After a long snowy winter, it was nice to take a break in the sunny south last week.
An “Eco Friendly” boat tour of Lake Toho (Tohopekaligia) and hiking trek to Makinson Island in Kissimmee, Fla.; and, a canoe trip on Lake Kissimmee and Tiger Creek in Lake Wales, Fla. made for some exciting wildlife photo opportunities.
Spotted while walking along the board walk when awaiting the boat trip on Lake Toho, were swamp rabbits, apple snails, alligators, common moorhen, American coot, green heron, muscovy duck, comorants, mallard ducks and numerous other bird species.
The apple snails were huge, literally the size of an apple. The endangered snail kite feasts on the invasive apple snail. The snails’ abundant pink masses of eggs cover pilings, breakwaters and plants.
Lake Toho has another invasive species lurking below the surface, hydrilla. It is treated chemically, which keeps it abated, except in the warmer summer months when it flourishes.
On the boat trip out to Makinson Island, a pair of bald eagles circled overhead. The 32- acre Makinson Island is a State Park loaded with wildlife, although we saw only chameleons.
There are 3.5 miles of hiking trails on Makinson Island, forming a figure eight. The tranquil walk among native, and non-native vegetation was breathtaking. Spanish moss hung from giant Virginian Oak trees. The palms with their edible swamp cabbage were everywhere on the island. There were numerous orange trees on the island, but they bore a bitter fruit.
Four hours later the boat was back and the tour of the lake continued. Of special note was a small island in a cove, which was covered with hundreds of nesting pairs of great egrets, in their flowing white mating plumage.
We watched with delight the antics of the nesting pairs, some with three eggs, others with three newly hatched chicks. A male great egret flew a twig to his mate who quickly tucked it into the nest she was building. It was an amazing site, and none of the birds were the least bit concerned with the close proximity of the boat or its human occupants.
Alligators waited on logs underneath nests, hoping for a fledgling to fall out and make a quick meal.
We also spotted osprey, both nesting and feeding, and alligators, including a mother with a half dozen babies.
The next day we drove south about an hour to Lake Kissimmee State Park. Just a half- mile into the 5000-plus acre park, we saw two white tail deer. A little further down the road we saw three deer including a spotted fawn.
We rented a canoe and paddled out into Lake Kissimmee and then down Tiger Creek. Great blue heron, limpkins and tri-colored heron were in abundance.
A family of sand cranes was one of many highlights of the paddle. The large cranes with their two brown chicks, looked like deer in the distance, because of their size. We also spotted the nest of the endangered snail kite perched in the reeds.
On the way back to the boat launch, a wood stork, with its ugly black head and red feet, was perched above the creek. Once back to the launch we almost paddled over the top of a six-foot alligator, and saw a smaller ‘gator sunning on the far side of the cove.
A special feature in the park was a living history exhibit of early cow hunters, called crackers, and named for the crack of their whips while rounding up cattle. The cracker stayed in character the entire visit and was very informative of the way of life circa 1876.
