Family Days Out has added Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours to its international guide of activities that are great for families with children.
Best Times to See Birds
You can see many types of birds year-round in the Everglades, but some are more likely to appear on an airboat tour than others.
Turner River Road: Free Thing to Do near Everglades City
Turner River Road is one of the most scenic roads in Everglades City. For 21 miles, Turner River Road cuts directly north through Big Cypress National Preserve. This preserve is a Federally protected land consisting of 729,000 acres of cypress strands, wet prairies, and pinelands. Running alongside the road is the Turner River Road canal. The sand, shell, and rock …
Everglades Tigers: Boris and Daisy
You might not associate tigers with the Everglades, and you’d be right—they’re not native to the Florida grasslands. But our animal sanctuary is home to Boris and Daisy, two Siberian tigers who have lived there for decades. The next time you stop by the Everglades for an airboat tour, you’ll no doubt want to see some alligators and Florida panthers. …
Are There Still Raccoons in the Everglades?
Some sources tell us that sightings of raccoons in the Everglades have declined as much as 99% since 1996. Why the decrease? A Virginia Tech University study implicates the Burmese python. The National Park Service reports that 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Take a look at this chart to see the increase …
The Brown Pelican, a Year-Round Everglades Resident
Even though adults weigh in at an impressive 8-12 pounds, the Brown Pelican is the smallest of all eight pelican species. It lives year round in Florida, unlike the White Pelican who lives here only during the winter. Brown Pelicans dive into the water with a giant splash and scoop up fish with their long beaks. Their famously stretchy throat …
Everglades: Ponds, Sloughs, Prairies, Marshes, Swamps, and Hammocks
We in the Florida Everglades have many different names for what outsiders might refer to as simply “a swamp.” Each ecosystem’s uniqueness starts with the the water and level type of vegetation. Here are several common ones: Pond – Deeper water, less vegetation. Slough (pronounced “slew”) – Free-flowing channels of water, about 3 feet (0.9 meters) deeper than sawgrass marshes. …
3 Everglades Ecosystems: Grasslands, Mangroves, and Cypress Swamps
Do you know about these three ecosystems of the Everglades? Here’s a quick tour of some Everglades beauty!
Birdwatching in the Everglades
Are you a birdwatcher? Did you know over 350 species of birds have been spotted in the Everglades? John James Audubon himself commented on how the large number of birds in South Florida would “block out the light from the sun” when they flew overhead. If you come to the Everglades to see birds, we’ve got a great free resource …
Are There Florida Panthers in the Everglades?
There are Florida panthers in the Everglades, but did you know fewer than 100 wild panthers live in all of south Florida today? That number is up from about 20 in the 1970s, but the species is still endangered. If you’d like to learn more about Florida panthers, these pages are a great start: