We’re hooked on Everglades Area Tours. Whenever we’re down on Marco Island (which is frequently) we always book a two-hour dolphin/birding/shelling tour out of the marina in Goodland. Sometimes we’ll go twice, which is what we did this past week. We’re both birders, and who doesn’t like seeing dolphins? And we really like the guides, some of whom we’ve been going out with for years. They’re very knowledgeable and cheerful, and even though they do this all the time they’re still enthusiastic about the area and its wildlife.
The first time we went out it was just my wife and I, plus two captains. Ed has been with them for years, and Jamie was new to Everglades Area Tours but not to the area. This trip was great. We didn’t see any dolphins, but the shelling was amazing. Jamie used to work for another outfit doing shelling tours and she knew the best spots. And she knew what everything was and something about it, too. I never thought I’d get very excited about shelling but as you can see from the pic, the shelling was phenomenal.
Ed knows his birds, and since it was low tide (birders and shellers take note – try to book a trip at or near low tide) we were able to see lots of wading birds, including roseate spoonbills, reddish egrets, tri-color herons (lots of these), ibis, a few lesser yellow-legs, great egrets, great blue herons and snowy egrets. We also saw a few kingfishers, three kinds of terns, black skimmers, osprey, innumerable pelicans….well, you get the idea. There are a lot of birds in the 10,000 islands.
We decided to out again later in the week, this time with Joe, a great guide whom we hadn’t previously met. Joe knows a lot about the area and its history, and took us to some really interesting and obviously deserted islands that were knee-deep in shells. We saw plenty of dolphins on this trip since the tide was up. Also, we hadn’t been out to Cape Romano in a few years and got a great view of the famous dome home and some cool info about the history of not only the dome homes but the other homes that used to be on Cape Romano (all gone now).
Every time we go out we get a different perspective on the area and its natural history. Of course, this outfit has all kinds of tours but we like this one the best, since we get back in time for lunch (try Crabby Lady in Goodland), and have time to go to the beach in the afternoon if we want. And we really like and respect the captains; they make these trips fun and interesting. Thanks again to Jamie, Ed and Joe.