Category: Outdoors

One of the most verdant, lushly vegetated venues in Broward County is the Fern Forest Nature Center in Coconut Creek. True to its name, this secluded oasis is home to more than 30 varieties of ferns. A 247-acre nature preserve, and a designated Urban Wilderness Area, Fern Forest includes 10 different plant communities within its boundaries.

This well-hidden, high hedge-lined park is located just off South Lyons Road, parallel to the turnpike. The entrance is easy to miss and I drove past it the first time. Once inside the gates, I was impressed by the beautiful setting and ready for a nature hike. The property is very nicely maintained with good signage. I parked in one of the large parking lots near the picnic area, with includes a covered pavilion with eight picnic tables, and six additional picnic tables scattered nearby among the trees.

To reach Fern Forest Nature Center’s main building and its pathways, visitors traverse the entry boardwalk, which goes though an information gazebo and then on to the nature center. This impressive wooden building quickly comes into view as you stroll along the boardwalk between the trees and look up to see the large, two-story natural structure that appears like a giant tree house built into the woods.

The two levels of the building are connected outside by wide natural-wood stairs, with matching wooden benches and porches to rest on nearby, and there are elevators as well. The first floor houses the indoor exhibit area featuring interpretive displays on the park, as well as native reptiles, kids’ educational activities, a nature store, trail maps, reference guides, and a lot of cool science posters. Back outside, you’ll find their 120-seat amphitheater that’s open on three sides into the green, ferny forest, with long wooden audience benches and a raised platform at the front for concerts and other events.

Upstairs, the second floor offers the Royal Fern Hall, a 2,343-square-foot, air-conditioned assembly space that has capacity for 120 people and features an equipped catering kitchen and buffet counter. It’s available for meetings, receptions, and other gatherings. The views from up there are amazing.

After exploring the nature center building, I went off to discover the rest of the grounds, starting with the Cypress Creek Boardwalk Trail. This wheelchair-accessible, raised boardwalk is a half-mile loop through a beautiful low hardwood hammock and maple/cypress community. Built above the wetlands and with high rails throughout—separating you from the trees, water, and wildlife—it’s the safest route for those who don’t want to go on the uneven terrain and often-muddy ground trails of the outer wooded paths. It was a nice, scenic walk.

But there is so much more to discover at this nature preserve. The property features a wading bird habitat, a butterfly bridge, a pavilion/outdoor classroom, a restored cypress dome, and a rewatering channel with culverts, a pump, and a receiving pond. There are lots of scheduled programs and events on-site throughout the month.

For hiking, visitors can take the Wetland Wander Trail, the Prairie Overlook Trail, or the Maple Walk. The 1-mile Prairie Overlook loops through an open prairie and an oak/cabbage palm community and includes a 20-foot-tall observation platform. The rustic Maple Walk covers ⅓ mile of red maple swamp and can get soggy; tree markings help guide you. The Wetland Wander is a ¼-mile foot trail that runs parallel to a canal and wetlands community.

Fern Forest also has a bit of art. Just behind the nature center before the beginning of the walking trails, nestled in a clearing among trees, is the sculpture “Fern-Lore Guardian,” which is two bronze pod forms created by artist Jerome Meadows, installed in 1993 by the Art in Public Places program.

Besides artists, scientists also have been enticed here, including some from Florida Atlantic University and Broward Community College, who had visited Fern Forest and discovered more than 200 species of plants. And coming up for National Take a Hike Day on Sunday, Nov. 17, is a Wetlands Walk, where a naturalist will lead a hike through the swamp and guide the group on an exploration of native flora and fauna. This will start at 10 a.m.; preregistration and $3 are required.

If you like being surrounded by lush green foliage and going on some peaceful nature walks, then Fern Forest is the place to check out.

Fern Forest Nature Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, for no charge. For more information, go to www.broward.org/Parks/Pages/park.aspx?park=14.

You are not seeing things, that’s a peacock on the road.

Like occasional gator sightings, or seeing a turtle cross the street, seeing a peacock on a Parkland side street is another reminder of how close we live to nature.

Peacock sightings are also a legacy of the fact that the Parkland and Coral Springs area used to be farm and ranch land. In the past few decades, new developments were added, but small farms are still thriving in our area.

These large pheasants are not native to Florida, or even the Americas. The most memorable peacock with blue and green plumage comes from the Indian subcontinent. They first arrived as pets or for specialty farms, and over time they were released or escaped into the wild. They are omnivorous, and will eat plants, flowers, seeds, insects, even reptiles, and amphibians. So South Florida is paradise for them.

Technically, peacocks are the male peafowls, whereas the peahens are the females. But the brilliant display exhibited by the males during mating season makes them a more iconic image for the species.

Throughout scientific history, there is much speculation about why peacocks have such a vibrant display. Darwin speculated that the peahens, through a long line of descent, must have “appreciated this superiority.” But scientists are not sure if the large tail plumage, or the train, is due to natural selection as Darwin postulated.

While scientists continue their research into this area, we can all enjoy these displays when we find them on the street or at a local farm. However, some in the neighborhood with a peafowl population may be more concerned about their noise. The typical peacock sound has been described as a cross between a bird call and a baby crying out.

Before you consider harming these gorgeous birds, keep in mind that even though peacocks are not native, they are protected under a Florida statute, which may result in a fine of $5,000 and/or up to a year in prison if you are found guilty of shooting a peacock. The penalty is even more if one tortures or intentionally harms a peacock—up to 10 years in prison.

You may see them mostly wobble or hop around. Peafowls can fly around a mile in a single flight, so with an abundance of food locally, they can quickly become wild and adapt to our southern Florida climate.

So you may find yourself face to face with a peafowl, even if you are not next door to a farm or do not park where these birds reside.

You may also find leucistic variants, which is a natural loss of pigmentation, similar to white lions and tigers you have seen. These are prized by some, and bred locally for pets.

This spring, hopefully you will be lucky enough to see them in person. If not, enjoy the pictures we have collected of local peacocks!

Florida is renowned for its striking wading birds. More than a dozen species make their home here, from the Snowy Egret to the pink-plumed Roseate Spoonbill to the Tricolored Heron. Beloved by locals, these birds also draw visitors from across the globe looking to get a glimpse of their colorful plumage.

Not only are these birds an important part of the economy, they’re also key indicators of ecological health. Wading birds depend on healthy wetlands, coastlines, and the Everglades for their survival.

“Wading birds tell us when the Everglades are healthy,” explains Kelly Cox, director of Everglades policy at Audubon Florida, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of birds. “When they’re in the right place at the right times of the year in the right numbers, we know that we’re getting the water right in the Everglades. If wading birds can successfully raise chicks, it’s likely that other species that depend on the Everglades are going to be healthy too.”

Wading bird populations have faced their fair share of challenges in Florida throughout history. In the 1800s, many species of wading birds were hunted almost to extinction for the sake of women’s fashion. The birds’ colorful feathers were collected and used as adornments for hats. “There was one point in U.S. history when feathers from wading birds were more valuable than gold per ounce,” says Cox. The decimation caused by the plume trade precipitated the creation of Audubon Florida.

In the 1900s, urban and agricultural development of the Everglades significantly impacted wading bird populations. Water control efforts drastically changed South Florida’s landscape, destroying their habitats. Dredging canals and plumbing out water from the Everglades eliminated floodplains and sloughs—foraging areas for wading birds—and interfered with the natural flow of water that the birds depended on for successful breeding conditions.

“Wading birds can’t wade in a 15-foot canal,” explains Cox. “They have no way to catch prey in that type of environment. As a result of that, we started to see their populations really decline.”

Everglades restoration projects, which began in full force around 2000, have helped many of Florida’s wading bird species recover. “We’ve already started to see measurable benefits from returning those water flows to as close to we can get to the way Mother Nature designed it,” affirms Cox.

A prime example of this success is the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. In the 1960s, the Kissimmee River was channelized by cutting and dredging a 30-foot-deep canal, which eliminated a floodplain and destroyed the ecosystem. Ninety percent of the area’s wading bird population disappeared. “We just wrapped up the restoration of that river, and the number of birds that have returned to that area is unbelievable,” enthuses Cox. “It confirms our theory that if you give the wading birds a chance, they will come back. But it has to be under the right ecological conditions.”

A recent initiative in Broward and Palm Beach counties will improve the habitat that these birds need while also safeguarding water quality for the people of South Florida.

In May of this year, the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on the North Phase of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), a restoration initiative that will restore water levels in the Central Everglades, bring more water south to replenish Everglades National Park, and send fresh water to Florida Bay.

“In general, we have really limited the ability of water to flow south into Everglades National Park, and subsequently Florida Bay,” explains Cox. “That water flow has been so stifled that in some parts of Florida Bay, we’ve seen hypersaline conditions because there’s not enough fresh water.” When water is hypersaline, it’s saltier than typical seawater, making it difficult for fish and seagrass—which wading birds feed on—to survive.

CEPP North will include the construction of seven new structures and one new canal as well as the improvement of 18 miles of canals already in operation. The North Phase is expected to be completed by 2029.

The other two phases of CEPP are the South and New Water phases, which are already underway. CEPP is a key part of the joint state-federal partnership to restore America’s Everglades, known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. “Everglades restoration is the largest ecosystem restoration project in the entire world,” confirms Cox.

Wading birds are the measure of success for these projects. Every year, the South Florida Water Management District—the primary agency charged with overseeing Everglades restoration—puts out a Wading Bird Report in collaboration with Audubon Florida. The report includes data on the birds’ nesting behavior throughout the Everglades. The greater the number of nests and hatchlings, the better the birds are doing. In 2021, the Everglades experienced its second-highest nesting effort for many wading bird species in 80 years.

“Conditions are improving for wading birds across the Everglades, which suggests that Everglades restoration is helping,” says Cox. “It’s improving foraging conditions for wading birds, which leads to increased nesting, but there’s still a lot to do.”

Currently in the planning stage is the Biscayne Bay Southeastern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Project, which focuses on Broward and Miami Dade counties with the goal of restoring habitats and increasing treatment capacity to help move more water south. “Biscayne Bay, which has been plagued by algae blooms and hypersaline conditions, has a big opportunity to benefit from this project,” says Cox.

For more information on South Florida’s wading birds and Everglades restoration, check out fl.audubon.org/conservation/everglades.