Did a quick stop at Celery Fields this morning but main goal was Myakka River State Park and specifically Deep Hole. Deep Hole is a sinkhole near Myakka River State Park that maintains water throughout the dry season and if you catch it on the right day can be surrounded by 200+ gators. Unfortunately I hit a “slow” day again and there were only about 50. I also saw why I don’t visit Myakka any more as it is way too crowded for me.
Least Bittern in open
Wood Stork and Northern Harried fly over
Big Gator reflected
A few gators at Deep Hole.
Sunbathing
A few more gators at Deep Hole
Yellow-necked Caterpillar Moths and Giant Strong-nosed Stink Bugs
Loggerhead Shrike taking off and flying away
Not a great pic, but 9 species of bird in 1 pic.
Anhinga, Black Vulture, Black-necked Stilt, Glossy Ibis, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, and White Ibis.
If you want to get a feel for the wide variety of creatures that have lived in Florida, check out Myakka River State Park. You are guaranteed to see large swarms of alligators, from babies to gigantic size gators. They also have a canopy trail that extends above the tree tops. It is one of the largest treetop canopies in the world. Matt notes why he is not crazy about Myakka: it is too crowded for him, which means you might run into 20 people. We saw a Florida panther on our last trip to Myakka and all sorts of exotic creatures. A must see place for Floridians and non-Floridians.