Gulf Islands National National Seashore, Ft. Pickens - Mar. 26 - Apr. 8

Sadly we’ve just completed our two weeks in the Gulf Islands with our time in Florida winding down. Both in the Everglades and Gulf Islands, staying for an extended period of time has added so much dimension and enjoyment to the trip. We were able to meet some great people, poke and learn about different things to do and just relax and read a book.

When we first arrived at Ft. Pickens, the campground looked like a refugee camp with tents crammed everywhere. The roads were a racetrack for bikes, skateboards and inline skates – Spring break! I questioned the sanity of staying for 2 weeks. As luck would have it, we had torrential downpours the second day that turned campsites to lakes and sent folks scrambling out abandoning their gear. The dumpsters had a fair amount of wet tents, tarps and inflatable mattresses. This was also the day I had the luck to meet Jerry, Brenda, Daniel and Bridget (avid birders and members of the local Audubon group) and learned that Ft. Pickens was a great migrant trap for birds coming across the Gulf. I thought this happened only in Texas – honest! The first bird we saw together was a Louisiana Waterthrush. Our paths would continue to cross throughout our stay but first – where to put my brother Jay during his visit with all this water around our site!

Jay is working in New Orleans and came over to camp with us for a couple days. We improvised our screen tent with a tarp on the least squishy section of grass. Since then we have seen another camper with the same tent and fly that can be purchased separately. It was really impressive and is now on our wish list. It was a great visit cruising around, dinner at Peg Leg’s and keeping watch while Jay snorkeled with the sharks.

Leaving birding for last highlights included watching the Blue Angels (3 times), visiting the National Aviation Museum and fishing for Harry. After much research about sand fleas as bait and getting a rake to catch them, success was casting with a “gotcha” lure bringing in 4 snapper blues; enough for 2 meals. The sand flea rake wasn’t going to fit in the van so Harry gave it to a local fisherman who in turn gave us 2 sheepshead; another wonderful fish dinner! We also met some great folks in a Rialta rally and Pam from CA who is traveling around the country in a van. She stayed and rode out the storm with us, got together several times and had a lot of laughs. I hope our paths cross again.

The birding was phenomenal at Ft. Pickens. In the 2 week time I was there, I saw 100 different species. Daniel and Bridget live locally but came over to camp to catch more of the migrant fallout after storms and fronts. I learned a lot from them about the spots to go for specific birds and several times Daniel would give me a call if he was onto a bird in a different area of the park. I think we would all agree there was one special sighting – a Townsend’s Warbler. This bird is an extremely western bird and has only been reported once before in a 3 county area and just a handful of sightings in the state. The bird settled around our campsite long enough for Daniel to send out an alert and bring in 8-9 Audubon folks who all got a look standing in the rain.

This past Sunday and Monday, another storm was headed our way coming from the SE. The road into the park is practically at sea level and often gets closed under these circumstances. The rangers made the decision to close the park and gave us the option of leaving quickly or staying with the understanding that the road may not open up again for 24-48 hours. Perfect! The place to ourselves again! Storms such as these are such an opportunity for seeing lots of birds. Except for running into Daniel briefly in the a.m. before he had to leave, I was out there birding by myself. I really wish this day could have been shared with other birders. Many warblers were flying around the campground; green herons flying in large flocks; scarlet/summer tanagers, indigo buntings, blue grosbeaks and hummingbirds everywhere. The stars of the day - a cerulean warbler and yellow-billed cuckoo. There was also a Louisiana Waterthrush that was so tired, it hardly moved which was a reminder these conditions are very hard on birds trying to cross the Gulf and many don't make it. I hope this guy did.

Reluctantly it’s time for us to leave. If you have already looked at the photos, a few more have been added.

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Ochlockonee River SP, Sopchoppy, FL - Mar. 23 - 25

Driving into Sopchoppy, we were sorry to learn we will miss the Worm Gruntin' Festival but knew all was good with a Red-cockaded Woodpecker in a tree above our campsite. These guys are rare and only found locally in mature long leaf pines, a habit that is scarce. In less than a day, I have no doubt Steve & Ellen would love it here! We spent how long trying to find one last year? There is also a population of white squirrels and supposedly a white female deer. Must be something in the water!

On our way to the Ochlockonee River State Park, we had stopped at the St. Marks NWR to get info with the hope to return. My biggest regret is that it didn’t happen. With a 60+ mile roundtrip ride, I couldn’t bike it and didn’t want to drag Harry on yet another bird adventure. Next time. This is a great area and park worth a repeat.

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Payne's Prairie - Mar. 19 - 22

Payne’s Prairie is unique with lakes, sink holes, wet prairies and forest. Spanish horses and bison have been reintroduced. There was a lot to do with hiking/biking trails. The only frustration was that the best trail, the LaChua, was a 12 mile drive to the north side of the park. This side is also where the 16 mile Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail is. The LaChua had the biggest alligators and lots of birds although I had the luck to run into a bison and several horses back on the south side on the Cones Dike Trail.

We seem to be crisscrossing a MA man Biking for Birds (combined fund raiser and big year for birds biking around the US). He left MA in January and since then we have been a couple days behind him on the Tamiami Hwy., a day later on Sanibel, in Tampa area the same time and he hiked the LaChua later on the same day I was there. He will continue to follow us in the St. Marks/Ochlockonee area and down the panhandle!

We also met Joan, a fellow Roadtrekker in her 2006 Versatile with her pup, Annabelle. She has traveled all across America, Mexico and Canada in various vehicles and shared many stories and tips including a suggestion from a local that the Blue Highway Pizzeria was the place to go. We all headed there our last night and it was fabulous. My recommendation is the Parma Piadine, fresh flatbread topped with a salad of prosciutto, arugula, mozzarella, tomatoes and balsalmic glaze.

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E. G. Simmons CP & Cedar Key - Mar. 16 - 18

Two years back, we tried to get into E. G. Simmons County Park in Ruskin (1^st come/1^st served) but it was full. This time we arrived at about 10:00 and were told we couldn’t get assigned to a site until at least noon but were #6 on a waiting list. The park has an interesting assortment of inlets with the campgrounds (2 - east and west) on narrow strips of land. According to a volunteer, the park was constructed by the Army Corp. as a place for veterans to come. Although there was a tempting corned beef and cabbage potluck dinner the following night, we decided to go further north to Cedar Key.

During our fall trip, I joined an organization called Boondockers Welcome. This is a directory of folks (mostly campers themselves) willing to have campers stay on their property for 1-2 nights. There was a host listed in Cedar Key so we decided to give it a try. Edie and Joe have a really secure spot in the woods about 10 miles east of Cedar Key that was perfect. They are restaurant owners of Kona Joe’s in town – a perfect spot for breakfast or lunch on the porch looking out over the water. Great experience.

Cedar Key is a fishing community that has remained “Old Florida”. We met a woman in a fabric store who comes from a family of fishermen and spoke of how they fished by drag net until it was banned by the government in 1995. They were retrained to learn clamming, given subsidies to adapt their boats and given seed clams. Now this area is renowned for their clams and crabs. There is an artistic funkiness to the town with great shops and restaurants and we heard but didn’t get a chance to experience that musicians gather at a RV park in town to play music. I put this in for my guitar/dulcimer/banjo pickin friends.

Daniel, owner of Cedar Key Paddling, rents canoes, kayaks and paddle boards with deliver/pickup wherever you want. We headed out towards North Key with the hope of deeper water for fishing but it was blowing pretty hard. We probably should have stayed back in the bayou area but all was beautiful.

The second night, we moved over to Shell Mound County Park right in the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. This was a nice, sleepy, affordable park that was off the beaten path enough so it wasn’t full. There was a boat ramp, electric, water and showers. Although we didn’t kayak from here, it would be a beautiful spot to access the refuge from the water and bird. I’d like to come back again someday and travel along the coast northwest around the “big bend” to the Ochlocknee River. This time, we had already planned to head inland to Payne’s Prairie.

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Myakka River State Park - Mar. 12 - 15

Myakka was a return trip from last year. This was the one park I was unable to get consecutive nights in one site so had to cobble together 4 nights each at a different spot. This really wasn’t so bad in our van and I was on bird probation anyway from my last stint in the Everglades so couldn't disappear again for the day!

The water levels were up in the lakes so many of the shore birds were nowhere to be seen. We headed out to Nokomis and Venice for one day. The highlight was going to Clyde Butcher’s gallery, studio and darkroom. He is the Ansel Adams of South Florida. Beautiful photography and well worth the trip.

In Venice, we went to both the South and North Jetties. Very big difference between the two! On the South side, there really wasn’t a beach and parking was very difficult. In fact, we got into a bit of a scuffle when a Mercedes tried to drive into the side of the van fighting for a space. The North side was a park with lots of parking and space to spread out. There was also a funky restaurant where you can get a beer to drink along the jetty and hang out. Dogs weren't allowed but we opted to ask for forgiveness with no problem.

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Koreshan State Historic Site & Sanibel Island - Mar. 10-11

Heading west along the Tamiami Highway, we stopped at Shark Valley. Last year, it was really backed up so we kept going. We biked the 15 mile loop trail. The first half runs along a canal ending at a tower with quite a view of the valley. The second part weaves through grasslands and ponds. Well worth the stop.

This was a really short stay at Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero so that we could go out to Sanibel Island and the Ding Darling Refuge. It was very busy with traffic but the island and beaches were beautiful. Nice stop at the Lazy Flamingo for lunch with a beach across the street that Nina could enjoy. The refuge was busy as well and the wrong time of day for serious birding but the highlight was a Reddish Egret and an Avocet. 

Sometimes this is a very small world that comes full circle. In my post of Feb. 19th, I mentioned the loss of a friend. This friend was John Baldi who owned a dive shop in Quincy and passed away last year. The John we visited, John Barnecott, worked for Baldi, has known Harry longer than I and certified me to dive. Two women came up to Harry in the parking lot of Ding Darling asking ?'s about our van. They turned out to be John Baldi's wife and daughter. This was a special chance encounter for Harry to reflect and embrace.

Coming back we stopped along the causeway for a swim for Nina and a little bit of casting for Harry.

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Into the swamp and the Everglades - Feb. 24 - Mar. 9

It was a comfortable feeling driving into Flamingo Campground especially knowing that we would stay for 2 weeks. Last year a barn owl flew over a field each evening so we found a site with a front row seat and excellent shading for most of the day. Waiting in hope, there was no owl this year. A good part of the first week was unseasonable hot with bugs, bugs and more bugs. Harry learned the hard way that long pants and socks were a must along with bug spray and finally netted hoods. We absolutely loved our new screen house with an added plus that Nina could walk around free. 

We soon became friends with our neighbors, Doug and Anita from British Columbia who arrived the same day. Both Harry and Anita opted out of the 9 Mile Pond canoe trip so Doug and I partnered up. The water was higher than last year which meant more birds to see but less concentrated alligators. One canoe in our group flipped and was rescued by the designated “sweeps”.  They also had to get wet because the canoe and all the gear sank. Unfortunate but the folks who flipped had a good sense of humor – not so the sweeps! 

Taking a break from the heat and bugs, we ventured off to John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo for a day of snorkeling and soon realized there wasn't a shady spot to be found to leave Nina. We were able to get a vacate site for the night and discovered Doug and Anita also ended up in the same park.  Doug joined us for snorkeling in the morning while Anita took the glass bottom boat trip. The fish were beautiful but the coral was still recovering from storm damage. 

In the Everglades, there was lots of birding with the highlight of finally seeing the elusive Mango Cuckoo. Another highlight was renting a canoe and heading out into the bay and around to Snake Bight. Fishing for Harry and birds for Sally! 

We transferred our final night to Long Pine Campground which was 38 miles back towards the entrance of the park giving us a boost in the morning. I had been tipped off by Ranger Bob about good birding on the Old Ingram Highway with the probability of seeing a Snail Kite. Harry dropped me off with my bike, assorted optics, camera, bottle of water and 3 Fig Newtons at 9:30 in the morning. Once I got to the mound which was to be a good vantage point, I got spooked with the thought of snakes. Coming back down, I met a woman who asked what I saw. Confessing my fears, she said it was fine and encouraged me back up. We hiked and biked the area and then walked through a mystical cedar swamp. 

My guide, Maryanne Biggar, shared her knowledge of the everglades and snippets of her life with her husband, John Ogden. In the swamp, she identified many of the plants including the orchids that were not in bloom. She showed me a “princess crown” that was orchid plants circling a cypress tree. We talked of snakes and of how she and her husband would string hammocks in the swamp to hang out. Coming out of the swamp, we had an incredible sighting of a barred owl.  John died 2 years ago and quoting from his obituary, he was “one of the world's leading authorities on wading birds and a scientist who fought for and shaped Everglades restoration plans.” He came to the Everglades NP in the 60’s and spent “the next four decades in positions of increasing influence with Audubon, the park and water district. Audubon hired him back in 2007 as director of bird conservation.” 

Needless to say, this was a very special day for me and I totally lost track of time compounded by the loss of an hour w/daylight savings time. When I got back to the campground at 5 p.m. looking for Harry, there was a crowd asking if I was Sally including a security ranger. Harry had filed a missing person report and they had sent UTV’s out on the trails looking for me!!!! Ugh!!!

So many more stories but I have already rattled on too long!

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