Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
For more about WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO & WHERE TO DINE visit ParadiseCoast.TV
Rookery Bay Reserve protects 110,000 acres of coastal lands and waters at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands on the gulf coast of Florida, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve represents one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America.
WHERE TO GO:
Children's Museum of Naples
WHAT TO DO:
John R. Wood
WHERE TO DINE:
Fish Restaurant
Rookery Bay
Southwest Florida is home to one of the last untouched mangrove estuaries in North America.
Rookery Bay
Welcome to Rookery Bay. This place is a perfect reminder why this is Paradise.
Guided Kayak Tours of Rookery Bay Reserve in Naples, Florida
See the Naples, FL, environment up close with the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Two-hour guided kayak tours of Rookery Bay, Hall Bay and mangrove tunnels provide the opportunity to see birds, marine mammals and other sights of nature. The fee includes kayak, all equipment, paddling instruction and admission to the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center on the day of the tour. Paddlers must be 12 or older. Advanced registration is required at rookerybay.org or 239-417-6310 x401.
Rookery Bay
A video panorama of Rookery Bay on the floating dock behind the Education Center.
Credits: Video by Whitney Bryen
Gov. DeSantis makes announcements at Rookery Bay in Naples
Governor Ron DeSantis visited Naples on January 29, 2019 to give updates on his clean water initiatives.
Henderson Creek in Rookery Bay
This video illustrates parts of a pleasant paddle up Henderson Creek off of Rookery Bay, past the Rookery environmental center to Belle Meade. The video was created to support a narrative report on Yackman.com
Shark Project - Rookery Bay
This short documentary video by Josh Manring shot December 14, 2011. Fisheries Biologist Pat O'Donnell monitors sharks 3 times a month in the Rookery Bay National Estuarine. I volunteered through Rookery Bay and assisted in the process of attempting to catch sharks for research purposes. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in catching sharks this night. Footage was shot with with a Canon 7D body and 15-85mm lens. Sound was recorded with a Rode Microphone. Shot on location in the Fakahatchee Bay, Rookery Bay National Marine Estuarine, Florida.
Touch Tank at Rookery Bay
Touch Tank at the Environmental Learning Center at Rookery Bay Reserve in Naples, Florida. Come see it and so much more for yourself here:
Keewaydin beach in April
Few beaches in Florida offer the peace and solitude of mid-island Keewaydin, within Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Nearly 90% of this eight-mile-long island was purchased by the State of Florida years ago, and is set aside for future generations to explore, enjoy, and protect. If you visit, please be respectful of wildlife and do not leave behind any litter. Learn more here:
Padilla Bay Beach Camp 2015
This was one of the activities during a week-long day camp at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Campers walked down to the mudflats and had fun searching for snails, tiny crabs, and other critters. Most of the critters were returned to their homes; some where taken to the interpretive center and viewed under microscopes.
Eco-tours with Conservancy of SWFL run weekly out of Rookery Bay
Naturalists and a coast-guard certified captain with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida run eco-cruises out of Rookery Bay on a 35-passenger pontoon boat.
Kayakers Paddling in Rookery Bay | Naples, FL
This was one of those rare moments when everything went right the first time. The weather, the speed of the camera boat, the paddlers, all came together perfectly! Be sure to watch in HD.
Studying Juvenile Sharks' Use of Estuaries in the Ten Thousand Islands
Over the past 20 years, scientists at Rookery Bay Research Reserve in Naples have been conducting monthly assessments of fish and shark populations in the Ten Thousand Islands. The Shark Nursery Assessment program is providing insight into the distribution of juvenile sharks and other fish in the estuaries directly affected by hydrologic restoration in the Picayune Strand State Forest to the north. This video by Live Oak Production Group provides an overview of this study as part of the reserve's 40th anniversary documentary film, airing on PBS stations across Florida in April 2019.
Rock Creek to Rookery Bay
A five hour paddle from the Rock Creek RV Resort to Rookery Bay in the vicinity of Naples, Florida.
Student Documentary: An Estuary's Story
An Estuary's Story is a documentary film by Florida Tech alumna, Allison Randolph, about the complex situation surrounding the St. Lucie River Estuary. Discharges of freshwater, toxic algae, and excess nutrients from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie have resulted in a drastic decline in the health of the estuary and the organisms that inhabit it. The film describes the history of the situation and the reasons behind why these destructive discharges are occurring today.
The film's two main goals are education and motivation. The more the public is educated about the topic, the more they will be motivated to promote and create positive change to restore the natural flow and natural health of not only the St. Lucie River Estuary, but the entire water flow system of south Florida, as well as marine and estuarine ecosystems across the globe that are also in crisis.
Visit estuarystory.org to view the film's website and get additional info on the topics discussed in An Estuary's Story.
Turtle Crawl
Usually, staff members here at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve let nature run its course, but this hatchling was rescued from a nest on Morgan Beach in the reserve last week. While emerging from its egg, it managed to crawl through a hole in a bivalve shell that was in its path and couldn’t get out of the nest. Our turtle crew records the number of unhatched eggs and empty egg shells found in every nest, and carefully removed this turtle from the shell, enabling it to crawl into the Gulf waters. #seaturtles #SWFL #naplesfl #turtles
learn more about our turtle friends here:
Florida Wetlands Slideshow
This slideshow by Becca Tucker, wetland biologist at the Archbold Biological Station, shows the sights and sounds of restored wetland easements. The station has entered a third of its 3,648-acre reserve into USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service easements that provide cost share and technical assistance to keep the land from development and restore previously drained wetlands.
Burmese Pythons: Burrow Borrowers
Conservancy scientists - in collaboration with partners from Denison University, United States Geological Survey and Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - have learned that Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in Southwest Florida often make use of burrows constructed by large, native wildlife.
In this video, our scientists used a scope to take video inside of a burrow where they found a female python with her eggs.
Learn more about our collaborative Burmese python research here:
Seagrasses and Mangroves - Full Episode
They are an ancient species of flowering plants that grow submerged in all of the world’s oceans. Seagrasses link offshore coral reefs with coastal mangrove forests. Today, these “prairies of the sea,” along with mangroves, are on the decline globally. Scientists fear the diminishing vegetation could result in an ecosystem collapse from the bottom of the food chain all the way to the top. Changing Seas joins experts in the field as they work to restore Florida’s important mangroves and seagrasses.
Known as “hotspots of biodiversity,” seagrasses and mangroves attract and support a variety of marine life. However, worldwide damage and removal of these plants continue at a rapid pace. Changing Seas travels along Florida’s coastline to get a better understanding of the significant roles mangroves and seagrasses play within the state. Can biologists prevent a negative ripple-effect throughout the marine food web before it’s too late? How will rising sea levels impact these plants as well at the communities that depend on them?
Learn more at changingseas.tv or facebook.com/changingseas