Have you heard of the term “brackish water?” If you’ve been to southern Florida, you’ve likely heard it mentioned. What is it? Brackish water is a combination of saltwater and freshwater – it’s where the two types of water meet. Brackish water has a higher salinity level than fresh water, but it is not as high as sea or ocean water. The salinity of brackish water can vary, but usually, brackish water contains between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per liter.

Brackish water can exist on its own in nature, or it was made due to human construction. When found naturally, brackish water can be found around estuaries where a river meets an ocean. Many areas of southern Florida contain brackish water  and it flows into the Everglades.

Many water species can survive and live in brackish water and can go back and forth between fresh and saltwater. In brackish water, you can find trout, bull sharks, tilapia, alligators, some species of crab, shrimp, and more.

Within the Everglades ecosystem, there needs to be a proper balance of fresh and saltwater for water species and plant species to grow. In recent years, salinity levels have risen in the Everglades, which has been a problem. Restoration programs are putting freshwater into the Everglades to combat rising salinity levels.

Jump on an Everglades Tour on an Airboat

A great and safe way to see the variety of wildlife and vegetation in the Everglades’ brackish water is on a ride through the Everglades on an airboat with Captain Mitch.

Our guides know the Everglades well! Our airboat tours are fun and educational for the whole family!

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

When you think of the Everglades, you probably think of alligators and airboats. But, what about the thousands of insects and other bugs?

Thousands of these creatures call the Everglades home. The Everglades is known for having large swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies. However, there’s also a lot of beautiful butterflies flying around, which are much less annoying and don’t bite.

All these creatures, even the annoying or scary-looking ones are a valuable part of the Everglades’ ecosystem.

Insects –Insects don’t have a backbone and they are a type of invertebrate. They have a hard-exterior body covering caused an exoskeleton. They are cold blooded and do not have lungs.  Insects account for about 90 percent of life forms on earth, so you know there’s a TON in the Everglades. It is unclear how many insects are in the Everglades, but entomologists have put together lists of bees, ants, butterflies and more. The South Florida Collections Management Center has more than 5,000 insect specimens found in the Everglades.

Arachnids – Spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and whip scorpions can all be found in the Everglades.

Centipedes – They are long, thin arthropods and have fewer than 20 legs or as much as 300 legs despite the “centi” in their name. They live in the Everglades, but usually aren’t seen because they are mostly nocturnal.

Millipedes – These are commonly seen in the Everglades and they do not bite or sting. They are longer and thinner than centipedes and they can have anywhere from 36 to 400 legs. They are slower than centipedes.

Love insects, spiders or creatures with 400 legs? Come jump on an airboat tour! You’ll be surrounded by insects (and not even know it) during your adventure.

To book an airboat tour with Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours, call 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

The Great Egret is one of the largest wading birds that lives in the Everglades. It is over four feet tall and its wingspan is more than 50 inches in length.

This bird has long black legs, black feet, and a stout yellow bill. It can often be mistaken for the Great White Heron, but the heron has a heavier bill and pale legs.

The egret flies slow with its neck retracted, which is different from many other similar-looking birds.

This bird stalks its prey by slowly walking or standing still and can catch a fish in a flash with its quick bill reflex. They eat fish, amphibians, reptiles, other birds, small mammals, and invertebrates. They look for food in marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, tide flats, canals, and flooded fields.

The Great Egret usually is found alone but gathers with others during mating season in shrubs and trees over water.

At the end of the 19^th century, many Great Egrets were being killed in the Everglades and in North America for their plumes, which were used for decorative hats. In the late 1800s naturalist John James Audubon visited the Everglades, and public outrage grew to put a stop to the mass commercial hunting of wading birds for the plume. The Great Egret became the symbol of the National Audubon Society, which one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. More than 300 Great Egrets had to be used get just one kilogram of feathers.

The numbers of this bird have grown but haven’t recovered due to habitat loss.

Want a chance to see the Great Egret? You might on an airboat tour!

To book an airboat tour with Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours, call 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

The Everglades is home many mammals, including the Everglades Mink.

This fury creature is a small member of the weasel family and is one of three types of minks found in Florida. The Everglades Mink happens to be the only one that lives in south Florida. This type of mink is semi-aquatic, carnivorous and related to otters, ferrets, badgers, and martens.

An Everglades Mink has chocolate brown fur, a small head and tiny black eyes and ears. Its legs are short, it has a pointed muzzle, five partially webbed toes on each foot and it has a long bushy tail.

Its webbed toes help them swim easily in water while they search for food. A mink also releases an unpleasant-smelling liquid, like a skunk’s; it does this as a warning and also a marker for other minks to know of its presence. The minx will also squeal, snarl, and hiss if it is frightened.

This type of mink can grow up to 25 inches long.

You can find this mink in shallow freshwater marshes and swamps of the Fakahatchee Strand and the Big Cypress Swamp.

Everglade minks are known to grab prey larger than themselves. They are nocturnal and hunt for food on land and in the water; they enjoy eating small mammals, snakes, fish, and insects.

A mink is a loner and you won’t find it in groups usually. You can spot a minx in shallow freshwater marshes and swamps of the Everglades.

A female mink can give birth to three to six kits during the springtime. The kits are born hairless, but open their eyes and start growing hair around three weeks. These babies stay with the mother until the fall. Females stay close to the den, while males roam twice as far and visit other dens. Dens are usually found in a hollow log, or under tree roots.

The Everglades mink is no longer a threatened species.

Look for the Everglades Mink on a Tour

Although it usually comes out at night, there’s a chance you may still see an Everglades mink while on an airboat tour.

A great and safe way to see the variety of wildlife and vegetation in the Everglades is on a ride through the Everglades on an airboat with Captain Mitch

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

Ready for the time of your life in the Everglades? Join us on an airboat tour and see the Everglades like never before.

Captain Mitch House has been in the airboat tour and tourist attraction industry since he was a little kid. He was born and raised in Everglades city, Florida, where he ended up following in the footsteps of his Father Capt. Doug and great grandfather Barrel Head House, who was the pioneer of airboat. He built one of the first commercial airboats in 1942, which was built from three sheets of plywood and a few 2×4’s, powered with a slant six tank motor and a sawed-off prop-jet propeller with no cage. These were primitive work boats.

Barrel Head used this boat as a fishing guide in the Flamingo and Florida Bay areas of the Florida Everglades. This was a great way to gain access to the shallow salt flats of Florida Bay. On this airboat, he took tourists charter fishing for snook, reds, trout, tarpon and many other fish species in the now Everglades National Park ecosystem.

In later years, the locals around Everglades City, Florida, and the south Florida area found these airboats were a great way to travel in the swamplands of the Florida Everglades.

Captain Mitch, as the airboat tour owner, has been involved at Private Airboat Tours Everglades City, FL in the tourist industry for more than 30 years here in Everglades City, Florida.

If you’re planning to visit the Everglades, come view it in a different, fun way on an airboat tour.

To book an airboat tour with Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours, call 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

The Everglades is home to so many mammals including felines like the bobcat. Bobcats are one of two native cat species that call southern Florida their home. Bobcats are common in Everglades unlike the Florida panther.

Bobcats are not endangered. They are mainly nocturnal creatures but can be spotted during daylight. In the Everglades, bobcats have been seen walking around Bear Lake Trail, Snake Bight Trail, and the main Park road.

Bobcats can live in various types of habitats such has cypress swamps, prairies, hardwood hammocks, and pine rocklands. In one day, an adult bobcat can travel anywhere from 5 to 50 miles looking for food. For food, the bobcat eats small mammals (squirrels, opossums, rodents), birds, and fish.

Bobcats are much smaller than the Florida panther.  They coexist in the Park together. The bobcat is short-tailed (“bobbed” tail) feline with a spotted, red-gold fur coat. They have fringed fur on the sides of their head. They can weight anywhere from 13 to 35 pounds, and they can grow up to 50 inches in length.  Bobcats can live up to 14 years in the wild.

Bobcats don’t just call Florida home. They have been known to live in Canada and all the way down to Central America.

The bobcat will stay in a den it creates in a tree, cave, or open shelter. Often, bobcats have more than one den spread across different areas, in case they need shelter.  A female bobcat will have one to two kittens in a litter. Bobcat mating season is from August to March.

Bobcats usually will not approach a human. For your safety, it’s best to leave a bobcat alone while in the wild or the Everglades if you spot one.

Come on an airboat tour and see if you can spot a bobcat walking around during daylight!

Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours has been giving tours to in the Everglades for more than 30 years.

To book a tour. Click our Everglades airboat tour page or call 800-368-0065.. We are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

We wanted to share some information with you about one of the best preserved, pine rocklands in Florida: Long Pine Key Trail.

Long Pine Key Trail is not currently being maintained in order to preserve the habitat in the area for the Florida leafwing and Bartram’s scrub hairstreak butterflies and their host plants. These butterflies are native to south Florida.

This area holds about 80 percent of all remaining pine rockland in Florida. Pine rocklands have been disappearing since the last 1800s due to urban development, agricultural expansion and fragmentation.

This habitat has a lot of plant biodiversity and is home to several endangered species such as the eastern indigo snake and the Florida panther, which is Florida’s state mammal.

The trail is open, but you should enter with caution as the train isn’t maintained meaning there is likely branches, vegetation, flora, and fauna that may be in your path or affect your walk or hike.

Long Pine Key is over 22 miles of connecting trails. Bicycles are allowed but the path is not wheelchair accessible. Many trails start at the Long Pine Key Campground, which is seven mikes from the main park entrance at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center. You can also park on road shoulders near gates where the trails meet paved roads.

After exploring the Long Pine Key Trails, you may want to get off your feet and see the Everglades in a different way… on an airboat. An airboat tour will give you a different view and perspective of the Park like no other.

Captain Mitch’s Private Everglades Airboat Tours has been giving tours to in the Everglades for more than 30 years. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

To book a tour. Click our Everglades airboat tour page or call 800-368-0065.. We are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

On an airboat tour with Captain Mitch, you’ll be able to see beautiful surroundings from a different point of view. Before your visit, you may have questions about the Everglades or airboat tours. Below, we wanted to share some questions and answers with you, so you can have a great time and be prepared for your trip on an airboat in the Everglades.

Q: Are the crocodiles and alligators aggressive?
A:  Alligators and crocodiles are unpredictable; crocodiles are known to be a bit more aggressive than alligators when provoked. It’s best to keep a safe distance (15 to 20 feet) when viewing any wildlife.

Q: Are pets allowed?
A: Pets are allowed in parking lots, campgrounds, boats, maintained ground of a public facility, on public roadways, and on roadside campgrounds and picnic areas in the Everglades. They are not allowed on trails or wilderness areas or on an airboat.

Q: How much is an airboat tour with Captain Mitch?

A: At Captain Mitch’s Everglades Private Airboat Tours, if paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

Q: When are the airboats open for tours?

A: Captain Mitch’s is open daily 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Q: Where are the airboat tours located?

A: Captain Mitch is located at 30999 Tamiami Trail E Everglades, FL 34139.

Explore the Everglades on an Airboat

An airboat tour is a wonderful way to experience the Everglades. Book a tour with Captain Mitch’s airboat tours today. Captain Mitch has been giving tours in the Everglades for more than 30 years.

To book a private Everglades airboat tour, click our Everglades airboat tour page or call 800-368-0065.

Thanksgiving is long gone, but wild turkeys are around all year! When you think of Everglades’ wildlife you probably think of alligators, the Florida panther and insects, but believe it or not, wild turkeys call the Everglades home too. In fact, Alaska is the only state without wild turkeys.

The Florida Wild Turkey inhabits pinelands, cypress swamps, prairies, and hardwood hammocks in southern Florida. Due to extensive logging in the Everglades, along with hunting, the wild turkey appeared to have disappeared from the Everglades. However, since 2000, efforts have been put in place to increase the wild turkey population in the Everglades.

Wild turkeys can weigh between 20 and 25 pounds over average. They can adapt to many different environments. They live in many different climates. They are hunted as food by great horned owls and panthers in the Everglades.

Adult wild turkeys can be aggressive towards humans if they feel threatened or in self-defense.

Wild turkeys are strong and can run up to 25 miles per hour and can fly (domestic turkeys can’t fly because they are bred to be heavier for their meat.)

Wild turkeys are known to have great eyesight about three times better than a human’s eyesight. They are omnivores and can hunt on land or by air.

Want a chance to see a wild turkey roaming around the Everglades? Jump on an airboat ride. A private airboat tour gives you can opportunity to see a lot of wildlife from a safe distance so you won’t bother them and they won’t bother you.

Captain Mitch’s Private Everglades Airboat Tours has been giving tours to in the Everglades for more than 30 years. You’ll have so much fun and learn a lot too!

To book a tour, click our Everglades airboat tour page or call 800-368-0065.. We are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).

Although the Everglades is outdoors and a wild environment, the Park does its best to make accommodations for people with different capabilities. The Park strives to make it a place accessible to everyone.

Hearing accessibility – For those with hearing enhancement needs, films shown at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Shark Valley Visitor Center and Gulf Coast Visitor Center include captioning. Assistive Listening Devices (ALD) are available upon request for use during ranger-led programs, the Shark Valley Tram Tour and the Gulf Coast boat tour.

Sight accessibility – The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center located at the park entrance near Homestead presents audio recordings of the Everglades environment. The restroom and theater signs are available in Braille. The Flamingo Visitor Center contains a museum exhibit with print and audio displays, The Shark Valley Visitor Center and the Gulf Coast Visitor Center offers a touch table for tactile opportunities, and the restroom signage is available in Braille.

The accessible trails in the park display interpretive signage which is in large print.

Interpretive programs and visitor center displays, when possible, have been made accessible to visitors with limited visual capacities.

Mobile accessibility – Visitors centers have accessibility to wheelchairs by ramps or elevators. There are van-accessible parking spaces in the parking lots. Wheelchairs are available to loan on a first come first serve basis at Royal Palm Visitor Center, Flamingo Visitor Center, and Shark Valley Visitor Center.

The following accessible trails are firm, paved surfaces that are wheelchair accessible and less than ¾ of a mile: Anhinga Trail, Gumbo Limbo Trail, Pineland Trail, Pa-hay-okee Overlook, Mahogany Hammock Trail, West Lake Trail, and Bobcat Hammock.

The Long Pine Key and Flamingo front country campgrounds both have accessible campsites. The Pearl Bay Chickee back country site features handrails, a canoe dock, and an accessible chemical toilet.

Many of the concession-led boat tours from Flamingo and Gulf Coast are wheelchair accessible. The Shark Valley tram tour is accessible as well – the trams contain a ramp for wheelchairs.

For more information and details on accessibility in the Park, contact Everglades National Park information, 305-242-7700.

Want to explore the Everglades in a fun way? A ride on an airboat gives you an up-close-and-personal view of the Everglades; it’s a trip you’ll never forget.

To book an airboat trip, call 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).