Wildlife safari: See crocs, pelicans, deer
This winter, you can turn your Florida getaway into a safari: Plan a trip around seeing the remarkable wildlife that winters or lives here.
We can’t guarantee you’ll see all the animals we’ve outlined here, but we can guarantee you’ll visit wild and beautiful places trying. which can be seen in other places around Florida. But if you want to see the American crocodile in the wild, this is the only place in the United States where you have a good chance.
To see crocodiles, you head to the very southern tip of the park, Flamingo, where the road ends and Florida Bay begins. Here, the crocodile has thrived, so much so that it has come back from the brink of extinction and has been moved off the endangered species list to a status as a threatened species.
The best way to see crocodiles is to hang out around the marina and docks in Flamingo. This is salt water, so there will be little question if you see a member of the crocodilian family floating here that it will be the rarer crocodile rather than the common alligator, who prefers fresh water.
How you can tell them apart? The easiest test is whether it has a pointy snout and a triangular head (crocodile) or a broad Ushaped snout (alligator). Also: crocodiles are lighter colored and a single tooth on each side of the lower jaw is visible when the mouth is closed.
Flamingo has re-opened after serious damage during Hurricane Irma, although as of late December, boat tours have not resumed and the campground is closed, said Denese Canedo, Everglades National Park public information officer.
You can see crocodiles elsewhere in the park. I’ve also seen a 15-foot crocodile while kayaking at Nine Mile Pond, which is eight miles from Flamingo along the main park road. (We heard kayak tour guides call him Croczilla; he seemed like regular.)
While you’re in Everglades National Park, also look for alligators and wading birds along the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm, the first stop after the Homestead visitor center.
We see brown pelicans along Florida beaches all the time, but white pelicans are another story. They are two to three times larger than brown pelicans and they go to extraordinary efforts to get their winter in the sun. Thousands migrate to Florida from the mountains and plains of the U.S. northwest — and they fly non-stop! By spring, true snowbirds, they head north.
While not common, you can find white pelicans on both Gulf and the Atlantic coasts in winter, if you know where to look.
One the largest populations of white pelicans in Florida is in the Charlotte Harbor area near the island of Boca Grande on the west coast. These white pelicans are from the Grand Tetons and they return each winter to an island in Charlotte Harbor that serves as a rookery and night-time roost.
Called White Pelican Island, it’s a long, long paddle for kayakers, and the birds are there primarily at the start and end of a day.
One recommended vantage point is Placida, an out-of-the-way location far from the Interstate and 25 miles from Punta Gorda — the sort of off-the-beatenpath spot that’s fun to discover. It’s located at the start of the causeway to Boca Grande (a great place to visit) and Gasparilla Island. A good place to try is the boat dock at The Fishery restaurant, 13000 Fishery Road, Placida, or the nearby fishing pier.
You can also see white pelicans at Seminole Rest in the Canaveral National Seashore. A flock of white pelicans spends the winter loafing on a shell bar directly behind the historic Goodrich’s Seafood Restaurant, 253 River Road, Oak Hill, which is just north of Seminole Rest, according to spacecoastbirding.com. Goodrich’s is a classic Old Florida fish shack, so this makes a great outing.
For years I drove through Big Pine Key, slowing down so as to avoid colliding with the tiny, endangered Key deer indigenous to the island, but I never spotted one.
Eventually, we booked a weekend at a bed and breakfast on Big Pine Key and instantly my family saw Key deer all day every day.
We were charmed by their diminutive size — you see people walking bigger dogs. They are disturbingly friendly; again, the analogy to dogs comes to mind, and you know that can't be good for them.
So if you're an animal lover, how do you see a few Key deer?
If you get lucky, you might see them by the side of the road on the Overseas Highway.
We found one approach that I think is good bet: We bicycled through No Name Key, an island that is part of the refuge, in early evening and saw countless Key deer. If you don’t bring bikes, drive on No Name Key slowly in late afternoon.
A good addition to your outing is a stop at No Name Pub, a 1930s bar and restaurant on Big Pine Key with a colorful history and close to $100,000 in dollar bills stapled to its ceiling. Expect long lines at peak times at this classic rustic “dive” serving pizza, sandwiches and wings.