Dawn over Florida Bay.  Florida Everglades.

Here, at the terminus of the Everglades, the fresh water from the peninsula flows into the shallow sea water of Florida Bay.  The boundaries between the two realms are ever shifting and indistinct, marked by mangrove forests, mangrove islands, and isolated mangrove specimens striking their spidery roots into the saline mud flats.  The mangroves in most intimate contact with the sea are the red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle), whose roots form great stilt systems that trap sediments and, over time, can form new land.  The many mangrove islands offer shelter to rookeries of birds.  The apparent speck in the sky in this photograph is actually a large wading bird, which is apparent in any large print of this image; its form suggests a Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja), which frequents the mudflats and mangroves of Florida Bay.

J.M.Curzon Photography

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San Diego, California 92122

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