Excerpt from Francis Harper’s Mammals of the Okefinokee Swamp, published March 1927: Hounds are generally used for locating and following a Bear’s trail. A great deal depends on the courage and tenacity of the hounds, for if they do not close with the bear, it readily makes off through the thickest portions of the swamp atContinue reading “Well-trained Bear Hounds”
Category Archives: Okefenokee Swamp Naturalist’s Journal
Floating Fields of Nymphea
“WE approached the savanna at the South end, by a narrow isthmus of level ground, open to the light of day, and clear of trees or bushes, and not greatly elevated above the common level, having on our right a spacious meadow, embellished with a little lake, one verge of which was not very distantContinue reading “Floating Fields of Nymphea”
A Very Large and Terrible Creature
Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, Part II, Chapter V. ”THE alligator when full grown is a very large and terrible creature, and of prodigous strength, activity and swiftness in the water. I have seen them twenty feet in length, and some are supposed to be twenty-two or twenty-three feet; their body is as large as that ofContinue reading “A Very Large and Terrible Creature”
Terrifying Screams of Owls in the Deep Swamp
“The evening was however, extremely pleasant, a brisk cool breeze sprang up, and the skies were perfectly serene, the stars twinkling with uncommon briliancy. I stretched myself along before my fire; having the river, my little harbour and the stern of my vessel in view, and now through fatigue and weariness I fell asleep, butContinue reading “Terrifying Screams of Owls in the Deep Swamp”
The Chance of Meeting an Alligator
Excerpt from the 1912 Okefenokee journal of Dr. W.D. Funkhouser: “We five started in alone, carrying 50 pound packs, with a compass as our guide. The water was from waist to shoulder deep, full of giant cypress trees, and so closely overgrown with underbrush and entangling vines that we literally had to cut our wayContinue reading “The Chance of Meeting an Alligator”
Okefenokee Swamp Melanistic Pileated Woodpecker
Going through some older Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge posts, I found this unique observation from April 12, 2010 by iNaturalist member Marv Elliott: a melanistic Pileated Woodpecker (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/538467). Contacting Marv about his observation, he replied: “My wife (Susan) and I are birders and Naturalists. We were driving the main road, saw the pileated and knew itContinue reading “Okefenokee Swamp Melanistic Pileated Woodpecker”
Okefenokee Blackwater River
The Suwannee; a mysterious blackwater river. Textured cypress tower high above, doubled in their height by their reflection in the obsidian-glass water. Their knees bumping and hindering the passage of the canoe. Pale green lichens and mosses creep out of the waters, ascending the base of every tree. Like swaying specters, the Spanish moss hauntsContinue reading “Okefenokee Blackwater River”
A Cautious Eye in the Okefenokee
A great start to our 2020 Okefenokee paddling trek! As we pushed off from the Stephen C Foster State Park boat launch and into the blackwaters of the Okefenokee Swamp, I kept an eye on things. Although the giant reptiles weren’t immediately visible, there certainly could be alligators to the left and the right ofContinue reading “A Cautious Eye in the Okefenokee”
Okefenokee in ‘The Wilderness Coast’
An Okefenokee excerpt from Jack Rudloe’s, The Wilderness Coast “The sun was just rising, but it was already hot when we launched our canoe just below the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. We were beginning the 217-mile journey through Georgia and Florida to the Gulf of Mexico on the Suwannee River. “We paddled for days, withContinue reading “Okefenokee in ‘The Wilderness Coast’”
Okefenokee Bittern: Hidden in Plain Sight
My daughter and I were only ten minutes into a four-day canoe trip through the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and already we had missed something! As we were paddling up the channel to Billy’s Lake from the Stephen C. Foster State Park boat ramp, we pulled to the side to let a tourist-laden pontoon boatContinue reading “Okefenokee Bittern: Hidden in Plain Sight”
