Had a free day and decided to get up early and head down to Everglades National Park. I decided to start at Eco Pond in the morning to see if the birds were active and then work my way back north. Today was a good bird day. Eco Pond was full of Roseate Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Herons, Tri-Color Herons, Pelicans and the ocassional overflying Osprey. They were also very active foraging around in the shallow water for fish and other food. One thing I noticed was how low the water in Eco Pond had gotten since my last visit. The East Side of the pond is almost completely dry. I got a few good shots of some landing Roseate Spoonbills. The one I captured was a juvenille spoonbill.
After the birds left Eco Pond I walked around and found a some osprey nests but they were not very active. I left Flamingo and started heading back north. My next stop was Snake Bight. I brought my bike and rode the path down to the end of the trail. I saw a few birds along the way but nothing motivated me to stop and get out my camera. At the end of the trail is a boardwalk. The tide was out exposing a large mudflat. A few birds were around but nothing better than I had already shot. I did note that this might be a good sunset location and may come back to try it out before summer officially arrives.
After Snake Bight I stopped by Mahogany Hammock to look for some barred owls but not were willing to show themselves. I kept driving north to a Cypress Dome I found a few weeks back. I hiked into the Dome and took some photos of the blooming Bromeliads. They were everywhere in the dome. I also came across the same water moccasins I saw during my last visit. One of the moccasins was not very happy and tried to bite me. Luckily I was out of his reach. I still got a few good shots of him before I left.
My next stop was another cypress dome farther north called Movie Dome. Last time I hiked into it the water was still about a foot deep or so. This time it was completely dry except for a shallow pool in the middle of the dome. I walked around the dome but did not take any pictures this time.
My last stop was Pine Glades Lake for a sunset. I captured some sunrays that were streaming from the sun giving the shot a unique look. Pine Glades Lake is one of my favorite sunset locations in Everglades National Park. After the sunset I headed home. On the way home I got a suprise panther sighting. This was my first panther sighting since I started coming to the park almost 8 years ago. The panther was walking the main park road and slipped into the bushes when he saw me coming. It was too dark to try and use the camera but it was still great to witness a free roaming panther.
