The Everglades at the quiet of dawn pulses with the wingbeats of birds. From the entrance, there are endless grasses, seemingly empty until a bird breaks free from beneath and into the sky.
The marshes overflow with the trilling symphony of birds, bugs, and frogs, and the rumbling thunder of hidden alligators, their black armored skin slithering between the lily pads.
Graceful anhinga dive beneath the placid water for fish, and stretch their wings to dry in the sun.
Turtles drift languidly, nibbling the stalks of the waterlilies.
The blazing Florida sun, even in winter, bakes the forests and grasses.
Farther into the park, closer to the sea, massive saltwater crocodiles float like toothed logs.
As the sun sets, egrets and herons lift off from the marsh into the pink skies to roost for the night.
The grasses darken and come alive with the cacophony of nighttime insects.
