Friday, March 25, Day 21, 10,000 Island National Wildlife Refuge to Naples

Here are the names of the two birds I meant to put in an earlier post a purple gallinule. Green body and wings, purple body, neck and head; light blue shield and red bill with yellow tip. A great looking bird and not always seen by people. The other bird that I said looked similar to a cormorant, (beak curved end) is an Anhinga, (straight beak).

As I am running out of picture space in my google album, I am becoming more selective. The fun part of this day is the boat tour of 10,000 Island area a MUST SEE. It is an hour and a half trip; boat holds about 40 people and is smooth. The estimate on the number of islands change depending what the tide level is, not like Minnesota where we have no tides.



Osprey hard to see top of dead tree right center



As we head out to the Gulf area and through the brackish waters of the islands, we are treated to a number of great things. The mangrove habitat is composed of three different types of them. It also turns out that the mangrove is thought to come from Africa. Small clumps of mangrove can float around for many months and when they hit sand they immediately start growing its roots at an inch an hour for six hours. They then grow forever outward until the roots cannot it ground. We see osprey nesting and find that they nest for life but winter in different areas. When they return the bird will stand by the nest till the other one shows up. But should the male show and not the female, he will wait forever and never take another mate. But should the female show up and the male doesn’t, in a week she will find a new mate. She lays three eggs a week apart, should there not be enough food, and she never hatches the two other eggs. We also watched an osprey attack a bald eagle. As the eagle eats anything and osprey only eats fresh fish they feel the eagle is a predator.

What a beautiful place, as we approach the island on the edge of the Gulf, bottle-nosed dolphins are spotted. We must have circled and observed a pod of female dolphins with a young one. This was fantastic but hard to photograph with those slow digital cameras like most of us had. A couple of people had the single reflex variety, I am sure they didn’t get as many pictures of plain water (about 36) like we.

Along the way we stopped at Fakachatchee Strand Preserve State park, Copeland FL

 for a mile and a half walk out a board walk to view nature.  

We right of way see the alligator eyeing an egret for lunch. On the way back the bird was still there the gator gone.

Look at the bear hug the strangler fig has on this tree.

Now is the time to drive west and find a place to stay in or around Naples. That was not easy but finally did, then the next hardest thing was finding a place to eat, finally KFC won out. jerr