)
)
)
)
)
Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus)
The Gastronome of the Sunfish Family
A long, black earflap is the immediate sign that you’re looking at a redbreast sunfish and not a typical bluegill, which is, in fact, the stillwater cousin of the redbreast. Found only in the rivers of northern Florida, this diminutive sunfish consumes a varied diet consisting of bottom-dwelling insect larvae, snails, clams, shrimp, crayfish, and small fish. Despite their healthy appetite, redbreasts grow quite slowly and take up to three years to reach six inches in length.
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Purple Power
Growing in shallow water usually no more than a foot deep, pickerelweed is easily identified by its shiny green, lance-shaped leaves and purple flower spikes, which both butterflies and ducks find irresistible. A prolific grower, pickerelweed helps to stabilize the banks along waterways. Beneath the surface, its submerged portion provides a habitat for small marine life, a food source for fish, amphibians, ducks, and reptiles.
White Ibis (Eudocimis albus)
Beauty in the Beak
The white ibis is typically found in large groups throughout the state of Florida, primarily in coastal marshes, wetlands, mangroves, flooded pastures, mudflats, and swamps. There, it uses its uniquely shaped downturned beak to probe the ground as it forages for crustaceans, fish, snakes, frogs, and insects. Their nests can be constructed on the ground or perched as high as 50 feet up in the trees. In the more populated areas of southern Florida, white ibis can be often seen on lawns and in parks.
)
)
Shingle Creek
The headwaters of the Everglades watershed is a slow, meandering, cypress-lined creek just outside the city of Orlando.
)
Kissimmee River
The restoration of 40 miles of river and floodplain is proof that these massive projects can be completed and show immediate results.
)
Lake Okeechobee & EAA Reservoir
This is where the southward flow of water was interrupted. The reservoir will clean and store fresh water before it is sent south.
)
Tamiami Trail Bridges
The road bed for Highway 41 effectively dammed the shallow “sheet flow” of water from the north, but two new bridges have restored the flow.
)
Everglades National Park
The major outlet for fresh water from the Everglades, Shark River features the region’s tallest and most productive red-mangrove forests.
)
Florida Bay
Florida Bay now receives less than 50% of the fresh water it needs to maintain its massive seagrass beds, which are the key to the entire ecosystem.
)