Canoeing at Collier Seminole State Park

For my birthday this year I invited some close friends to go camping at Collier Seminole State Park in the western portion of the Everglades, near Naples.  We woke up Saturday to a beautiful, sunny day and rented canoes so we could paddle out to Mud Bay.  

The Rangers warned us of a recent issue with the Catfish.  Something was causing them to turn white, bleed around the lips, and die a very slow death.  Hundreds were found near the canoe launch and all looked very sick.

While the Catfish suffered the Vultures flourished.  I have never seen so many Vultures line a Mangrove bank as this one.  Dead catfish were everywhere and so were the Turkey and Black Vultures.  They were literally kettles overhead, vultures on the ground, and vultures in the trees.  I am sure whatever is killing the Catfish will not harm the vultures and those iron-clad stomachs they possess.

Once pass the canoe launch and down the Mangroves a bit, we were relieved to smell clean air and enjoy the paddle without dead fish abounding.

Along the way we spotted Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Spotted Sandpipers, and White Pelicans.  We also found Mangrove Crabs climbing on the root systems that lined the canoe tail.

After about 1.5 hours of paddling we found Mud Bay as the tide was coming in.  We watched as the flats became smaller and smaller.  The large flocks of peeps huddled together.  Waders were scattered about and one lone American Coot was seen.  It was a peaceful oasis with no one around but our little group.

After birding, wading around in the mud, and eating some snacks, we called it a day and fought the tide to make it back out to the main channel.

Our 3 hour paddle was the perfect way to unwind from the world and forget about everything.  No cell phones, no computers, no work...just a nice paddle with friends to pass the time.  Once back the group had a nice lunch back at the campground then we wandered back to the waterfront.

The girls all gave it a go at fishing while Andy and I took to the nature trail in search of a few more birds.  We found a lovely one-mile boardwalk loop that ended at a marsh.

The nature trail yielded one Northern Mockingbird.  The highlight of the trail was the nice pink lichen that covered many of the trees.

We ended the afternoon watching the sunset over the marsh and the vultures find trees to roost.  That night we cooked chili at the campfire and played cards.  It was a very nice way to escape into the wild of Florida and celebrate another birthday.

Canoeing the Loxahatchee River

Osprey nest on the Loxahatchee River.

Geraldine and I stopping for a snack by some Cypress knees.

Photo by Geraldine

The riparian zone of Loxahatchee is great: Slash Pine meets Cypress trees meets Mangroves.

I love the Mangroves with the Cypress buttresses in front. Weird mixture of brackish and fresh swamps.

After our 2 hours of canoeing we headed over to Jupiter Beach for some wave jumping. The beaches here are my favorite in Palm Beach County.

My Top 10 Nature Moments of 2007

2007 was a year full of many changes for me. I finally settled down and lived in only one state (compared to 3 states in 2008). I also took another full-time job and actually made the majority of my trips this year in my new home state of Florida. Here is a breakdown of my top 10 nature moments of 2007 (meme from Earth, Wind & Water):


10. Wekiwa State Park Camping (December 7-9) - I love camping and all of my camping adventures of this year make it on my top 10. This is a sign that I need to go camping more and it will certainly be one of my resolutions for the New Year. This was my first time holding a scorpian.


9. West Coast Florida Trip (February) - This was only my 3rd time seeing the Gulf Coast and with the help of my friend Kim, I hit all the hotspots in the Fort Myers area. I really enjoyed seeing hundreds of bats leave their bridge roost at sunset near Pine Island. And of course visiting Sanibel Island was great, along with the Red Egret feeding at Ding Darling N.W.R. I picked up a few lifer birds including a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.



8. Seminole State Park Camping (May 4-7) - My Tallahassee friends took me to a great little park in Georgia where we enjoyed swimming in the lake and birding the trails. I even saw my first Blue Grosbeak. On the way, we stopped at Bird Song, the best viewing station for feeder birds I have ever seen. It was a great trip and I even slept outside on a wooden platform with just my sleeping bag, which was a first for me, platform in below picture.


7. Paynes Prairie State Park Camping (May 25-27) - Another camping adventure but this time it afforded me a chance to see bison grazing. Other than the ticks and deer flies, the hike in to our campsite was fun and we saw a few nice birds along the way.


6. Florida Trail: Ocean to Lake Trail (August 4th) - This was my first time hiking the Florida Trail. As promised the trail was flooded at times and the rest of the time my feet were covered in sand. I loved this all day hike that took me through Jonathon Dickinson State Park. I did the East Loop Trail that winds through the park. One day I would love to hike the whole Ocean to Lake Trail.



5. Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge Backcountry Camping (November 12-13) - There's no better way to experience the outdoors than by canoeing through a wildlife refuge. As always, the Okefenokee didn't let me down. We saw alligators, Sandhill Cranes, and lots of migrating American Robins. We also had a lot of fun singing songs and enjoying the peaceful swamp.


4. Keys Trip (July) - This was my first time to the Keys and I was more than happy. My mother and aunt accompanied me for a little snorkeling and a lot of driving. We took lots of silly pictures with large mermaids and road signs. From Key Largo to Key West it was quite an adventure.



3. Everglades National Park Trip (April 16-17) - My first time in the Everglades was a great experience. I loved the expansive river of grass and the breathtaking scenery of the bay at Flamingo. I saw quite a few life birds, Summer Tanager and Blue-headed Vireo, and even made a new friend at the Everglades Hostel.



2. Green Cay Nature Center (January 22) - After a whirlwind year of traveling and change I moved to Palm Beach County and started working at Green Cay. The bird life is amazing. I have had numerous experiences with our resident bobcats and of course, there is always something new to see in the marsh. We had a few unusual birds this year including: Eared Grebe, Shiny Cowbird, Bronzed Cowbird and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. In the last month we have had visits from a Bufflehead, American Wigeon, and a Gadwall. Green Cay continues to amaze me.


1. Bolivia, South America (October 6-21) - The first time out of the country for me in almost 10 years proved to be the best experience of my life. Bolivia deserves its own Top 10 list. The highlights include hiking up mountains, swimming in waterfalls, soaking in natural springs, birding in the Chaco, and enjoying the city of Santa Cruz. I loved every minute of my time there and I had a great traveling companion to see me through the experience. I saw many life animals including a Spectacled Caiman and 53 new life birds.

Prairies of the Okefenokee

After two days of paddling the Swamp, we ended our trip fairly exhausted but we had to check out the 50 foot observation platform overlooking Chesser Prairie before leaving. On Chesser Island you can visit the historic Chesser Homestead which offers a chance to see what swamp life must have been like during the 1800s. After hiking around the homestead we headed to the Swamp Walk Boardwalk which is just a short trail that takes you out to the observation deck. Last year we saw a Barred Owl sitting just off of the boardwalk. This year, we could hear them off in the distance.

We found some Turkey Tail, Trametes versicolor, doing its job breaking down this old stump right off the boardwalk. Hewy, the South Georgia Naturalist, knew what it was but I am out of my league when it comes to mushrooms. I really want to improve my fungus ID skills.

There was also scat everywhere you walked. This scat I believe belongs to a Coyote due to the long tapered ends.

The Chesser Prairie was fairly quiet but we did manage to find 3 Sandhill Cranes making a little noise and jumping about. I love how peaceful this place is and it's hard to imagine what life must have been like living on the edge of the Swamp 200 years ago. Black bears, alligators, panthers, and otters were probably frequent visitors to their close surroundings.

Living in South Florida has caused me to really miss the season changes. This week we are finally getting some cool weather (lows in the upper 50s). But we don't have the fall colors that are typical of other places I have lived. I loved the color of the Bald Cypress trees in the afternoon with their leaves of gold, orange, green, and brown.

By the end of the trip, Mo was done. She rested on the bench while Kelly and Hewy took one last view of the prairie. It was another successful invasion of the Okefenokee. I'll be back and hopefully, so will my friends.

Okefenokee Swamp Adventure

There's nothing better than spending a few days canoeing the Okefenokee Swamp. We packed up the car early Monday morning and headed to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. There we rented our canoes and headed out to our backcountry platform on the Suwannee Canal. You should have seen our canoes piled high with firewood, backpacks, and camping supplies. After last year's experience of not taking enough food, we definitely overcompensated this year. Our cooler was full of hobo packs, snacks, and adult beverages. Needless to say, we could have fed an army. Here's Mo and Hewy strapping our alligator mascot to the front of our canoe.

The first leg of our journey was spent lazily paddling down the Suwannee Canal. We enjoyed the beautiful weather (highs in the 70s) and listened for Sandhill Cranes. Last year's paddle concluded with over 300 alligator sightings but this year the water level was high and there wasn't enough room on the bank for them to bask. We only saw 5 alligators before we reached our campsite.

Half way to Canal Run Shelter there is a picnic area called Coffee Bay Shelter. This is a chance to stretch our legs, use the bathroom, and eat some lunch. Due to the wildfires last year, our bathroom was melted in a big lump (seen below). The trees were scorched but the prairie behind the shelter looked pretty healthy. Though fires can be dangerous to our personal homes, they really are beneficial to cleaning up the old growth of the swamp.

Preparing to leave Coffee Bay Shelter we were all smiles.

Before making it to Canal Run Shelter we took a side trip into one of the many prairies along the way. I love the water lilies and daisies that were blooming. You can almost hear the Sandhill Cranes in the picture below. On our way back home, we stopped at this location again and had a flyover by three Sandhill Cranes. They have a distinct rolling call that they use often while flying.

Once at our campsite we picked a spot for our tent, did a little cane pole fishing with Vienna Sausages, and relaxed to the sounds of owls calling and birds flying by. The swamp is so peaceful in the evening and the afternoon sun lights up the golden cypress trees.

We ate a delicious meal of sweet potatoes, squash, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and cheese heated over the embers of our campfire. There was beer and wine and of course, wonderful conversation. After a day of paddling, we retired to our sleeping bags and slept in anticipation of another day on the water.

We paddled 20.4 miles round trip, not counting our little side adventures into the prairie. Along the way we were mostly greeted with Belted Kingfishers and a plethora of woodpeckers. In all we saw over 20 species of bird, including a dead Juvenile White Ibis that was banded. Thanks to Hewy, Kelly and Mo, it was another wonderful experience canoeing and camping in the Swamp.

Canoeing the Okefenokee

Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing.

-Henry David Thoreau