Bird watching on the mud flats of Florida Bay.  This is a spotting scope spot!  The flats are WAY out there.  We recognized blue herons, egrets and pelicans but everybody else is just a swarm of birds.  At the marina we spotted a baby manatee in the canal area and a nest filled with young osprey. Fun.

Birdwatching in Snake Bite off Florida Bay. It is far out to the flats here too but I think I saw roseate spoonbills.  It was a long hot hike back!  Only 1.8 miles but hardly any breeze and 85+.

Kayaking West Lake.  The long open water paddle (4 miles) was easy on the way out but across a moderate chop coming back in.  It seemed like the wind blew from every direction and the waves formed like pyramids that the boat slid off of in every direction.   The last mile was a challenge.  Out at the far end of the lake we wound through a shady, quiet mangrove tunnel.  It had one “limbo tree” to get under but we made it through. You can get all the way out into Florida Bay if you continue another 4 miles or so but there was lots more open water ahead and the wind was kicking up so we turned back.  Overall, a good trip but watch the wind forecast if you have plans to head out this trail.

Paddling out to Coot Bay.  We were on the water by 8am and it is much quieter than we expected.  We spotted a handful of herons and egrets among the mangroves as we paddled out Buttonwood canal. An immature bald eagle glided overhead, the first we have seen here.  3 miles out plus a little loop in Coot Bay then we start back.  Not surprisingly, we paddle against a headwind.  We are entertained by the acrobatics of swallow-tailed kites and catch a look at an open-mouthed croc sunning among downed limbs.

It is a bit of a drive back out to Royal Palms but I wanted to check out the Anhinga Trail.  It is a chance to catch up with Carol too, she is camping at Long Pine Key.  First, Carol feeds us dinner: great chicken salad and wonderful key lime pie for dessert.  There had been thunder storms earlier and still a little rumbling.  We even ate indoors hiding from a short shower.  We let our food settle a bit then headed out for the trail around 7PM.  Evening can be a fun time for wildlife.  The walk was pretty much a bust…we saw anhinga and a few egrets and only a couple alligators on the return side of the loop.  Somebody flipped the bug switch just as we reached the far end and we found ourselves in the heart of an annoying mosquito swarm.  Bug spray kept them somewhat at bay but we wrapped things up pretty fast after that.  Carol rode out to Flamingo with us and spent the night on our couch so she could have a chance to explore our end of the park for a few hours.

Baby Manatee

I gave Carol the nickel tour at Flamingo.  A couple manatees, the baby osprey, and a crocodile all made an appearance.  We checked out the marina store and visitor center then gathered up Kent to head back to Long Pine with stops at a few high points along the way.  It was getting pretty late in the day so it was hot and humid but we walked the West Lake and Mahogany Hammock boardwalks and did a bit of bird watching at a couple other stops. We delivered Carol home and polished off her leftovers for lunch.  We were all looking forward to some relaxation in the air conditioning.  We headed back to Flamingo for one more day in the park before we start our journey north.  So long Carol.  Current plans have us crossing paths next in NY for Miss Willa’s b’day.