For my 7th observation I visited the Everglades National Park, which is a wetland habitat. Everglades National Park, which protects over 1.5 million acres, is the 3rd largest national park in the lower 48 states, behind Yellowstone National Park (2nd) and Death Valley National Park (1st).The everglades serves as a marsh area that many different types of species inhabit. There are two types of seasons in the everglades, which are the wet season and the dry season. Most hot summer days are punctuated by quenching afternoon thunderstorms that bring life-giving water to the park. In the 1900's the settlers attempted to drain the Everglades in efforts to build on the land underneath the marsh. This however never occurred and the attempted draining only damaged the area. This is a major reason why the Everglades are so protected and important to us today.
The drive was only a few hours from Fort Lauderdale but was worth the amount of wildlife I saw during my trip. Some bird species I saw and took pictures of were the Anhinga (aka the snake bird because when it swims and hunts all you see is it's long neck, which may be mistaken for a snake), the Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Silver Ibis, Great Egret, and the Brown Pelican.The Everglades Ecosystem provides a home to over 350 documented species of birds.I also saw a plethora of American Alligators. They were everywhere and even though they didn't move much and seemed to just be soaking up the sun, they were just as intimidating. Some of the birds were brave enough to get close to the gators in order to hunt and I don't think I wold have the guts to do that. I had the pleasure of seeing a Rat Snake being caught right out of a Rosemary bush. The man who caught the snake was a snake wrangler from the Amazon and allowed everyone to take pictures. I also saw many crabs and even an American Crocodile. You can distinguish between the croc and the gator by snout size and teeth arrangement.
Overall my trip the the Everglades was very exciting. I saw many species and the park was a lot larger then most of the sites I had previously visited, which was a big plus. The Everglades are an important factor to Florida's marine life and their habitats. Many tourists and visitors also indulge in kayaking, canoeing, wading, site seeing, and bird watching throughout the park so it is an area for humans to enjoy as well.
The drive was only a few hours from Fort Lauderdale but was worth the amount of wildlife I saw during my trip. Some bird species I saw and took pictures of were the Anhinga (aka the snake bird because when it swims and hunts all you see is it's long neck, which may be mistaken for a snake), the Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Silver Ibis, Great Egret, and the Brown Pelican.The Everglades Ecosystem provides a home to over 350 documented species of birds.I also saw a plethora of American Alligators. They were everywhere and even though they didn't move much and seemed to just be soaking up the sun, they were just as intimidating. Some of the birds were brave enough to get close to the gators in order to hunt and I don't think I wold have the guts to do that. I had the pleasure of seeing a Rat Snake being caught right out of a Rosemary bush. The man who caught the snake was a snake wrangler from the Amazon and allowed everyone to take pictures. I also saw many crabs and even an American Crocodile. You can distinguish between the croc and the gator by snout size and teeth arrangement.
Overall my trip the the Everglades was very exciting. I saw many species and the park was a lot larger then most of the sites I had previously visited, which was a big plus. The Everglades are an important factor to Florida's marine life and their habitats. Many tourists and visitors also indulge in kayaking, canoeing, wading, site seeing, and bird watching throughout the park so it is an area for humans to enjoy as well.
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