Nature at Kirby Storter Park

Kirby Storter Park is a little jewel in Big Cypress National Preserve.  When we visited it a few years ago, the cypress strand was full of water and birds.  But, this time, the lack of water was, per the ranger, actually rather normal if not slightly more wet than normal.  It’s not yet the wet season here in Florida.  A good rainfall could, however, cause the strand to fill with water almost immediately, which must have been what happened prior to our last visit.  Still, there were some natural treasures to be seen in the mostly dry (for Florida) area.

I do love the look of this section of the cypress strand without them sitting in several feet of water.  It allowed me to get a look at what I think of as their feet, where they grip the swampy soil to maintain their towering stature. 

It was nice to see this air plant situated on top of a fallen tree.  If the level of water was higher, I doubt that I would have seen it – it would have been underwater.

This orchid was another treat that would have been submerged if the water was at the level of a few years ago.  It doesn’t really look like most orchids I’ve seen, but the information board at the start of the boardwalk trail was very clear this was an orchid!

The last time we were here, this glade was full of birds, both in the water and the trees.  Although I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t see the birds, I have to admit, I really liked the peacefulness of the glade as is!

There were, however, a couple of gators in the glade.  Can you find them in this image?  It’s amazing how they can sort of hide in plain sight.  It’s a good thing the boardwalk we were on is high enough above the swampy ground that they cannot reach us.  Hint:  One is on the shore line at the top of the image and the other in the midst of the water lilies close to the bottom of the image.

These seem to be a very tiny variety of water lilies.  I don’t recall seeing them on our last visit, and as I think about it, I’m not certain there were as many water lilies around the last time we were here.  I just loved how the fresh, new blooms look against the partially submerged tree branch.

Less than a week before our visit, they had a prescribed burn in this area of Big Cypress.  The signs of the burn were very easy to see.  The point of a burn is to clear out the underbrush and allow new plant life to surface.  I know back home in New Mexico, prescribed burns are often done to reduce the chance of a wildfire.  It’s hard to think of a swamp as a place where a wildfire could occur, but maybe so.

And, here’s some of the new growth that we saw on our walk.  Love the small wildflowers and that spring green color is just wonderful!!

Enjoy!