The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

After bidding Brenda and Barry good-bye (our reunion story is in the previous footprint), we headed over to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands to see some feathered friends.

We came upon these wetlands purely by accident when we were in Ft Lauderdale for a pre-cruise stay in December 2007. From what I recall, we decided to take a drive up Route A1A and somehow found ourselves making a stop in Delray Beach ... maybe for a bite to eat. How we got from there to the wetlands is totally fuzzy, but I remember enjoying all the birdlife a great deal.

So, when I was planning our current pre-cruise stay, it was a no-brainer to include the wetlands as part of our plans ... especially since Delray Beach made for a good half-way point for a meet-up with Brenda and Barry.

Opened in 1996, the wetlands are constructed on wastewater utility property ... open to the public at no charge. There is a ¾-mile boardwalk that crosses between ponds and islands and shrubs and snags. Each day the local water reclamation facility pumps about 2 million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the wetlands, which act as a percolation pond, returning the fresh water back into the water table.

The website says that 178 species of birds have been identified at the wetlands, which are part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. I don’t know about that number, but I do know that we saw a whole bunch of different birds here this time than we did in 2007. Also here are alligators and turtles and a bunch of other animals. We saw the alligators and turtles last time ... today I saw iguanas instead, though mom and Mui managed to get a peek at a baby alligator they later told me.

(Photos from our 2007 visit are at this link: https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Cruises/Panama-Canal…)

Our visit to the wetlands was a terrific way to end the day ... even though it was a heck of a lot more crowded today. In fact, cars were backed up at the entrance waiting to be allowed into the parking lot. WOW! So different from 13 years ago.Read more