This was our first photo taking trip of the year, and only our second visit to this area of the ‘glades. We took a leisurely trip through the Big Cypress Nature Preserve (technically not a part of the Everglades National Park), ending up in Florida City for stone crabs.

The Big Cypress Nature Preserve (established in 1974) is the first preserve in the National Park System. This area was designated as a preserve rather than a park because the land has traditionally been used for oil and gas exploration, hunting, off road vehicle use, private land ownership, cattle grazing, as well as by Native American tribes. While this area is primarily inhabited by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida at this time, it has also played host to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as early non-native settlers.

The preserve was created to prevent logging companies from stripping the area bare and to prevent the Big Cypress Jetport (which was set to become the world’s largest airport) from destroying the wetlands and decimating local ecosystems. This use of the land would also have eliminated traditional Indian uses for this land and would have harmed the populations living there.

The Big Cypress Preserve consists of five habitats connected by the water that flows through them, with a max elevation of 17 feet above sea level. The water connecting the habitats flows from hardwood hammocks, to pinelands, across prairies, into the cypress swamps, then mixes with seawater in estuaries before it hits the Gulf of Mexico.

More on this area from the National Parks Service.

Now, on to the pictures!

This picture was taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic. The daisy itself isn’t quite as crisp as I would have liked (operator error), but I love the bokeh.

Another Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic shot. This is a raised boardwalk bridge thing above the path, which was boggy at best.

Another Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic shot a little further down the path. This is some sort of swamp (I’m guessing Cypress, but with pine mixed in as well).

This is the first of many shots of these ravens roosting in a stick jungle along the side of the highway. We saw just the sticks going into the preserve, and I’m glad we caught the golden hour to come shoot them. I was obsessed with them all day. This was taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.

Also taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.

This was taken by my DH with the macro.

Also taken by my DH with the macro.

Little pine cone ball things taken by my DH with the macro.

Pine needles against a completely untouched sky taken by my DH with the macro.

This isn’t the greatest shot in the world, but I was in love with this snake skeleton. If I wasn’t scared of getting a: eaten by a gator, or b: dysentery from whatever that skeevy cloudy stuff on the water is it would totally be on my bookshelf.

The stick jungle raven roost part 2 – taken by my DH with the macro.

This bird was great to watch, and I’m thrilled my DH got such a great shot. He flew this low over the canal for quite awhile before giving up and flying elsewhere.

Ravens in the stick jungle + the moon. Taken by my DH with the macro.

I particularly like the cloud of flying ravens in this one. Taken by my DH with the macro.

All of these shots are untouched (minus web optimization) from the originals. The sky looks dirty here because the sun is dipping down.

These birds were in the portion of the stick jungle accessible via the hunting/AV trail across the road.