Virtual Okefenokee Exploration through iNaturalist

The Okefenokee has grown into an obsession! Even though I have opportunity for only a few “boots-on-the-ground” days in the Swamp each year, I love exploring it year-round through online and print publications. I just can’t get enough!

My favorite way to get into the swamp (virtually) is through iNaturalist. Just like paddling down an Okefenokee kayak trail, I can search the observations posted by other amateur naturalists, stopping here and there to more closely inspect and identify species of plants and insects. Just like raising my binoculars in the swamp, iNat users perch their beautiful avian observations online. I get a thrill when other users post their observations of a Black Bear ambling through the Stephen C Foster campground, or a Bobcat bounding along the Upland Pine Trail, or an Anhinga diving to spear a fish.
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There are currently two projects on iNaturalist highlighting the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. One is a ‘collections project’ that automatically gathers every observation posted within the refuge. It is a great page to check for new and exciting observations I might have missed in my subscription feed. The other, the Okefenokee Photography Project, is a traditional project where members can post and identify the higher quality photography from the Swamp. Both projects have journals that post news from the Refuge and articles highlighting species or experiences in the Okefenokee from users.

iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53091180