During our visit to the Florida panhandle, we found that
some of the birding trails and boardwalks to view wildlife had been damaged in
the hurricane last October, so we decided to cut our visit short by a day. So, we hit the road and ended up at Jekyll Island,
Georgia, for a night. What a pleasant
surprise! Before entering the island, we
noticed miles upon miles of wetlands which serve as valuable real estate for
fish nurseries and promote a healthy environment for wildlife. As we entered the island, the first impression
was huge live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. The island has a few hotels but is mostly
residential. It seems to be one of the
few resort islands that have not been over commercialized, which makes it much
more appealing to us. There is a
historic district which features “cottages of the industrial scions of the
early 1900’s. There are miles of lovely
beaches that are uncrowded, including one beach with photogenic driftwood. We were glad to have made this serendipitous
detour!
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| Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island |
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| Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island |
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| Abstract Patterns in the Sand |
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| "Cottage", Historic District, Jekyll Island |
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| Live Oaks with Spanish Moss |
Back on the itinerary, next stop was the Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is a huge
area of swamplands, waters, and upland forests.
We spent two days here taking the wildlife drive, walking the boardwalk
over the swamp and boating through the canals and shallow water. There was wildlife, but due to the vast
expanse of area, most of the birds were too far away to photograph. We saw them flying, however—one large flock
of sandhill cranes flew overhead squawking and screaming. We were able to find some hawks and a few
tree birds closer. The closest sightings
of wildlife were alligators and turtles which ambled out of the water and
mostly lay inert on the surface of the banks.
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| Canal, Okefenokee Swamp |
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| Red-shouldered Hawk |
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| Gator |
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| Blue Corporal dragonfly |
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| Belted Kingfisher |
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| Spiderwort |
The swamp is mostly uninhabited, but there are remains of a
homestead from the early 1900’s. The
family had to keep the yard swept clean of brush and grass with only a sandy
surface so that the children would be able to see and avoid any of the 5
venomous snake species in the area. We never saw even one snake. Our guide mentioned that it’s not easy to see
snakes. The hawks and other birds eat
them, so that it’s more likely to see a snake flying through the air in a
bird’s mouth than on the ground in the swamp.
