2007-37 Disney Wilderness Preserve, Kissimmee, Florida
Hello All,
We can’t emphasize how wonderful the weather has been this winter in Florida. Temperatures continue to run in the high 70’s or low 80’s. That’s about 10 degrees above normal. We are not complaining or bragging because we know the bottom could fall out any day now!
Here’s a little update on Dave. He had angioplasty and a stent placed in his heart. It has done away with all his chest pain and we are back to walking every day--hooray!!
This week found us at The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve. It is located only 10 minutes from where we winter here in Central Florida. We are ashamed to admit that in the ten years we have been coming here, this is the first time we have toured the preserve. The 12,000-acre preserve protects some of the critical lands that make up the headwater of the greater Everglades ecosystem.
We started out hiking the 2½ mile wilderness trail. The trail took us through palmettos and longleaf pine forests. The needles on these pine trees are 14 to 18 inches long. We’ve seen a lot of pine trees but none with these long needles.
We can’t emphasize how wonderful the weather has been this winter in Florida. Temperatures continue to run in the high 70’s or low 80’s. That’s about 10 degrees above normal. We are not complaining or bragging because we know the bottom could fall out any day now!
Here’s a little update on Dave. He had angioplasty and a stent placed in his heart. It has done away with all his chest pain and we are back to walking every day--hooray!!
This week found us at The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve. It is located only 10 minutes from where we winter here in Central Florida. We are ashamed to admit that in the ten years we have been coming here, this is the first time we have toured the preserve. The 12,000-acre preserve protects some of the critical lands that make up the headwater of the greater Everglades ecosystem.
We started out hiking the 2½ mile wilderness trail. The trail took us through palmettos and longleaf pine forests. The needles on these pine trees are 14 to 18 inches long. We’ve seen a lot of pine trees but none with these long needles.
There were also huge fields of
native grasses, one of which was broom sledge. The grass was between five and
six feet tall.
We followed the trail to Lake
Russell. This is one of the few lakes in central Florida where there has been
no development. The shore was lined with old growth cypress trees covered with
spanish moss. We really had our cameras smoking snapping photos. It was truly a
lovely place.
The next day we were talking
to our friends Ken and Elyse about our trek through the preserve. They advised
they knew the manager of the preserve and thought he might be willing to give
us a tour by swamp buggy. They introduced us to Dan and his wife Pam and he
readily agreed. Before sun up the next morning we were all climbing aboard the
buggy.
He provided a 3-hour tour of
the preserve. With the early morning mist and fog hanging heavily in the air
you could have easily imagined you were looking out over the Savannah
grasslands of Africa. It was an awesome experience. At one point Dan stopped and
started calling the Florida scrub jays with a “whishing” sound. They are an
endangered species with only about 25 left in the preserve. Within a couple of
minutes here they came in force. Again, the cameras were smoking!!
This is our guide Dan showing
us a young longleaf pine tree.
He also showed us the areas
where they have reintroduced red-cockaded woodpeckers, although we weren’t
allowed to get close. These endangered birds require a habitat of old growth
longleaf pine trees (at least 80 years old) and an open grassy ground cover
that supports insects. The birds build nests in cavities in these old trees.
Since the longleaf pines in the preserve are only between 40 and 60 years old, scientists devised a way of creating artificial cavities. They did this by temporarily attaching ladders to trees so that they could get high up. Then they used a small chain saw to cut a hole through the trees. On one side of the tree they attached a box over the hole. The inside of the box was made to look like a cavity. They camouflaged the box to look like the tree on the outside.
In October 2007, five nesting pairs of the birds were captured in the Apalachicola National Forest in the panhandle of Florida. They were driven to the preserve in a box that resembled the artificial cavity. They had to be fed every 45 minutes. Then just before the birds fell asleep at nightfall, biologists climbed the trees and placed birds in the artificial cavities, carefully covering the entrance with a removable screen. In the pre-dawn hours the biologists quietly arrived in time to pull the screens. Summarizing the process makes it sound easy, but more than two years of planning and preparation went into this project.
It was a fun adventure and we made another cherished memory.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Since the longleaf pines in the preserve are only between 40 and 60 years old, scientists devised a way of creating artificial cavities. They did this by temporarily attaching ladders to trees so that they could get high up. Then they used a small chain saw to cut a hole through the trees. On one side of the tree they attached a box over the hole. The inside of the box was made to look like a cavity. They camouflaged the box to look like the tree on the outside.
In October 2007, five nesting pairs of the birds were captured in the Apalachicola National Forest in the panhandle of Florida. They were driven to the preserve in a box that resembled the artificial cavity. They had to be fed every 45 minutes. Then just before the birds fell asleep at nightfall, biologists climbed the trees and placed birds in the artificial cavities, carefully covering the entrance with a removable screen. In the pre-dawn hours the biologists quietly arrived in time to pull the screens. Summarizing the process makes it sound easy, but more than two years of planning and preparation went into this project.
It was a fun adventure and we made another cherished memory.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns