One of our favourite things to do is get up early in the morning and head out to one of the local nature refuges in the area, Jeff, with camera in hand and his big lens on. Today it was Six Mile Cyprus Slough (pronounced "slew").
This area is actually a storm run-off area but they've given it back to mother nature. It is very swampy and there are several natural ponds and an old quarry pit where two alligators are in residence, Big Al and Stubby. Stubby got his name after a tangle with Big Al where his foot (paw?) was bitten off. They now usually stay on opposite sides of the pit. Winding through it all is a several mile long boardwalk so one is always perched up above the swamp with great views.
We just love these nature areas, with their almost church-like feel, at least to us. We find if we just sit quietly for a few minutes the place comes alive with birds, reptiles, various mammals... once even pigs (although we hear they are escapees from a local farm).
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
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We chuckled when we learnt the name of this bird is the:
Immature Night Heron |
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| Baby Copper Mouth Snake - highly poisonous. We wondered where mom and dad were. |
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We wondered what all those pointy things were.
We found out they are Cyprus knees - part of the root system of Cyprus trees. |
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