Fort Myers, Florida – A Florida vacation conjures up visions of theme parks and beaches. Yet the state’s diverse ecosystems are rife with opportunities to explore and observe the resident wildlife. I had a blast on a recent press trip to the Fort Myers area, where we kayaked through the bird-filled mangroves of Ding Darling Wildlife Reserve, spotted manatees and dolphins around Captiva Island, and spied on sunning gators in Six Mile Cypress Slough. Welcome to wild Florida – it’s better than Disney!
Six Mile Cypress Slough
A slough, I learned, is a long, narrow wetland with slowly flowing freshwater. I also learned that it is pronounced “slew”. Back in the 1970s, a kids’ nature club – known as the Monday Club – used to visit this unique ecosystem; when the area was slated for development, the kids campaigned to protect it, leading to the establishment of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. Nowadays, a boardwalk winds through the cypress forest, which is incredible! (We also spotted a huge alligator, but he was too far away to get a good photo.)
Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is a unique and lovely barrier island that is some 70% conservation land. That includes the impressive Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which is part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystems in the country. You can walk, cycle or drive through the refuge on the 4-mile `Wildlife Drive’, but the best way to explore Ding Darling is in the water. We had fun kayaking through the mangroves and spotting birds, especially the white ibis (posers).
That said, the best birding on the island was on the side of the road, on our way from our hotel to breakfast in the morning. We just pulled over to the side of the road because the mangroves were teeming with birdlife, including this majestic wood stork (posing with many egrets and herons in this photo).
As far as I know, this was just an unnamed, undeveloped area, which I immediately dubbed Spoonbill Swamp (for reasons you can guess). The name comes from the eponymous book (which was a favorite when the twins were little). Here you see not only the roseate spoonbill, but also two great egrets and a tri-colored heron. (Sound on for bird noises!)
Captiva Island
We spent a super fun day exploring the waters around Captiva Island with Captain Brian. From the boat, we spotted bald eagles, bottlenose dolphins and black-tip sharks, not to mention about a million osprey. We stopped for lunch at the iconic Cabbage Key, aka the bar with all the money on the walls. I was more excited by the giant gopher tortoises wandering around the grounds.
(Also, my incredible lunch, featuring stone crab claws, grilled tri-tail and frozen key lime pie for dessert. OMG!)
On Captiva, we stayed at Jensen’s Marina & Cottages. These cottages were so darling, I was disappointed we only stayed one night! Besides the delightful accommodations, the highlight was the resident Western manatees. These guys are the epitome of gentle giants – just big, floating sea cows, looking for some sea grass to nosh (60 to 100 pounds a day!) They also love a warm bath. There were at least a half a dozen of them snorting around Jensen’s Marina, where I guess they are attracted to the fresh water run-off. (They are not super photogenic, but they are so cute!)
We ended the day on the beach, watching birds congregate on the shore and dolphins frolic in the waves, while the sun dropped into the sea. Magic.