Riverbend Park Volunteer Trip

We were greeted at Riverbend Park by one of the Peafowl that call the parking lot area home.  These birds are from a population that previous land owners had and have been left in their wake as Riverbend takes shape as a restored Palm Beach County park.

Seven brave volunteers loaded up in my van as I took us up north on I-95.  John Welch, naturalist, gave us a great behind-the-scenes tour.  We took a look at the Seminole battlefield, the old homestead, and had a great introduction at headquarters.  It was everything I was hoping for AND we had the luck of seeing a FOTS of Swallow-tailed Kite soar over us right before our picnic lunch.

One of my favorite parts of Riverbend is the scenery.  I love that it feels like the coastal plain of Georgia.  Those big Live Oaks draped with Spanish Moss and covered with bromeliads, like my favorite the Resurrection Fern seen below.

If you're visiting northern Palm Beach County you should load up your bikes and take a spin on the 15 miles of trails at Riverbend or rent a canoe and go down the Loxahatchee River.  Either way, you will have one natural Florida experience that you won't forget!

Sandhill Cranes at Riverbend

Riverbend Park has ten miles of trails and 5 miles of kayak/canoe trails available. It's by far one my favorite places in Palm Beach County. This summer the Okeeheelee Nature Center's summer camp is going to visit Riverbend and run an adventure race. Mo and I decided to scope the place out and plan our obstacle course. There will be everything from solving puzzles to flying kites involved in the all day adventure. While mapping out our routes we also ran into some really nice natural encounters including this little family of Sandhill Cranes.

Sandhill Cranes breed throughout the state of Florida. Some birds are migratory but there is a stable population of year-around birds here in the state. Sandhill Cranes can live very long lives, up to 20 years and they don't reproduce until they are at least 2 years old.

Sandhill Cranes either have one or two offspring called colts. This pair had two healthy colts. I've heard of people in Florida referring to two offspring as twins. Most of the time only one young will survive but good parents can successfully raise both colts if given the resources.

If you're ever in the north part of Palm Beach County you should bike the trails of Riverbend. You never know what you may run across. I've seen everything from Wood Ducks to Wild Turkeys to groups of White-tail Deer there. My favorite of course are the woodpeckers and on this trip we had Red-bellied, Downy, and Pileated Woodpeckers. So no matter if you're looking for a day on the scenic Loxahatchee River that runs through the park or if you plan to hike a portion of the Florida Trail, I am sure your time at Riverbend will be more than rewarding.