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 wildlife 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 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. I’m currently an animal shelter manager/photographer and live in Athens, Georgia with my wife and two teenage daughters. 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…

• Okefenokee AnticipationAugust 8, 2020
  Whenever an Okefenokee excursion comes to an end, I am immediately antsy about another trip. Typically I have to wait another year, but sometimes two! During the wait, the anticipation builds. I frequently gaze at theContinue reading “Okefenokee Anticipation”
• Great Egret, The Handsomest HeronAugust 5, 2020
  ​In 1894, naturalist and ornithologist Bradford Torrey wrote of the Great Egret in his book, A Florida Sketch-Book. “Incomparably the handsomest member of the heron family (I speak of such as I saw) was the great whiteContinue reading “Great Egret, The Handsomest Heron”
• Okefenokee Alligator – a log with eyesAugust 2, 2020
  “Sam lay rolled in blankets beside Frodo. ‘I had a funny dream an hour or two before we stopped, Mr. Frodo,’ he said. ‘Or maybe it wasn’t a dream… I saw a log with eyes!’  ‘TheContinue reading “Okefenokee Alligator – a log with eyes”
• Graceful GeniusJuly 31, 2020
  ​An excerpt from A Florida Sketch-Book, by naturalist Bradford Torrey, written in 1895: “​I look up from my paper to see a turkey buzzard sailing majestically northward. I watch him till he fades in the distance. NotContinue reading “Graceful Genius”
• Okefenokee El LegartoJuly 30, 2020
  Internet rumor has it that the alligator received its name from the Spanish explorers that claimed Florida in the 1500’s. If true, I’m sure that el legarto didn’t simply mean a lizard, but THE Lizard! For the impressive alligator is no mere squamate,Continue reading “Okefenokee El Legarto”