Day 116 - January 25, 2013: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary & Blair Audubon Center

Today Win and Susan took us to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary & Blair Audubon Center. This pristine wilderness, owned and maintained by Audubon since the 50s, dates back more than 500 years and contains a slow moving river that flows to the Gulf. We walked the 2.25-mile boardwalk through prairies, swamp lands, and forests of towering trees, which are home to many birds, animals, and reptiles.

The boardwalk trail

If you look up, there are pines and ancient bald cypress towering up to 130 feet into the sky and draped with mosses, lichens, orchids and ferns.

Bald Cypress

Pines

          If you look down, wetlands and dense undergrowth serve as feeding areas for wildlife. 

Dense undergrowth

Wetlands and a white egret

If you were very quiet and still and had a keen eye out, you could see many birds and animals. Our list  included: a water snake, an owl, raccoons, a turtle, egrets, cormorants, and many other birds we couldn't identify.

Florida water snake with full stomach

Baby raccoon looking for food

We looked in vain for an alligator and have yet to see one in the wild on this trip. (I'm told they are common in the golf course water hazards.) We'll look again in the Everglades.Tonight we ate at Win's favorite restaurant which was Vietnamese. Very tasty!