Compared to the alligator, the American crocodile is more lizard-shaped with a long and powerful tail and a narrow, triangular snout. A tooth on either side of the bottom jaw is visible when the jaw is closed. South Florida has an estimated population of 2,000 American crocodiles including the Everglades and Keys. A large 12-foot crocodile can run up to...

Also called water turkey, snake bird and snake darter, the anhinga is one of the Everglades most common and unusual birds. When swimming, only its snaky-looking long neck and head show above water. The rest of the body stays submerged. To feed, an anhinga dives underwater for considerable periods to spear fish with its long sharp beak. If successful, back...

This is a short slide show of what you can see along the Anhinga Trail. Advance the photos at the top of the page for just a few of the animals you might see. Be sure it go to the special Royal Palm Itinerary which features a detailed description of the Anhinga Trail. It is not an area to be...

This miniature forest has another of those signs everyone takes photos of: “Dwarf Cypress Forest – Elevation 4 Feet.” The trees are stunted due to the shallow soil, which has few nutrients. Many trees grow no taller than 3 feet. The bedrock underlying them is too close to the surface for sufficient soil and nutrients to accumulate. In most of...

On the Main Park Road, drive past the Flamingo Visitor Center and head toward the Flamingo Campground. Before reaching the campground, you’ll find Eco Pond located on the right. Park in the designated area. The half-mile (800 meter) loop goes around a fresh water pond that once was an exceptional spot for birding and photography. Unfortunately, many of the nesting...

See the Everglades online and prepare your photo itinerary with the help of these webcams, podcasts and videos. Unfortunately, the Everglades NP and the National Park Service in general have a tendency to remove what should be evergreen links for videos, webcams and audio tours.  If a better version is made it should use the the same link for continuity...

Flamingo Campground is located at the end of the Main Park Road, 38 miles from the park’s main entrance. Fronting Florida Bay and close to the Flamingo Marina, Flamingo Campground is Homestead’s most requested camping site. Reservations are a must during the cooler winter season. Overall, there are 234 drive-in sites and 64 walk-up sites, with 55 campsites near Florida...

Flamingo once was a quiet fishing village that could only be reached by boat coming across Florida Bay or, later, through the Homestead-Flamingo Canal. Today, you follow the 38 mile Main Park Road from the Coe Visitor Center to the Flamingo Visitor Center and the nearby Flamingo Marina, both located at the end of the Homestead road. The town of...

The liguus snail, which probably should be called a tree snail, is notable for its large size and colored shells often with complex patterns. They seem to prefer trees with smooth bark, such as the false tamarind. Unfortunately, because of their visual appeal, these shells were a favorite of collectors who were willing to burn down hammocks in order to...

The half-mile Mahogany Hammock boardwalk loop trail is famous for showcasing the nation’s largest mahogany tree with a girth of 12 feet and a height of 90 feet. The Mahogany Hammock boardwalk passes over a wetlands area before entering the hammock. Almost immediately it forms a Y-junction. In the cradle of the Y-junction is a mahogany tree (not the giant)...

The herd of photographers that occasionally descend on Mrazek Pond has been used to symbolize the excellent wading bird photo ops in ENP but this is misleading. Much of the time the pond appears deserted with few visible birds. Only once a year, typically for 2 weeks at the end of March or in early April, Mrazek Pond sometimes can...

The Nine Mile Pond canoe trail, located 12 miles north of Flamingo on the Main Park Road, is a good place to actively enjoy anhingas, cormorants, herons, great egrets and alligators as you paddle through their territory. The hardest part of this 5-mile loop route sometimes is at the outset when you have to fight strong winds to paddle east...

In ENP, wherever you find water and fish you’ll usually find an osprey, one of the largest birds of prey in North America. This fish hawk nests everywhere including the limbs of dead trees as well as many man-made structures such as the tops of channel markers and atop telephone or electrical transmission poles. Fish account for almost 99% of...

Paurotis Pond, located 24 miles from the main park entrance in Homestead, has multi-seasonal use. The small pond attracts canoeists and hopeful bird watchers and photographers. Paurotis Pond is seasonally closed to protect nesting roseate spoonbills, wood storks and other birds. It may close in January when spoonbills begin nesting and not reopen until the end of July or August. When the pond...

Everglades wildlife come in surprisingly diverse sizes, from three-inch tree snails to 15-foot alligators. Since many of them exist in an eat-or-be-eaten setting, they tend to move quickly. Unless you are taking the portrait of an animal at rest, keep your shutter speed high, at least 1/500 if not 1/1000 of a second. Don’t forget to look everywhere around you: above...

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in Florida and ENP. About the size of a crow, the pileated woodpecker is known for the red crest on its head. Its favorite foods are insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae, along with fruits and nuts. The pileated woodpecker digs into trees enthusiastically, the sound carrying for hundreds of yards–something...

“Rock Reef Pass – Elevation 3 Feet” In the Everglades, this is mini-mountain status. The main reason for stopping at Rock Reef Pass is the short boardwalk leading to an overlook of dwarf cypress trees. They are so small you are almost at eye level with the treetops. That never happens with normal cypress trees that tower over us. This...

For most visitors, the colorful pink and white roseate spoonbill is the representative bird of ENP. Hunted almost to extinction for its colorful plumes, the population has made an impressive comeback.  The roseate spoonbill is known for its broad, flattened bill. The bill is important for feeding as the bird moves it underwater from side to side, searching for shrimp...

With its long, down-curved, bright red bill and long red legs and all-white body, the American white ibis is a striking bird, a study in color contrasts. Juveniles, however, are mostly brown with duller legs and bill. An adult white ibis grows to 26 inches high. It is found in ENP marshy wetlands and on the edges of shallow pools....