A Trip to Corkscrew Sanctuary

So a couple weeks ago we took a trip to the Corkscrew Audobon Swamp Sanctuary. This is a true gem of a park here in Southwest Florida that actually features a living machine for water purification and three of Florida's ecosystems within a 2 mile elevated boardwalk that allows visitors to enjoy the park with minimal impact on it. There is a pine upland, prarie and an old growth cypress swamp. On this trip we were lucky enough to meet a barred owl up close and personal ( he was hanging out in a tree branch just a couple feet off the boardwal and about head high), these guys are usually pretty shy and primarily nocturnal, usually hanging out in a dark grove during the day. I think this one might have been making a special trip to observe the visitors, as he just sat on his branch as our entire group walked by. Also of note on this trip was a brief siting of a pileated woodpecker, we did not get the pleasure of seeing it up close but were able to glimpse him as he flew off to another part of the sanctuary. The swamp was pretty dry since it was near the end of dry season and the rainy season had not yet started but there were still a few american alligators hanging about in the handful of holes that still retained water. I hope to make another trip here in late July or August to contrast the difference between wet and dry seasons. All in all a great trip!