National Wildlife Refuge – Wandering Dawgs

Lens-Artists #119: Hideaway

October 24, 2020January 23, 2024Posted in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuge, PhotographyTagged Denali National Park, Everglades National Park, Favorite Quotes, hideaway, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Photo Challenge14 Comments

For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us “where or what is our hideaway”. Her description of hideaway says “A Hideaway, is a place to which a person can retreat for safety, privacy, relaxation, to seek seclusion or refuge.”

When I am at home I can hideaway for a few moments by getting out in nature or by reading a book. But for me, a true hideaway is a wilderness area far away from civilization, somewhere with no robo calls, internet, or other interruptions.

Three of my favorite destinations immediately came to mind – the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Everglades National Park in Florida. Although these are three unique protected wilderness areas, what they have in common is that they are miles away from civilization and the wildlife is free to roam.

Of these three areas, the closest to my home is the Okefenokee Swamp. When we get to the end of the 17 mile road from the main highway and arrive at Stephen C. Foster State Park I feel like I am in another world. This image and the one at the top were both taken in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Fargo, Georgia.

Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska

To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
John Muir

Sunrise in Everglades National Park in Flamingo, Florida

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Thanks to Ann-Christine for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #119: Hideaway.

Lens-Artists #108: Sanctuary

August 5, 2020Posted in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, PhotographyTagged beach, Denali National Park, Everglades National Park, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird, sanctuary35 Comments

This week, our guest host Xenia of Tranature has chosen Sanctuary for our challenge. She reminds us that “Sanctuary can be found and created in a garden, a park, a field of wild flowers and by the sea …… watching wildlife, listening to birdsong …… along the forest trails and in the mountains.” She has asked us to show where we find it or how we create our calm and healing.

America’s National Parks and Wildlife Refuges are national treasures and wonderful places to find sanctuary.

Pa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park

20180214Okefenokee-Boat-Tour-(78) — Cypress Trees in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska

Closer to home, I can find my sanctuary watching the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean on one of Georgia’s barrier islands (image at the top of the page), walking on the beach, or watching the birds and butterflies in my backyard butterfly garden.

20200803-Tropical-Storm-Isaias-(28)WP — Waiting for Tropical Storm Isaias

Xenia, thank you for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Sanctuary

The Land of Trembling Earth

February 24, 2018February 24, 2018Posted in Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, State Parks, WildlifeTagged Alligators, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Stephen C. Foster State Park33 Comments

Okefenokee – “the Land of Trembling Earth”

What better way to begin our winter southern adventure than a stop in one of our favorite state parks, Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Much of the swamp is covered with thick peat deposits. The early Native Americans named the area Okefenokee which means “land of trembling earth” because they felt the movement of the peat beneath their feet as they walked.

There were deer in the campground every day. One day we took a walk on the boardwalk nature trail near the marina and watched an egret searching for food.

White Tailed Deer in the Okefenokee

Egret in the Okefenokee

The Okefenokee Swamp is one of North America’s most unspoiled natural wilderness areas. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge web page, “the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has 353,981 acres of National Wilderness Area within the refuge boundaries.

We always enjoy going out in a boat to explore the swamp. On our last visit we enjoyed our ranger guided boat tour so much we decided to go on another tour. While waiting for the tour to begin we wandered around the boat ramp and discovered Mama gator Sophie lounging by the ramp with some of her babies hanging out nearby.

Mama Sophie by the boat ramp with her babies nearby

Young alligators

Young alligator

As we rode through the man made canal into the swamp we spied more young gators on the bank enjoying the warm day.

20180214Okefenokee-Boat-Tour-(14) — Young alligators on the bank

A large gator checked us out as we exited the canal into the swamp.

20180214Okefenokee-Boat-Tour-(21) — Alligator in the Okefenokee

After a few days of cloudy skies and chilly days the sun was starting to warm things up. The warmer weather brought out plenty of wildlife.

Okefenokee Swamp

Cormorant in the Okefenokee

Alligator in the Okefenokee

Alligators enjoying some warm weather

Turtle in the swamp

Hanging out in the Okefenokee

The water winds through ancient cypress trees and water lilies.

20180214Okefenokee-Boat-Tour-(71) — Beautiful day in the Okefenokee

Nesting Birds at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

April 25, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, WildlifeTagged day trip, geocaching, Georgia birding, Great Egret, Harris Neck, roadside attractions, Smallest Church in America, tri colored heron, wood stork, Wood Stork Nesting9 Comments

Wood storks, egrets, and herons build their nests every spring in the trees of Woody Pond at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Located in Georgia just a few miles from I 95 in between Savannah and Brunswick, it is a great day trip from our home.

Woody Pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Wood storks were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1984. After almost 30 years of conservation efforts to increase the wood stork population, their status was upgraded to Threatened in June, 2014.

A path along the dike beside Woody Pond provides a great place to view the birds. The wood storks and egrets shared the trees.

Nesting Wood Storks and Great Egrets at Woody Pond

Many of the wood storks were working on their nests. None of their eggs had hatched yet.

As I took photos, Henry used the spotting scope and pointed out a mother egret with chicks that I would have never seen. The nests were a long way from where we were so the picture isn’t the best but it gives you an idea of the size of the baby egret.

In the shallow water at the edge of the pond a tri-colored heron entertained us as he searched for food.

Tri colored heron

Tri Colored Heron gets his catch

After leaving the refuge we stopped at the Smallest Church in America to take a look and do a little geocaching.

An arsonist burned this church in November, 2015. The church is being rebuilt through the efforts of volunteers and the work is almost complete.

Smallest Church in America, Townsend, Georgia

Smallest Church in America

After finding the geocache hidden near the church we headed for home.

Into the Okefenokee Swamp

April 22, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, RVing, WildlifeTagged Alligators, cypress trees, Okeenokee Swamp, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Snowy Egret, Stephen C. Foster State Park6 Comments

We enjoyed walking around the marina and going on the nature trail at Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge but we wanted to be in a boat to really experience the swamp. On one of our visits a few years ago we rented a canoe to paddle into the swamp and another time we rented a boat to venture even farther into the swamp. On our most recent trip in early spring we decided to take a ranger guided boat tour.

As we glided through the man made canal our guide pointed out the baby alligators and their mother Sophie who was keeping a close watch on her babies. Her mate Zeke was no where to be found.

As the boat exited the canal we entered the big water of Billy’s Lake where we were about six miles from the headwaters of the Suwanee River. The water here gets up to six feet deep, much deeper than the average depth of two feet.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we saw a few other people out on the water.

A kayaker goes around the bend deeper into the swamp

Our guide took us through the narrow waterway toward Minnie’s Lake. In some places the water was barely wide enough for the 24 foot Carolina Skiff. As we ventured farther into the swamp it was as if we had stepped back in time to a prehistoric age. We were miles from civilization in this incredibly wild place.

Boats had to navigate around this cypress tree

It is estimated that the alligator population in the swamp is about 20,000. We saw quite a few as we went along. It was mating season and I wondered if this gator was trying to attract a mate.

Another gator was behind a huge cypress tree.

Do you see the alligator behind the Cypress tree?

And there were young ones sunning on a log.

There are many species of wildlife besides alligators. While we didn’t see any raccoons, opossums, turtles, or bears, we did see a few birds out searching for food.