Category: Trails

Posted on

Chirp chirp CHECK! Take these wildlife checklists with you when you hit the CREW Trails.

Our volunteer naturalist of many years, Dick Brewer, is well known on our website, blogs and social media for his hours of work as a citizen scientist in the field and for his almost-weekly critter counts.

Now you, too, can complete a critter count! Even if you aren’t quite sure what animals are out there.

Dick has combed through years of observations by himself and others and created two wildlife checklists: one for Bird Rookery Swamp and one for the Cypress Dome Trails. The lists have everything from alligators to skippers, bitterns to bats. Check them out and print a copy for your next visit to the trails!

CYPRESS DOME TRAILS wildlife checklist

BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP Wildlife Checklist

Posted on

Ain’t no party like a BEAR CRASHING YOUR PARTY: How to properly host an event at the CREW pavillions

Often we find things on the trails and we get to use them as clues to interpret what happened.

Our most recent favorite find was in an email from Dick Brewer, our volunteer naturalist. Dick found a recently-killed alligator (or its parts) on the trail and, based on all of the clues he saw, deduced that a bobcat had taken down the gator.

That is a way more interesting find than the photo above, which was taken by one of FGCU’s awesome campus naturalists who was out on the CREW Marsh Trails.

In the photo you see what was once a storage shed that was located in the woods near Suzanne’s Pavillion. It sat empty this summer because, in the winter, we had incidences of hikers breaking into our plastic shed. I’m not sure what they hoped to find – gold, rare artifacts, maybe that’s where they think the panthers hide? We once stored field trip supplies in that shed, but those had to be moved and our volunteers built permanent storage solutions for those materials in order to avoid someone stealing our dip nets and plastic bins.

Now, it’s important to note that this photo didn’t suprise us. The day before this mess was found, we led a tour at the Marsh trails and Savannah and I found watermelon rinds thrown around the parking lot along with a few plastic forks. Then, out on the trails, we found pieces of blue balloons.

So this party photo – where somone decided to stash their garbage in our old storage shed?

Unsurprising. Sad, A total mess and worse – a wildlife hazard.

Who tore into that delicious trash? A bear. A bear that frequents the area, because we can see the scat when we do hikes. And now that bear has a new favorite place. I mean, if I found a storage shed full of leftover cake and watermelon, I would go back and look for more.

The stash of trash, plastic blue balloon pieces and food in the parking lot tells a story – and it’s not a good one. Someone planned a party, brought their supplies out, hiked to the pavillion, had a great time, cleaned up the trash, looked around for a garbage can, found our storage shed off the trail, busted into it and stashed their trash. Hiked back. Went home. Didn’t think about the ballons they let blow all over; didn’t think about the wildlife out there who might try and eat the balloon pieces, or the bear who would tear apart the shed to get to their garbage.

We practice leave no trace for a lot of reasons at our trails, and the number one reason is to protect wildlife. We can’t emphasize this enough – the land is there for water first, then wildlife, then humans. We come third.

So, how can someone host an event at the pavillion and avoid making a huge giant dangerous mess? Check out our suggestions below.

Only pack in what you can pack out

A big old sheet cake that requires forks, plates and napkins is going to be terribly difficult to cart to the pavillion and that’s an approximately one mile hike at the Marsh Trails. Instead, take a box of cupcakes and a plastic bag. Eat the cupcakes, put your cupcake wrappers and  cardboard box cupcake carrier into your small trash bag and stash it in your backpack. Then go enjoy the trails. Or grab birthday-cake flavored snack bars. Or pack fruit! Anything that doesn’t leave you with a bunch of waste is a great idea.

Release joy, not balloons

Instead of bringing balloons to celebrate or decorate,  opt for singing a birthday song to celebrate. Bonus if the songbirds join in. Or, if you reall need something to set the birthday boy/girl apart from the crowd, decorate their hiking stick for the day. Just not with balloons. Please.

Hike, then eat

Instead of taking all of your food out to the pavillion, opt instead to eat at our convenient ring of benches at the trailhead in the parking lot. It’s a very cool, shaded spot, and your food and drinks can stay nice and cool in a cooler in your car. That’s much better than trying to heat lunch that is boiling lava hot after hiking in the Florida sun for an hour or more. And then you are very close to your car so you can toss your waste in a trash bag that you brought, put the garbage in your trunk and drive home.

We do want everyone to enjoy the pavillions, which are a fabulous resource that we use for all of our field trips and many Strolling Science Seminars. We hope you do so respectfully and, if you need assistance or tips about how to use them appropriately, please contact our office.

A special thank you to FGCU colloquium and Brenda Thomas; the class cleaned up the garbage and the shed and hiked it all out to the trail head during their class field trip.

 

Posted on

What you can see at Bird Rookery Swamp this week

It was a great morning at Bird Rookery Swamp!

Volunteer George Luther mowed the trail to marker #2 (mile 1.3) and noted that the ground is soft but not muddy. Volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer hiked a portion of the loop and has shared his wildlife count from the day.

Bird Rookery Swamp Wildlife Observations August 23 2018

Posted on

What you can see this week at Bird Rookery Swamp: Kites, limpkins and calico pennant dragonflies

Volunteer naturalist and CREW Trust citizen scientist Dick Brewer shared his most recent critter count and photos from Bird Rookery Swamp. We hope you find time to hit the trails and maybe catch a few glimpses of these birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals!

BIRDS
Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 6
Anhinga – 1
Great Egret – 3
Little Blue Heron – 6
Tri-colored Heron – 3
Black-crowned Night Heron – 2
Black Vulture – 8
Turkey Vulture – 9
Swallow-tailed Kite – 3
Red-shouldered Hawk – 8
Limpkin – 8

Mourning Dove – 5
Common Ground Dove – 5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 23
Pileated Woodpecker – 8
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 1
Tufted Titmouse – 2
Carolina Wren – 13
Northern Mockingbird – 5
White-eyed Vireo – 10
Northern Cardinal – 20
Common Grackle – 4

BUTTERFLIES
Tiger Swallowtail – 7
Palamedes Swallowtail – 19
Viceroy – 10
Queen – 3
White Peacock – 33
Ruddy Daggerwing – 20
Phaon Crescent – 15
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Barred Yellow – 1
Brazilian Skipper – 3
Least Skipper – 1
Tropical Checker – 3

DRAGONFLIES
Eastern Pondhawk – 35
Needham’s Skimmer – 3
Blue Dasher – 31
Band-winged Dragonlet – 5
Little Blue Dragonlet – 2
Calico Pennant – 2

HERPS
Alligator – 33
Green Anole – 1
Brown Anole – 15
Pig Frog – 88
Green Treefrog – 3
Southern Leopard Frog – 7
Water Moccasin – 1

MAMMALS
Raccoon – 1

Posted on

Why is the grass long? Our answers to a few Summer FAQ’s

It’s SUMMMMMMERRRRR!

For us, it’s a much needed break from our season schedule. We’re off scouting new trails, leading a few field trips and heading off on vacations. Summer is slow for us, which can be frustrating for people trying to reach us in the office (where we rarely are) or via email (which we don’t answer on vacation). Because of this, check out our answers to a few summertime Frequently Asked Questions.

Why aren’t there any guided walks scheduled during the summer?

The majority of our visitors are seasonal, but that isn’t the only reason why we offer our guided walks November-April. Those months are also when most of our volunteers are here and we depend on their expertise and generously donated time to lead those hikes. Other reasons are trail conditions and weather. With storms almost every day, lightning is a big deterrent for us scheduling programs during the rainy season. And the trail conditions vary daily and can be wet, muddy, have tall grass – or all of the above.

What are you doing this summer?

Everything we can’t do during season. We are planning next year’s programs, working on reports, and creating new programs for our volunteers, local students and visitors. We’re also doing some major projects. Last summer we walked the first potential Flint Pen Strand trail once a month to monitor how deep the water will get (waist deep for those of you that are curious). This summer we are hard at work re-routing a section of that proposed trail, installing trail markers, improving trail conditions and scouting out additional trails so that everything is ready to go when the South Florida Water Management District opens the trail.

The grass is getting long. When will you mow the trails?

This one is a VERY frequently asked question. We, meaning the CREW Trust staff and volunteers, do not mow the trails. The trails and surrounding land are managed by the South Florida Water Management District. So why is the grass long? There are two main reasons. First, mowing is not a land management priority. Now that some of the rain has come, our land managers are working to complete prescribed burns before the land gets really wet. They are also working on other land management projects that take up their time. The second reason is that, as the water levels rise, the ground gets softer. As we head further into rainy season, the mowers will not be able to get back into the trails without getting stuck. That is the case now in sections of the Cypress Dome Trails, and will be soon in sections of Bird Rookery Swamp. Remember, the land is there for water first, wildlife second, and our enjoyment third.

Bear print

I saw game camera pictures on your website but when I visited I didn’t see any animals. Why is that?

We didn’t pay the animals that day. Just kidding. Kind of. Part of seeing or not seeing animals has to do with the time of day you are on the trails. Early morning or late evening is best, and when you want to hide from the scorching hot inferno of mid-day SWFL summer, the animals do too. The other part is simply luck. We do see more animal tracks during the summer, and part of that could be because we have less people on the trails, or because some of the areas that the animals frequent have too much water so they are looking for dryer areas. Or maybe they finally got our check cashed.

I can’t do (insert favorite thing) on the trails because of trail conditions. When will I be able to do (insert thing)?

Think of this disruption of your favorite thing on the trails (walking disrupted by boot-sucking mud, biking disrupted by long grass) as an opportunitiy to try something you haven’t tried before. Head out with your friend and wade through the Wild Coffee Trail at the Cypress Dome Trails. Slosh along the edge of the marsh at the CREW Marsh Trails and use a field guide to identify all of the blooming wildflowers. Grab a kiddo (or just be a kid at heart) and take photos and identify all the tracks in the mud at any of the trails. Pretty soon rainy season will be over, the water will go down and the mud will dry up and you can go back to your normal favorite trail activities.

Posted on

Boardwalk Construction complete at Bird Rookery Swamp

On June 14, boardwalk construction ended at Bird Rookery Swamp and the trail re-opened on Friday, June 15.

The replacement of the boardwalk is a multi-year project, funded and completed by the South Florida Water Management District. This year’s work replaced the middle part of the boardwalk. In 2017, one third of the boardwalk, starting from the tram and working towards the parking lot, was replaced.

The new boardwalk sections are built with Azek composite decking, which is expected to withstand the humid, wet conditions present at Bird Rookery Swamp. The final section is expected to be replaced in 2019.

Posted on

Time to get WET! Check out our tips for taking a walk in the water

During the winter, when the majority of our visitors frequent the CREW Project’s trails, our trail conditions are mainly dry with near-perfect weather each day.

But for those of us who live here year round, we see a completely different side of the trails, with pea-soup-thick humidity, daily afternoon thunderstorms and trails covered in water – the kind there is no tip-toeing around.

Taking that first step into the water can be unnerving. And asking other hikers can either be encouraging or a total nightmare when they send you links to videos of floating masses of fire ants.

(don’t go Google that. REALLY. Don’t. Just trust me.)

We reached out to some of our favorite wet-walk enthusiasts to you help get you prepared and hopefully inspired to take that first step, or dip, on the trails.

Why do you love wet walks?

I love the connection with the energy and life around me. It feels so much different and so much stranger when the water is swirling around my legs. I am in an intimate connection with the swamp. – Brenda Thomas, FGCU and former CREW Trust education coordinator

On a hot and humid summer day, the water is cool and refreshing. – Dick Brewer, CREW Trust volunteer naturalist

Summers are so hot and walking into the water is instantly refreshing. It’s much cooler than you think it will be. -Anne Reed, CREW Trust communications strategist

We might not have mountains in Florida to make you feel humble but a swamp walk sure can! -Jessi Drummond, CREW Trust education coordinator

I love wet walk because you get to see things you don’t see in the dry season and from a totally different perspective. -Janet Bunch, CREW Trust volunteer naturalist

What is one must-have item for wet walks/wet hikes?

A walking stick for balance and for estimating the depth of the water ahead. -Dick Brewer

I recommend long pants. If you are anxious about being in the water, something covering your legs can ease the anxiety. If the water is deep you will likely feel vegetation brushing against your legs and you won’t be able to see what it is. You’ll feel a bit more protected with a layer on your legs. -Brenda Thomas

The must-haves are a bottle of water and a change of clothing (underwear included) or a giant trash bag for the way home! -Janet Bunch

A walking stick. Pro tip – have a way to measure the depth of the water on your walking stick. -Jessi Drummond

Lightweight hiking pants. They don’t soak up the water and then dry relatively quickly. Oh, and make sure you can tuck them into your socks – I have had way too many pine needles creep up my pants during wet walks. -Anne Reed

What is one piece of advice or one tip you have for folks going on their first wet walk?

One important thing to remember about wet walks is to stand up straight. If you are leaning forward and you slip, you’ll go right down. A corollary to this is that you feel with your leading foot and don’t transfer your body weight until you are sure of your footing. Long pants and long sleeves will sae you from a lot of bug misery. -Janet Bunch

The water really isn’t as dirty as it looks, so don’t let the color intimidate you. It’s just brown because of the tannins in the leaves. -Jessi Drummond

Take turns being in front if you go with a group of people. It’s a lot like cycling – you can draft off the lead hiker so pushing the water with your legs doesn’t take as much energy. But if you are drafting, it’s only fair to take your time at the front too because pushing all of that water is hard work! -Anne Reed

Have a towel and a dry set of shoes, and possibly clothes, waiting in the car. -Dick Brewer

Take your time! You need to enjoy every moment you are in the water. Experience the connection and the enrgy and the emotion. Plus, the greatest risk in the water isn’t the things swimming in it – it is you tripping and falling, especially if there are cypress knees hiding under the surface. 

Posted on

Observations from the Cypress Dome Trails and Caracara Prairie Preserve this week

Volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer donates a lot of time to FWC and the CREW Trust collecting data. From his animal counts on hikes to assisting with Swallow-tailed kite nest monitoring, Dick plays a valuable role as a citizen scientist. This week he spent a long morning hiking the Cypress Dome Trails and Caracara Prairie Preserve. The area is getting quite wet with the week of rain and the marshes are filling up, attracting a lot of wading birds. Check out his observations below from his hike – and this amazing photo he snapped of a Swallow-tailed kite flying back to its nest with a tree frog as a snack.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

7:10 AM -11:40 AM

72.8º-84.4º, overcast

BIRDS

Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 3

Great Egret – 3

Snowy Egret – 17

Little Blue Heron – 9

Tri-colored Heron – 1

Green Heron – 11

White Ibis – 12

Glossy Ibis – 5

Black Vulture – 25

Swallow-tailed Kite – 34

Red-shouldered Hawk – 14

Short-tailed Hawk (white phase) – 1

Common Gallinule – 7

Limpkin – 1

Killdeer – 4

Mourning Dove – 12

Common Ground Dove – 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 19

Pileated Woodpecker – 1

Great-crested Flycatcher – 4

Blue Jay – 5

Carolina Wren – 4

White-eyed Vireo – 4

Pine Warbler – 1

Northern Cardinal – 23

Common Grackle – 3

 

BUTTERFLIES

Bella Moth – 1

Queen – 1

White Peacock – 1

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 7

Carolina Saddlebags – 5

HERPS

Brown Anole – 9

Pig Frog – 7

Florida Cricket Frog – 4

Greenhouse Frog – 2

Green Treefrog – 15

Squirrel Treefrog – 28

Cuban Treefrog – 2

MAMMALS

Raccoon- 1

Posted on

Join us for Amazing Animal Abilities – our second annual Family Fun Day!

Check your wingspan, show off your jumping abilities, learn about backyard birds and so much more at Amazing Animal Abilities on Saturday, April 14, 2018 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails!

This year’s event will take place in an open field near the trailhead with ample parking for guests. Adults and children can visit 10 stations, experiencing everything from nature-related crafts and geocaching to learning more about local and migratory birds and the wildlife that calls CREW home.

Informative volunteer naturalists will lead small groups on guided nature walks, teaching families about the CREW project, identifying flora and fauna and helping establish a connection between guests and nature.

 

 

“My hope for this event is to bring more young families out to the CREW trails,” explained Jessi Drummond, education coordinator for CREW Land & Water Trust. “We want to show them how easy it is to have fun in nature and provide them with ideas and activities they can do at home or while visiting CREW.”

Families are encouraged to register for this free event by visiting crewtrust.org. Cost is $5 per family for non-members; families who are members attend for free.

The CREW Cypress Dome Trails offer six miles of well-marked loop trails through pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, wet prairie, popash slough and cypress domes. The trails are flat and mainly composed of grass and sand. There is no running water at the site and a portable bathroom is available for use.

The CREW Cypress Dome Trails are located at 3980 Corkscrew Road, Immokalee, just 15 minutes east of I-75 near the Estero/Collier County border.