Spring into Saturday: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Two Saturdays ago I got to go on a little adventure when visiting my daughter, a sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.  We've always been a family that loves the outdoors and Florida has more than beaches. She is currently an environmental science major with a focus on land management.  Although the beaches are close and the day was beautiful, she was game when I suggested we check out the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  In fact, January and February are great times of the year to be in the swamp in Florida. The relatively easy hike (being flat) is on a 2.25 mile boardwalk and it is a perfect way to check out an ancient forest where the largest old growth bald cypress forest in North American is located. The area itself has a a storied history. 

 Before becoming an official protected land in the fifties, game wardens protected birds from plumage hunters in the early 1900's.  The plumage decorating the fashionable hats decimated the bird population.  You can see the sites of where the wardens attempted to protect the bird from poachers.  This forest solely still exists a because of the community who worked with John Audubon to get this parcel protected.  Less than a 1/2 a mile away is where the logging was stopped.  Some of the cypress trees are 300 to 500 years old. Tromp through this habitat in June, July or August and you might catch a glimpse of the famous "ghost orchid."  I did spy an few orchids in the one of the trees.  My favorite find of the day was the yellow crowned night heron. I see herons often in my outdoor adventures, but this was the first night heron that I saw.I also saw the largest Tillandsia aka air plants that I have ever seen in the wild.