Myakka River State Park

We are in Myakka River SP now. The temps are still falling below the normal for this area, today was the first day in about a week that the temps broke 60o. Les seeks the sun! We are making good use of the sweatshirts and wool socks we brought. But we are still glad to be here. This park is the one we love for the wildlife here and we haven’t been disappointed on this trip. At night we hear the raccoons raiding the campsites of those not careful with their grub, and are serenaded by South Florida Gopher Frogs.


Myakka has a good system of trails: hiking, biking, and equestrian. This trail shows that this area has had a good amount of rain this winter. We had to do some creative stepping to get to the other side where the trail continued. There are pretty wildflowers in bloom and that special green you see in the spring with new growth on the trees. On this 7 mile walk we saw deer, wild pigs, turkey, red shoulder hawk, and other birds. We have been seeing robins at this park. Looks like they are pulling together to get ready for their trip back north. They will beat us!


Along with extra water on the trails, there is good water in the river. Last year we could not paddle some areas of the Myakka river due to low water levels, but this year the waterways are full and very enjoyable to kayak. Along the paddle we viewed little blue heron, green heron, white egret, cattle egret, tree swallows and let’s not forget the alligators.

The birds have given us special treats this year. Above you see a great egret with his catch. If you watch the slideshow at the side you can see why we watched with amazement and concern as he swallowed that big fish. There was a lump in his throat for quite awhile as he worked to push it down that long neck! I was afraid it would choke him, but no problem and he kept on fishing! Also in the slideshow are pictures of a mother limpkin teaching her young one to get snails to eat, how cute. And there is a picture of the large flocks of tree swallows we see at the lake in the evenings. There must be thousands! Another feeding picture is of an anhinga that swims with it’s body totally submerged.

We have another week here in the park. Friday they have a concert scheduled where a fellow will play black water bayou blues. I can’t wait! I will try to get a posting on before we move Sunday to Oscar Shearer, just 30 miles from here, short move that time.