Everglades—Day Three
Barton Bridge and Torm Hustvet went scavaging for firewood (after asking the ranger, of course) after a day of observing birds and studying Everglades habitats.
Max, Barton, and Torm relax by the fire. Earlier in the evening, the group took a look at the rings of Saturn through Professor Krohne's spotting scope—students studying the heavens and the earth!
Phil Rushton takes notes on the behavior of a great blue heron at Anhinga Trail.
Two great blue herons at Anhinga.
Professor of Biology, adventurer, and camp cook Dave Krohne cooks up brunch after a morning's observations near Long Pine Key camp.
Soon after our arrival at Flamingo Campground on Florida Bay, Jeff Austen found, husked, and opened a hole in fresh coconut, offering all of us a drink of fresh coconut milk. More helpful than we first thought, as a water main break made the camp's water unfit to drink!
Roots of a red mangrove near Florida Bay. Krohne explained that the mangroves are essentially nutrient collectors, and those nutrients feed shrimp and fish. So though developers are tempted to remove mangroves, to do so threatens the fisheries and wildlife that thrives in the region.
The class takes notes on the root structure of mangroves on Florida Bay.
Max examines the leaf of a black mangrove, later testing it for saltiness. The mangroves are thrive in salt water, and the leaves exudes a salty "sweat."
Heron tracks at Echo Pond near Flamingo Camp.
While walking to the camp store Monday twilight, Phil and Barton noticed a field suddenly blooming in white. They collected one moonflower, a night blooming plant, which Phil dissects here while Professor Krohne by lamplight.