The Everglades--where I go for hope
By Philip Cardella February 26, 2026
Marsh Trail, Collier County, Florida
I had the good fortune to get out to the Greater Everglades with one of my kids this week and due to the severe drought we're experiencing here, got to see a lot of wildlife along the trail southeast of Naples, Florida.
The abundance of life here and the uniqueness of it always fills me with awe and peace. My kid, who is twenty, so don't think little kid even though this is one of my babies and as long as I'm living my baby they'll be, was telling me about the great white heron as we were making the hour and a half drive to the trail.
I hadn't heard of the great white heron before. Apparently, they are unique to South Florida and Cuba and there's a debate about whether or not they are the same species of bird as the great blue heron or a different species. Basically, they're a bit of a unicorn and one posed for us for half an hour this week, walking through the marsh, alligators nearby and a variety of birds sharing the water.
For me, the unicorn hunt wasn't limited to the great white heron, though the other birds I've rarely seen are apparently common sights for some people. I've searched for roseate spoonbills for two years. This year, I finally saw a few flying overhead, including a previous trip to Marsh Trail.
This week, I finally got a good look at one and that good look lasted at least half an hour. The roseate spoonbill even provided me with a great meme!
The ibis is a common sight in South Florida, so common the University of Miami made the bird their mascot, though the costumed version of the ibis looks nothing whatsoever like an ibis. At any rate, I spent some time with a beautiful pure white ibis who was big sad about Indiana University beating his beloved Miami Hurricanes (the team, not the storm).
Of course, there were plenty of other birds on the trail too. I 100% recommend you get out there right now. The fire season, which has already started, looks to be bad this year but while the water is where it is, finding clusters of wildlife is easy.
As the drought continues, it's likely we'll see a lot of animals dying. Yeah, it's that bad.
And while I'm on the (hopefully!) finite disappointment, I've been listening to an NPR podcast called A Bright Lit Place about the Everglades and how we're losing the battle to save it (and the planet). It's been depressing, at least through the first two episodes, but important.
