Airboat, more

bI was excited about today's airboat tour because it was on St. John's River, a river that William Bartram explored extensively in the 1780's.  I have not yet seen one ecosystem which he describes, but it may be that it no longer exists, I am not sure.  He describes lush forests where wild orange trees grow, gardenias, papaya trees, and quite a variety of oaks, magnolias, and more.

He also describes savannahs, perhaps much like pictured here:

The tour guide explained that during the wet season, this area is covered with water, which is why there are no trees.  Is this what Bartram saw??

Bartram describes Indian mounds frequently, like the one pictured above.  The tour guide said this was an Indian burial mound about 1,000 years ago.  Because it is higher, large trees are able to grow here.  During the wet season, it is an island surrounded by water.  In Florida, these areas are often referred to as "hammocks", or "hommocks" in Bartram's words.

The above picture shows another hammock of sorts, but these are largely cypress trees, which can tolerate wet roots.  There were a few of these on the river banks:

We saw several birds, including Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Black-necked Stilts, and Cattle Egrets.  I haven't shown any photos of the Great Blue Heron, because I once had one living in my backyard for a week and a half.  I got such marvelous photos of that heron, that I haven't taken any since!

We have heard frequently on our trip that there are many Bald Eagles in the places we have been, but today we finally saw our first one.  Lee took this photo:

Everyone, of course, wants to know if there were alligators, and yes, there were.  All these were taken by Lee:

Bartram relates an amazing event that take place on St. John's River, although further north than Lee and I are now, involving alligators.   If you ever have a chance to read it, do, because he relates the tale better than I will here.  Bartram came to an island where he decided to set up camp for the night.  He noticed a lot of alligators in the area, but didn't pay much attention to it.  He explored the island to see how large it was and to select an escape route if needed, and discovered it was much smaller than he expected.  In the evening, he was witness to the powerful displays that males perform to impress the other males.  The strongest male went first, rolling, frothing, growling, blowing steam from his notrils, showing frightening power.  The other males each performed in turn, and Bartram gained a new respect for them.  During the night, alligators stole the fish he had hanging over his head, and at one point he woke to find an alligator less than two yards away.  He slept fitfully for the rest of the night.

The next day he discovered his error.  He found the alligators lined up across the river, so close together that he could have crossed the river by walking across their backs, had he so chosen.  They were catching fish by the mouthfuls that were migrating upstream to spawn.  His mistake - being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

We went upstream a little ways in the airboat, and found a slightly different terrain, something that Bartram also described.  This is a transition area from savannah to higher ground and larger trees, including oaks, maples, and willows:

There were also larger Cypress trees, complete with "knees":

Here is one of the airboats at the place, although it's not the one we were on, but very similar:

And finally, I got to hold a baby alligator!!  I know many people at the Academy have had this opportunity, but it was my first.  He was very soft, and gentle, but used to people.  So cute!  The guide said he was about two years old.