The sunset silhouettes shorebirds finding refuge for the night on a mangrove island in Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
White pelicans rest on a sandbar before taking flight towards the rookery at sunset on Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
Roseate spoonbills rest on a mangrove in Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
A flock of willet skim Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
A group of cormorants in Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
Herons fly over Chokoloskee Bay on their way to a rookery for the night on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
White pelicans soar to the rookery at sunset on Chokoloskee Bay on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
Hundreds of shorebirds find refuge in a Chokoloskee Bay rookery at sunset Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Everglades National Park.
Once a year, our Friends of the Everglades staff takes a group trip to explore part of the greater Everglades ecosystem. It’s a stark contrast to our daily grind — when we can be found most often behind our computer screens, studying the details of environmental challenges, projects and policies. It’s in these moments, when we are immersed in the places we’re working so hard to protect, that we find inspiration to carry on fighting.
Our recent trip to Everglades City and Chokoloskee was illuminating. We found a taste of authentic Old Florida during our stay at The Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City, a sleepy town that boasts a population of fewer than 400 residents. A sunset cruise on Chokoloskee Bay was a voyage of discovery through mangrove-edged waterways, amid roseate spoonbills, nesting bald eagles, flocks of white pelicans and (much to our delight) several juvenile sawfish as they cruised the shallows.
We watched in wonder as the clouds around us turned into wisps of pink and purple before the whole sky blazed a deep orange. We kept pace with flocks of birds winging home for the night to a crowded rookery located on the ominously named Sandfly Island.
We were lucky to have our multimedia producer Leah Voss aboard to document some of the more memorable moments, and we are thrilled to share the best of the best of those with you today.
