The Okefenokee Swamp

The Okefenokee Swamp is a different world; a seemingly untouched, primitive landscape of serpents and dragons; a foreboding, dark land, yet exciting and evoking the urge to explore. I have explored this intriguing swamp habitat on many occasions; each time paddling a bit further, and each time investigating its details a bit more closely. My desire is to promote and preserve this majestic piece of Earth through my nature journals and photographs, and the travel blogs of other adventurers…  

The Okefenokee is the largest blackwater swamp in North America. The majority of the swamp lies within the state of Georgia, but straddles the border into Florida. It is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. Its Native American name means “The Land of Trembling Earth”.

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Hi, I’m conservation photographer and nature writer William Wise. I am definitely not an Okefenokee expert, but I am certainly an Okefenokee enthusiast. I am provided the privilege of the Okefenokee lying within less than a half-day’s drive from my home. I’m currently an animal shelter manager and live in Athens, Georgia with my wife and two teenage daughters. I was saved under a campus ministry while studying wildlife biology at the University of Georgia. My love of the outdoors quickly turned into a love for the Creator and His works. William Wise Nature Notes is my wildlife and birding photo blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. I am also a guest author at Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures and The Creation Club.  I sell stock photography to support my creation ministry and pet adoption photography efforts. — “What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.” Psalms 104, The Message.

Latest Posts…

• A Place of MemoriesJune 11, 2021
  A passage from my Okefenokee journal on Mixon’s Hammock, March 5, 2017: After tensely navigating through over a mile of the Narrows, the scene expanded forth into a beautiful prairie. A juvenile alligator and a pairContinue reading “A Place of Memories”
• One Large SpecimenJune 8, 2021
  Excerpt from the 1926 History of the Okefenokee Swamp by AS McQueen and Hamp Mizell: “To make certain that there was a large opening or prairie ahead, my father waited and listened for the bellow of the alligators,Continue reading “One Large Specimen”
• Little Blue Heron Leap FrogJune 5, 2021
  An Okefenokee photography journal entry from March 6, 2017: Monday, 9:25 AM – ​Frustrated by my pursuit of a quality Wood Duck photograph, we continued our travel along the edges of Billy’s Lake. We began aContinue reading “Little Blue Heron Leap Frog”
• Okefenokee Trolling MotorJune 2, 2021
  In 2017 I added an electric trolling motor to our canoe, my daughter acting as captain of our vessel. Not only does the motor mean relaxed travels with little rowing, but it allows hands-free for photography.Continue reading “Okefenokee Trolling Motor”
• Trees So LoftyMay 30, 2021
  Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, published in 1791: “On the West side it was bordered round with low marshes, and invested with a swamp of Cypress, the trees so lofty, as to preclude the sight of theContinue reading “Trees So Lofty”