Wendy's Visit...Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

In an earlier post, I talked about our visit to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Wendy asked if we could go when she came to visit.  So.We.Did.

It was a beautiful day, with a temperature around 87*.  Luckily there was a nice breeze.  We packed a lunch and ate it at one of the picnic tables located outside the entrance, surrounded by a dozen or so children there on a field trip.  Admittedly, the kids were quite well behaved.  

Once inside, we traveled in a counter clockwise direction because Bill and I found the most interesting areas to be at the "end" when we started from the other direction.  Wendy was a good luck charm and we saw a lot of great wildlife today that we didn't see the last time.

Can you spot Wendy?

Hawk

Barred Owl

Same Barred Owl

There were two telescopes set up which allowed us to look at a 10-12' alligator (take my word for this, please) along with several of her babies soaking up the sun with a couple of turtles.

Photo taken through the lens of the telescope

We saw a couple of really cool spiders and webs.

Just a neat web, no spider in attendance

This Anhinga has speared a fish on the end of his beak

The bird has swallowed the fish and it's working itself down his neck.

This was cool to watch!

Pileated Woodpecker

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

White Ibis

2, count them, 2 Eastern Indigo Snakes

Immature Cottonmouth Water Moccasin

This dangerous semi-aquatic snake is truly an aggressive reptile that will stand its ground or even approach an intruder. 

The Anhinga is also called the Snake Bird

Diamondback Rattlesnake

The rattlesnake was about 5' long and was attempting to travel under the boardwalk to the other side but was afraid of all the people.  The guides advised us that it was the first one they had seen in about five years.

We saw another smaller alligator, 5-8', but I didn't get a picture of that one either.

There were more flowers blooming this time

Flag Iris

and there were more leaves on the trees.

February, 2012

March, 2012

Bill and I really enjoyed seeing all the wildlife but the spiders and snakes "creeped" Wendy out.  She's such a girl!  Hopefully she enjoyed the visit.

Thanks for stopping by....
;o)