Tuesday April 11th 2023

The wind out of the east was stronger today and the humidity was much lower, but sky conditions and temperature remained about the same as Monday. The temperature peaked right around the eighty degree average for early April. If the forecast is to be believed, conditions deteriorate during the rest of the week. A fifty to eighty percent chance of rain is in the forecast for tomorrow.

This morning’s walk was along the bank on the other side of the Myakka River. I followed the marked and maintained trail south and east from the bridge over the river on the park road. Park staff has cleared many of the downed trees and other debris from the hurricane along this trail. There are still trees that you have to maneuver around. They appear to be difficult and dangerous to take down the rest of the way. The low water level also offers another option around the difficult areas in the grassy low water area. You just need to make sure the alligators haven’t claimed that section of the bank.

Along this section of the river I discovered a couple of turtles using down trees for sunbathing. A young alligator also found a downed palm tree to be a nice resting spot. A little way beyond the young alligator I found some even younger. There was a ball of very new alligators in what might have been used as a nest. They weren’t new born, but certainly not more than a few weeks old. I didn’t see any obvious mother alligator watching the young ones, but there were other gators nearby.

I also saw a couple of additional species of birds this morning. There was a lone Rosetta Spoonbill and a pair of Sandhill Cranes getting there nutrition in and around the river. On other visits, particularly earlier in the winter, I’ve seen many Rosetta Spoonbills here. The Cranes are fairly common in Florida. This is the first time I’ve seen them here.