Six Mile Cypress Slough

We took advantage of the cooler weekend to finally get in a little hiking.

Just a few miles away from us is Six Mile Cypress Slough, a Lee County Park.

This swamp-like area is home to numerous birds, as well as alligators, turtles, and even wild pigs!

 

 

We stopped into the Visitor Center first, where we learned that the best possibilities for wildlife viewing along the 1.25 mile boardwalk is when you walk very slowly and quietly.

From the Visitor Center, we started out on the boardwalk trail.  Walking slowly wouldn’t be a problem – lots of time for taking pictures – but quiet might be difficult with the number of people on the trail!

 

And if the noise didn’t scare the wildlife away, Bryce’s bright shoes might!!

 

 

The other thing they stressed in the Visitor Center was to “stay on the boardwalk” . . . kindof makes you wonder why they left off the railing on one side . . .

 

Our first stop was an overlook at Gator Lake.

The lake was surrounded by cattails and trees – a perfect nesting area for many shorebirds.    

We saw egrets, herons, ibis, and others that we couldn’t quite identify.

 

 

While we were at the overlook, this alligator leaped up onto the floating dock!

Around the corner, at the next viewing platform, we had an even better view!

These blue herons were having a great time – chasing each other along the surface of the lake!

 

From Gator Lake, we continued along the boardwalk, into the slough.

 

 

The trees were covered with an amazing number of airplants,

some small, and some rally big!

Others were blooming . . . some more than others!

 

As we continued along the boardwalk, we moved into the cypress swamp.

 

In addition to the cypress trees, there were also a lot of palm trees . . . it seemed very appropriate on Palm Sunday!

There were also several ponds throughout the slough, and turtles were a common occupant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one of the ponds, an anhinga was drying his feathers, while several turtles soaked up the sun.

 

It was the perfect morning for a leisurely hike – comfortably cool, but with the sun peeking through the trees, you didn’t feel cold at all.

 

We continued on, and eventually came across some people intently watching a pile of brush that was moving like there was something moving around under it.  They had spotted a group of baby wild pigs that live in the slough.

We had to wait quite a while, but eventually one of the babies peeked its head out!

It was a beautiful morning, and we greatly enjoyed our walk on the boardwalk!

Myakka River State Park

Since we were driving up to Venice last Thursday to meet up with our old neighbors, we decided to make a day of it and do a little hiking, too!  We drove a little bit past Venice, to Myakka River State Park.

 

According to the website, they had a Visitor Center, Nature Trail, Canopy Walk, scenic drive, several miles of hiking trails and plenty of opportunities for spotting gators and birds!

 

 

 

Thursday ended up being hotter than it was supposed to be, so we didn’t do much serious hiking – just the nature trail and a few other short walks.

 

After checking out the Visitor Center and watching the short movie about the park, we set out for the Nature Trail and Canopy Walk.

 

It was a pretty easy trail under the canopy of palm and oak trees, with just a few occasional obstacles!

Sometimes Bryce would just have to make his own trail!

There were a few areas where the trail passed through a marsh, and the trail elevated to a boardwalk.

There weren’t a lot of birds there, but we spotted a few herons.

 

The trees were loaded with air plants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying to get a nice scenic shot can be challenging with Bryce around . . .

for a guy who doesn’t like me to take his picture, he sure does get into a lot of my shots . . .especially when I don’t want him to!!

At the end of the nature trail, we reached the Canopy Walk.

There are towers at each end of the swinging bridge – we climbed up the first one to get to the canopy walk.    

 

The bridge has a 3 person capacity, so we had to wait for the people in front of us to reach the other side before we ventured onto the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

The bridge takes you up into the trees, but not quite above the canopy . . . and it moves quite a bit!

Who put that tree branch there!!??

We reached the other end, and climbed the other tower to get a panoramic view of the park.

Bryce looks like he’s watching for pirates!! LOL

After our walk through the woods, we drove out to the lake, to the “birdwalk”.

There weren’t many birds to be found, but we spotted a few . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(this is some variety of ibis, but I can’t remember what it is)

we also spotted this guy standing guard in a palm tree . . . I think it’s some type of hawk.

Besides the few birds, we saw several alligators cooling off in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the birdwalk, we we drove to the south side of the lake where there are concessionaires that offer tram and airboat rides in the park.  We weren’t planning on taking either tour, but we atr out lunch in the nice shaded picnic area.

We saw a little more wildlife here . . . great blue heron,

turtles and alligators,

and this little grey squirrel who really wanted us to share our lunch!

We walked along the river after lunch, where there were plenty of people waiting for boat rides – not on this airboat, though!

Plenty of canoes for rent, too!

 

It was almost time for us to head down to Venice, so we drove out, stopping off at the river bridge on our way out . . . there were a few more gators to see!

There were even a few canoes on the river,

and this guy was keeping a close eye on them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a nice day, and it felt great to get out and do some hiking for a change!