Fri, 3/15/13:

Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL:  Cool this morning but warmed up quicker.  Had to go back to Walgreen’s to pick up Mike’s script, so we had breakfast again at Cracker Barrel.  Topped off the gas tank and then headed back to the park.  Drove directly to Poirotus Pond to check out the rookery there.  Both the wood storks and the roseate spoon bills are nesting right now.  The rookery isn’t that big this year.  Talked with the ranger for a while and watched a cormorant that had caught a huge fish and couldn’t quite figure out what to do with it.  He finally gave up and let it go.  A guy there with a 600 mm lens got a great photo of the ordeal.  Left there and headed back to Mahogany Hammock to see if we could spot the owlets.  No luck again.  Mahogany Hammock is pretty unique, I think.  In some areas it’s a tropical jungle and in others it’s a hardwood forest.  Pretty amazing.  And there are two strangler figs in there which are amazing. Back to our site, topped off the water, and sat around reading for a while.  Pork chops, mashed potatoes and a vegetable for dinner.  85 today.

Eastern King Bird--Poirotus Pond