Friday, February 17, 2023
2/17/23. Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
After breakfast this morning we headed out to Cape Florida State Park. The park is located south of Miami, but unfortunately, I missed the exit and we ended up in downtown Miami during rush hour!!! Horrors! The good news is that we finally made it to the park and were even in time for the ranger led lighthouse talk and tour. The original lighthouse was built in 1925 with many restorations due to hurricanes, attacks by Seminole native Americans, and even an explosion due to lantern oil and gunpowder. It is 95 feel tall (109 steps to the top) with views of lovely beaches, downtown Miami and other vistas. There were 6 stilt buildings still in existence off the coast. There were originally 26, but because this is all part of the park system, if any of the structures has more than 50% damage, it must be removed and not renovated. Nearby to the lighthouse is the two-story keeper's cottage with a separate kitchen building. The most interesting thing that I learned is that this site is part of the Underground Railroad system. Many slaves seeking freedom were able to catch ships here to Andros Island (Bahamas), Cuba, and Haiti. Despite this park being touted as a great birding spot, we did not see a single bird. We stopped for lunch at the Boater's Grill. The view was lovely - right on the water - and the food was good, but the service was very slow and the waitress did not get the order right. We headed back to Florida City and passed through some sharp showers on the way. It doesn't seem to have rained here, but the air is very humid for the first time on this trip. We will have leftovers tonight.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
2/16/23. John Pennekamp again
We drove down to Key Largo and went to John Pennekamp park again. This time we were going to go snorkeling. Unfortunately, the water was not super clear near the beach so we didn't see a whole lot. I did see a couple of grunts and one parrot fish, but that was about it. We sat on the beach - Dave in the shade and I in the sun and read for a bit. The water was 75 degrees so not bad at all. We enjoyed our time, but would not bother again unless we took a boat ride out to the reef where the water is clearer. I did catch a picture of an unknown songbird in a tree (maybe a vireo?). We saw another chuckwalla on the walkway near the restrooms. This guy seems to have lost the end of his tail. We got back to a late lunch and I did some laundry. While sitting and reading and waiting for the laundry to be done, I noticed an iguana basking in the sun poolside. We will go out to dinner tonight.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
2/15/23. Biscayne National Park
We set out today for Biscayne National Park. It is a very small park south of Miami. Most of the activities are from the water. We decided not to take a boat ride out to the islands as we had not brought jackets since it was quite warm in Florida City, but a bit breezier near the water. Maybe another day? We took the long walk near the water and saw a few things: a common cuckoo (flew too fast to get his pic taken), a pelican, a palm warbler and a chuckwalla on the ramp leading to the visitor's center.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
2/14/23. Back to the Everglades
Happy Valentine's Day to all. We decided to go back to the Anhinga Trail just inside the Everglades this morning. Again, we were not disappointed. The weather was a bit cool so we wore our jackets and shorts, but were able to take off the jackets halfway through the walk. We met a couple from Warsaw, Poland just as we began the walk. We took their pic with some alligators sunning below and they returned the favor. The little girl in the photo is the younger of their two daughters. We chatted for a bit and I asked them about the number of Ukrainian refugees in their area. Their city has about 400,000 refugees from Ukraine. They are hosting a grandmother and several grandchildren who were able to get out at the beginning of the war. What they thought would be a relocation for a short time has turned into a year. Today we saw many alligators, cormorants, anhingas, a Great Blue heron, purple gallinules walking on the lily pads, a least bittern, many gar, some large moth bass, and a golden orb spider.
We then decided to visit the Nike Missile Site nearby in the park. The site was built in 1962 just after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US always expected that the Soviet Union would deploy over the North Pole so were taken aback by the threat from Cuba. Official use of the site was terminated in 1979. We visited one of the missile barns.
We came back for lunch and after nap went to the local library to donate the books we have read down here. This is not an ordinary library. It is called the Cybrarium. It is ultra modern and high tech. Built in 2021, it has an industrial interior and boasts of virtual reality, laptops that can be checked out as easy as a book, 3-D printers, etc. We had a look around and saw adults and children actively engaged in reading, playing games, and doing homework in pod cartels. It was very interesting.
