Tuesday September 26th 2023

There was a two hour stretch during the afternoon that the sun broke through the clouds enough to cast shadows. The rest of the day was cloudy and gloomy with a few random rain drops. The heavy humidity continued to dominate with the threat of thunderstorms present all day. The temperature stayed in the high eighties which is below the average for the day.

Today was a day to explore the state park. The Myakka River is very high and much of the ground near the river is flooded. I have been here once before when the water level was even higher. The difference this time is there doesn’t seem to be any open area along the bank for wildlife. There are no alligators out of the water and the birds don’t seem to be along the river bank either.

I did see a far amount of wildlife today. Alligators were swimming in the river and in the Upper Myakka lake. They all appeared to be cruising and watching the activity on land. The shore line of the lake was extended inland with a lot of shallow water. The birds were enjoying searching for food in this area. The egrets and some of the herons were easy to spot along the shore, but the Great Blue Herons were a challenge. Their coloring allowed them to blend in well with the surroundings. I got very close to one before I spotted it. In another surprise I discovered a Rosetta Spoonbill in a big puddle blocking a trail in the woods. It was a pleasant surprise.

Driving along the park roads I saw a few additional species of wildlife. In addition to the relatively common vultures, there were two different groups of turkeys along the side of the road. The road seems to be a popular place for the wildlife to gather. In addition to the deer I saw yesterday along the road, I had another deer sighting along the road today. It might have been the same group, but it was a couple of miles deeper in the park.