Everglades National Park, Florida, USA
The Swamp Lily - one of the beautiful wildflowers of Everglades National Park
Who needs Disneyland? Go and visit one of Mother Nature's most amazing 'theme parks' instead! Everglades National Park is full of wonders and thrills that no manmade adventure playground can beat - and it's a lot cheaper, too.
Consisting of a belt that is fifty miles wide and one hundred miles long, Everglades once covered an area of one and a half million acres. The park extends from Lake Okeechobee southwards to the tip of Florida, and once formed part of the lake's natural drainage system which flowed, unimpeded down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Pressures from the densely populated areas of Miami and Palm Beach mean that much of the water has been abstracted and vast tracts of land have been converted into farms. Both mankind and the Everglades and its wildlife have paid a heavy price for this intervention. In the mid 1960s a freak cycle of very dry weather, combined with the excessive water abstraction, almost destroyed the Everglades: dead and dying fish were stranded throughout the area and Rangers were despatched to rescue Alligators stranded in drying mud. Today the water supply to the Everglades is protected by legislation, and the park, twice the size of Rhode Island, preserves part of the unique subtropical wetland and the numerous species of wildlife that depend upon it for survival.
Directions to the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park
An Alligator sunbathes on a rock in one of the open water sloughs in Everglades National Park
GPS coordinates 25o 23' 42.97" N, 80o 34' 59.36" W
From Miami and north of the Park, visitors should take the Florida Turnpike (Route 821) south until it merges with US 1 at Florida City. Turn right at the first traffic light onto Palm Drive (State Road 9336/SW 344th St.) and follow signs to the Park.
Visitors heading north (from the direction of Florida Keys) should turn left on Palm Drive in Florida City and follow signs to the Park
The Ernest Coe Visitor Center is open 365 days a year, usually from 9am to 5pm. The centre has educational displays, films and brochures, and also a bookshop. A number of the Park's walking trails begin a short drive from the Visitor Center.
Towards the coast the freshwater Saw Grass marshes of Everglades National Park become saline Mangrove swamps
Flora and Fauna of Everglades National Park
The main features of the Everglades are the extensive grassy marshes in the more northerly part, tropical hammocks - raised areas of ground which are dominated by tropical trees - the mangrove swamps towards the coast, and the open water sloughs, the latter being the best place to see much of the wildlife of the Park including many of the birds.
For the uninitiated to Florida's wildlife it is unquestionably the Alligators that are the most striking (and terrifying) aspect of Everglades National Park. Seeing them lazing on banks beside the water (instead of behind bars) certainly gave us pause for thought on our first visit!
A Wood Stork in the grassy marshes of Everglades
Frightening though they are, the American Alligators Alligator mississippiensis are a vital part of the ecosystem of the Everglades National Park. During periods of drought the Alligators dig deep holes which provide vital water for other wildlife species to live in as well as themselves. The Alligators mate in April or May, and in June the female builds a mound-shaped nest with mud and leaves where she deposits between 25 and 30 hard-shelled eggs in a central cavity. The incubation period for the eggs is around nine weeks and during this time the mother will remain near the nest. Eventually the young Alligators will call to her with a high-pitched yelping sound which prompts her to uncover and release the young from the nest. Young Alligators remain with their mother for between one and three years.
The second most noticeable feature of the teeming wildlife in Everglades is the prolific birdlife. During our visit we saw Wood Stork (pictured right), Great Blue Heron, Green-backed Heron, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Red-shouldered Hawk, Great Egret, White Ibis, Anhinga (feeding their young) and Double-crested Cormorant among many others.
The Everglades have a fascinating plantlife, and the Park is home to many of the wild orchid species that occur in Florida. October is the peak time to visit to see the orchids and they are not too difficult to find, particuarly in the Long Pine Key area where there are a number of good hiking trails. Species you may expect to find without too much difficulty include Bearded Grass-pink Calopogon barbatus, Many-flowered Grass-pink Calopogon multiflora, Pale Grass-pink Calopogon pallidus, Common Grass-pink Calopogon tuberosus, Upland Spreading Pogonia Cleistes bifaria, Green Adder's-mouth Malaxis unifolia, Rose Pogonia Pogonia ophioglossoides, and various of the Spiranthes species including Giant Ladies'-tresses and Woodland Ladies'-tresses.
A Zebra Longwing Butterfly
Other lovely wildflowers that grow in Everglades include Yellow Butterwort Pinguicula lutea, Common Butterwort Pinguicula vulgaris, Common Catail Typha latifolia, Swamp Lily Crinum americanum (pictured above), Spider Lily- Hymenocallis liviosme, Delicate Ionopsis Lonopsis utricularioides, Lizard's Tail Saururus cernuus, Water Hyacinth Eichornia crassipes, and Fragrant Water Lily Nymphaea odorata.
Wildflowers and plants are a great attraction for insects as well as humans, and the Park supports numerous species of spiders, dragonflies, moths and colourful butterflies. A grasp of the flowers, shrubs and trees in any particular place will help you to identify the species of butterflies that you find: find the larval food plant and nearby you will probably find the butterfly or moth. For instance, the host plant for the Palamedes Swallowtail is Red Bay, a common plant in Everglades.
A Red-shouldered Hawk in Everglades
The Zebra Longwing butterfly's (above right) host plants include passion-vines, which grow on the tropical hammocks found in Everglades, and their chosen flowers to visit to get nectar include Lantana and Shepherd's Needle. The male butterfly will patrol in search of a female, but he will also seek out a chrysalis of the female, wait for her to emerge and then mate with her immediately. Who said 'it's the chase that counts'?
A number of mammals also make their homes in Everglades National Park. Cotton Mouse, Marsh Rice Rat, Marsh Rabbit, Round-tailed Muskrat, River Otter, Mink, Raccoon and even Black Bears have all been recorded there. Although classed as a carnivore most of the Black Bear's diet consists of vegetation, and it also eats bugs and grubs, steals honey and is a very effective fisherman. Black Bears are solitary creatures (except during the mating season) and mainly appear at night.
Whatever your interest and at whichever time of year you choose to visit Everglades National Park, there is always plenty to see.