Sunset Cruise on Rookery Bay, Southwest Florida
Saturday 26 April 2008
Part 3: Native vs Invasive
Keewaydin Island and The Florida Panther
At one point, we cruised past an island that had actual strands/beaches here and there, and rows of wooden piers where boaters could tie up and go ashore. Carol took the microphone at that time and told us a bit about Keewaydin Island.
You can see more of this map and other resources for boaters/kayakers/hikers by visiting Rookery Bay – Outdoor Experiences
It was privately owned up until sometime in the 1990s, when the State of Florida acquired 2,000 acres of the island. This portion was destined to become part of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Carol said that a number of times last year, a radio-tagged panther made it to Keewaydin; he definitely had to swim to get there!
Hmm, there must be something there he really wants!
The Spiny-Tailed (Black) Iguana
Dr. Jackson piped in with a story of a man who was a private landowner on the island and made a visit up to Gasparilla Island. He saw the iganuas that roamed Gasparilla (not natives of Florida!), and decided they were cool, and thatKeewaydin needed some. So he captured a few and brought them back down and now Keewaydin is nicely (NOT!) populated with Spiny -tailed ( Black )Iguanas
The Cattle Egret
The cattle egret is another species identified by Dr. Jackson as non-native. All egrets are really a form of heron. The cattle egrets we have here in Southwest Florida originated in Africa. He mentioned some speculation that storms blew them off course and they ended up here. Dr. Jackson also said that there was evidence that the cattle egret has been in Southwest Florida for quite longer than originally suspected; recently, someone was viewing an old movie that was shot on location down here sometime in the earlier part of the last century, and there is a cattle egret in one of the scenes, in the background.
The American Bald Eagle
Dr. Jackson astonished his listeners by telling them that the American Bald Eagle builds a nest that can reach two tons in weight! The same pair of eagles will tend to use the same nest year after year, repairing and adding on until it reaches this massive size and weight. This is why the bald eagle needs big, strong trees, and lots of them. There have to be a number of other options available in case the tree collapses under the weight, or a hurricane brings it down.
Video: Passing an osprey nest, vacant
Audio: Dr Jackson talks about eagles – young ones leave the nest, old ones stay year after year, despite the presence of condos.
Several times, pleasure boats sped past us, waving cheerfully as they generously provided a wake for the rocking pleasure (not!) of our tour boat. There are speed limit signs and cautions posted everywhere, but the revelers either remain blissfully unaware or else they just don’t care to comply. Dr. Jackson says that speeding boats plus shallow water = destruction of vegetation, no photosynthesis, things can’t nest and eat and hide, environment
damaged. I’ll also add into the mix that animals like dolphins and manatees can be hurt or killed by being struck by the boats.
Humans – the ultimate invasive species.NEXT TIME: The Osprey! Got lots of video of them!
