Audubon's Dr. Paul Gray reports from another adventure on Lake Okeechobee. This time he had a full team of state and federal officials in tow! Enjoy:

Larry Williams, the new Field Supervisor of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s South Florida Ecological Services Office in Vero Beach, and Audubon’s Paul Gray, joined Don Fox, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for a tour of Lake Okeechobee on December 8. Larry brought four of his staff and Don two of his.  It was a chilly day but we saw a lot of interesting things!

First, there were Everglade Snail Kites flying around the boat ramp feeding on exotic apple snails, whose egg clusters are abundant north and south of the mouth of the Kissimmee River.  As we traveled further south into Indian Prairie, the clusters got much less common and Kites were not present. We were excited that a Peregrine Falcon found us, and followed the boats to stoop on flushing American Coots (a blog post about this phenomenon is at http://audubonoffloridanews.org/?p=8295).

The outer, deepest parts of the marsh are in good shape and many beneficial aquatic plant communities have developed.  Hundreds of Ring-necked and Mottled Ducks were working the marsh.  The shallower marsh, that had been dry until recent rains raised the lake almost three feet, remains a motley mix of terrestrial and wetland plants. Perhaps two thirds of Okeechobee’s marsh falls in this category and will take at least a year of wetter conditions to gain better wetland character and function.

An interesting site on King’s Bar was a spot where about a dozen exotic Purple Swamphens had been feeding on needle rush (Eleocharis cellulosa), and really “tearing it up.”  I've sent some inquiries to colleagues as to how wide-spread this phenomenon is.  The needle rush flats on Okeechobee are very good habitat for fish and wildlife and too much of this activity would appear quite harmful.

We had lunch at Lightsey’s afterward and a chance to talk about the Lake’s management and needs, especially related to Everglade Snail Kite success. Larry expressed a special commitment to keeping vigilant on Kite issues, which we appreciate.  Audubon has a good working relationship with the USFWS and FWC, and other agencies, and are looking forward to continued work to protect and improve Lake Okeechobee’s habitats.