Behold Florida's Beauty on an Everglades Eco tour
The Everglades is a mystery to people who may visit Florida, or have only just heard of it. It’s an ecosystem that is home to some of the most unique animal and plant life in the world. On an Everglades eco tour at Mack’s Fish Camp, you get to explore another world that’s hiding in plain sight.
Everglades Ecotourism
So, what is ecotourism? Ecotourism combines the adventure of exploring the beauty of nature with a raised awareness of it. Destinations like the Everglades, with its untouched ecosystem and high biodiversity, offer an experience that’s both fun and educational. Nature enthusiasts and adventurous families alike can expect a great time while learning its secrets. The Everglades has areas so remote that they can only be reached by an airboat, and have remained largely unchanged for centuries.
The Fragile Beauty of Florida’s Wetlands
As children we may learn that wetlands are the playground of ducks and frogs, not yet able to see their importance. Wetlands habitats are of vital importance to all life that thrives near it, and the Florida Everglades is no different. Many endangered animal species call it home, and it also provides drinking water to millions of South Florida residents.
Even though it’s an ecosystem fed by floods and shaped by fires year after year, the Everglades are remarkably fragile. In recent years, its protection and its restoration have grown as important issues to Floridians.
Unforgettable Adventure on an Everglades Eco Tour
Offering the chance to see and hear exotic bird species and observe the quiet power of wading alligators up close under an endless sky, the Florida Everglades is a feast for the senses. It is truly the defining natural attraction of Florida, as well as the legacy of the Gladesmen Culture here at Mack’s Fish Camp. If you’d like to take an Everglades eco tour with us or just want to experience an airboat ride in Miami, come on by.
Birds You'll See on an Everglades Eco Tour
South Florida is known for its incredible biodiversity, and this is especially true regarding Everglades bird species. The famous naturalist John James Audubon, for whom the National Audubon Society is named, was in awe of Florida’s birds, saying how “The air was blackened by whistling wings.” There is a variety of types of birds to be found on an Everglades eco tour, such as wading birds, birds of prey, migrating birds, and land birds.
Everglades Wading Birds
Wading birds are named for how they wade in shallow water to stalk their prey, making the River of Grass an ideal habitat for them. During the Everglades dry season, which lasts from December to late May, they congregate in large groups to mate and nest. Wood storks, egrets, Great Blue Herons, ibises and roseate spoonbills fill both the sky and sawgrass marsh when the water levels are at their lowest.
You may notice another long necked bird with a pointy beak swimming and diving in deeper water before emerging with fish in its mouth, the anhinga. Anhingas, nicknamed “snakebirds” for how they swim with their long, snake-like necks above the water, are actually water birds despite their similarity to wading birds.
Birds of Prey in the Everglades
Anhingas and herons do look cool while they hunt, but can pale in comparison to the swiftness and power of birds of prey that reside in the Everglades. These impressive raptors hatch during the dry season just like wading birds, but they’re off any hunting on their own by four months of age, as is the case of the red-shouldered hawk. Ospreys are another exciting bird of prey to watch, preferring to hunt fish by diving down with outstretched claws to snatch them up.
Migrating birds vacation here, too!
Residents of South Florida playfully refer to tourists that visit here in the winter months as “snow birds”. Local birdwatchers see plenty of the feathered version in the Everglades around this time as well. The native beauty of purple gallinules and roseate spoonbills is complimented by migratory birds like cardinals and eastern bluebirds.
Regardless of season, you can see plenty of Everglades birds and wildlife near Miami at Mack’s Fish Camp. If you’d like to know more, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 786-536-7400. Or you can book an Everglades eco tour online.
Everglades Wet Season, For an Adventure All Your Own
From the River of Grass to the Hardwood Hammock, a noticeable change is now happening in the Florida Everglades, the beginning of the “Wet Season”. From May through November, the Everglades experiences its hottest and most humid temperatures of the year, as well as the highest amount of rainfall. Both the temperatures and humidity percentage average around 90.
The increased rainfall and humidity is partly caused by storms and moisture coming from the Tropics. The Everglades wet season takes place at the same time as the Atlantic Hurricane season, when tropical storms and hurricanes are likely to form. Although these storms pose a threat if they were to make landfall, the National Hurricane Center is very good at tracking them and helping people prepare. Thankfully, South Florida hasn’t seen a major hurricane in over a decade!
Some Everglades Wildlife Like the Rain More
Despite the change in weather during the wet season, it’s actually a great time to take an Everglades airboat tour. Though more scattered now due to the abundance of water, wading birds that nested during the dry season are now raising their young and showing them how to hunt for fish. But, the biggest Florida wildlife star of the season is the American alligator.
Through the summer months, alligators are the most active animal in the Florida Everglades. Their mating season stars around June, followed shortly by nesting and hatching, with the small roars of baby alligators filling the air by August. It’s during this time that they build their dwellings called “alligator holes”, which hold water collected during this time and help to serve as an oasis to other Everglades wildlife.
Less Wading Birds, But Not Less Animals
Gators aren’t the only cold-blooded creatures that like to play in the rain. While you’re out on an Everglades airboat tour, you’re likely to see a lot of different species of amphibians like frogs and salamanders all along the airboat trails.
The wet season brings an increase of insects to the Everglades, providing them with a feast to snack on. But the frogs can only eat so many of them, so we make sure to provide you with bug screen to keep their leftovers at bay!
A Private Airboat Tour Feels More Private Now
For what the Everglades lacks during the wet season in terms of concentration of wildlife, it makes up for in openness and privacy, making a private airboat tour a much more personal experience. And if you’re a Florida resident that’s been waiting for the snowbirds to clear out so that you can enjoy your own backyard, then your time has come!