Everglades
- Thread starter Knight
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Nice. I remember on my first trip to Florida as an adult, I went canoeing on the Hillsborough River (near Tampa) and saw some wild alligators lounging on logs - it was very exciting! I also remember as a child how they were endangered and now they have made a complete recovery - one of the great conservation success stories.
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All my good pictures from the Everglades are on Kodachrome.
One of the best spots was Eco pond in Flamingo... sadly now fenced in (for like 15 years or more)
I suppose the ol' standby and short drive to Anhinga Trail is always ok, but I've got stuff close to here that is as good.
Christian Point trail is also teeming with wildlife, depending on the season.
One of the best spots was Eco pond in Flamingo... sadly now fenced in (for like 15 years or more)
I suppose the ol' standby and short drive to Anhinga Trail is always ok, but I've got stuff close to here that is as good.
Christian Point trail is also teeming with wildlife, depending on the season.
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CharlieB said:
Eco Pond isn't fenced in... it has been open since at least 2010... I live here, so I go to ENP often...
Depending on what species you are interested in, the following locations in and around Everglades National Park are very good, though many are seasonal:
Anhinga Trail, Winter: Anhingas, Cormorants, Little Green Herons, Bitterns, Purple Gallinules, Moor Hens, Great Blue Herons, Tri Color Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great White Egrets, Alligators, Lizards, occasional Cattle Egrets and Snowy Egrets, occasional random ducks and wood storks. It follows a deeper slough, so anything which does not directly fish by swimming or perching on small branches (Little Greens!) will not be here much. Also occasional Osprey and Red Shouldered Hawks.
Summer: Scattered Cormorants and anhingas, with occasional other species, and lots of lubber grasshoppers.
The birds as very easy to approach here.
Old Ingraham Highway: Scattered species, but occasional Snail Kites, requiring the longest glass you can steal! Will be mostly GWH, GBW, LGH, CE, SE, TCH, and occasional Roseate Spoonlbills and Wood Storks. The birds are very skittish here.
The Roadside:
Lots of GWH, CE, RSH on the trees, Kingfishers (Hard to approach!), sometimes wood storks, and other random species.
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Continued... Next Good Place:
Christian Point Trail:
Winter (When dry): almost nothing, occasional osprey and red bellied flickers though, and warblers.
Summer (When wet): Rosette Spoonbills, Great White Egrets, Snakes, Black-necked Stilts, Mosquitos (bring your macros!!!), Red Shouldered Hawks, Osprey, Warblers (not many...), Flickers (sometimes...)
The birds here will be more skittish, but are more abundant in the summer because in the summer, the birds tend to dissappear into the depths of the Everglads, and this rather in there... also a great place for landscape images!
Paurotis Pond:
Only during late winter early spring will much be around worth trying for. You will find woodstorks nesting here at that time, and spoonbills flying overhead, and occasional other random species.
Mrazek Pond:
Only good during the winter. At times, you will see snowy egret feeding frenzies, a mad acrobatic display beyond description! But, these happen mostly in the morning, and they will be backlit most of the time. You may find some good shots here of SE, CE, TCH, MH, coots, grebes, ibises, and blue-winged teals. GBH sometimes here, as well as the rather ubiquitous anhingas. Mostly, choose the nearby Eco pond over this place...
Eco Pond:
In the summer, this place will be rather dead and foul-smelling (its purpose causes thus...); random small birds will be here, and occasional wading birds and raptors will patrol, but it is vastly better in the winter.
Winter: Arrive in the morning while it is still dark to get into position (an hour before official sunrise). Then, await an amazing spectacle: the feeding frenzy! Rosette Spoonbills, Great White Egrets, White Ibises, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Tricolor Herons, and Black Necked Stilts will appear in huge numbers, feeding with wild abandon! The frenzy may not last long. You will need lens speed here, as the feeding often occurs early, and the sun does not shine directly on them until after 8:00 am, when the frenzy is usually mostly over. Wait long after the fenzy, and capture behaviour of individual birds. Osprey nest in the trees, and gulls fly overhead. Many great bird-in-flight images are to be made here, as well as epic feeding behaviours. The very very best place to stand in just as you enter the area, just a bit to the east, to give you full view of their approach in the place where they usually land to feed.
Flamingo and the Florida Bay:
Summer: Many shorebirds will linger on the sandbars in low tide, and feed on the shores at higher tides, or just dissappear altogether. A few birds may be found here, mainly Osprey, RSH, flickers, and warblers and pelicans... often, egrets, herons, and spoonbills will roost on the islands, providing nothing but frustration if you lack a canoe and bravery.
Winter: A lot more to be seen; go here if looking for sunrise and sunset images especially, as the Florida bay will provide you views of both over the water! Pelicans, Osprey, RSH, flickers, shorebirds; egrets and herons sometimes, mainly when the tide is low they feed on the sandbar and roost in the islands.
Regardless of where you go, if you are near the roads there will be an infinity of black vultures and ravens. Limpkins are randomly about, usually in the open prairie areas, though never in large groups. White ibises are rather everywhere also. I forgot to mention in the previous post, but you can usually find barred owls on the roadside, at the southern end of the road, but only with great perception (they are well hidden). Alligators may often be seen in the culverts (beware!). I have never seen a Sandhill Crane here, though supposedly there are some around, as well as Bald Eagles.
Loop Road, past Shark Valley, provides an excellent place to see night herons, especially around the sweetwater slough area.
Christian Point Trail:
Winter (When dry): almost nothing, occasional osprey and red bellied flickers though, and warblers.
Summer (When wet): Rosette Spoonbills, Great White Egrets, Snakes, Black-necked Stilts, Mosquitos (bring your macros!!!), Red Shouldered Hawks, Osprey, Warblers (not many...), Flickers (sometimes...)
The birds here will be more skittish, but are more abundant in the summer because in the summer, the birds tend to dissappear into the depths of the Everglads, and this rather in there... also a great place for landscape images!
Paurotis Pond:
Only during late winter early spring will much be around worth trying for. You will find woodstorks nesting here at that time, and spoonbills flying overhead, and occasional other random species.
Mrazek Pond:
Only good during the winter. At times, you will see snowy egret feeding frenzies, a mad acrobatic display beyond description! But, these happen mostly in the morning, and they will be backlit most of the time. You may find some good shots here of SE, CE, TCH, MH, coots, grebes, ibises, and blue-winged teals. GBH sometimes here, as well as the rather ubiquitous anhingas. Mostly, choose the nearby Eco pond over this place...
Eco Pond:
In the summer, this place will be rather dead and foul-smelling (its purpose causes thus...); random small birds will be here, and occasional wading birds and raptors will patrol, but it is vastly better in the winter.
Winter: Arrive in the morning while it is still dark to get into position (an hour before official sunrise). Then, await an amazing spectacle: the feeding frenzy! Rosette Spoonbills, Great White Egrets, White Ibises, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Tricolor Herons, and Black Necked Stilts will appear in huge numbers, feeding with wild abandon! The frenzy may not last long. You will need lens speed here, as the feeding often occurs early, and the sun does not shine directly on them until after 8:00 am, when the frenzy is usually mostly over. Wait long after the fenzy, and capture behaviour of individual birds. Osprey nest in the trees, and gulls fly overhead. Many great bird-in-flight images are to be made here, as well as epic feeding behaviours. The very very best place to stand in just as you enter the area, just a bit to the east, to give you full view of their approach in the place where they usually land to feed.
Flamingo and the Florida Bay:
Summer: Many shorebirds will linger on the sandbars in low tide, and feed on the shores at higher tides, or just dissappear altogether. A few birds may be found here, mainly Osprey, RSH, flickers, and warblers and pelicans... often, egrets, herons, and spoonbills will roost on the islands, providing nothing but frustration if you lack a canoe and bravery.
Winter: A lot more to be seen; go here if looking for sunrise and sunset images especially, as the Florida bay will provide you views of both over the water! Pelicans, Osprey, RSH, flickers, shorebirds; egrets and herons sometimes, mainly when the tide is low they feed on the sandbar and roost in the islands.
Regardless of where you go, if you are near the roads there will be an infinity of black vultures and ravens. Limpkins are randomly about, usually in the open prairie areas, though never in large groups. White ibises are rather everywhere also. I forgot to mention in the previous post, but you can usually find barred owls on the roadside, at the southern end of the road, but only with great perception (they are well hidden). Alligators may often be seen in the culverts (beware!). I have never seen a Sandhill Crane here, though supposedly there are some around, as well as Bald Eagles.
Loop Road, past Shark Valley, provides an excellent place to see night herons, especially around the sweetwater slough area.
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