Big Cypress National Preserve
Next, we decided to drive a bit farther down Tamiami Trail to Big Cypress National Preserve Visitor Center. In front of the Visitor Center, the park service has built a viewing platform, which overlooks a stretch of the canal alongside Tamiami Trail. I took the next series of photographs from this vantage point.
Florida Gar is a freshwater fish found mostly in the lakes, rivers and canals of South Florida.
The body temperature of an alligator is dependent upon the temperature of its environment. To maintain a constant body temperature, alligators will move in and out of the water, sunlight and shade, remaining motionless for long periods of time. This behavior allows an alligator to survive on less food. This can be especially important if the dry season in the Everglades is extended, resulting in fewer food sources. An alligator’s diet includes insects, crabs, crayfish, fish, frogs, snails, turtles, snakes, wading birds, raccoons, otters, deer, and other alligators.
A Great Blue Heron observes as an alligator swims to the opposite bank of the canal.
One last photograph of a Great Blue Heron.
One Comment
Hello there, I was just browsing your page and saw that you had a photo mislabeled. Your second photo on page one is labeled as being a White Heron, a relative of the Great Blue Heron. While it is true that a White Heron is a morph of the Great Blue (Smithsonia Handobooks “Birds of Florida”), your photo actually depicts a Great Egret, a rather common bird here in South Florida. The way I was taught to tell the difference (from a kind gentleman at the Wild Bird Santuary in the Florida Keys) is that White Herons look VERY much like Great Blues (especially), just white, and have fleshy colored legs (also mentioned in the Smithsonian book). Great Egrets, on the other hand, have black legs and much more yellow beaks. The following website has images of both; the differences are easier to see when next to each other. (http://themarksman.us/birdwatching/birdwatching_g.htm)
Seems to be a common mistake though. I wouldn’t have known unless I’d heard it from the Sanctuary, since the differences are so small.
Sorry to intrude…
~Tiff