Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Where is this? Map,  Satellite View
The Sanctuary provides a beautiful raised walkway that can take you for (up to) a two mile walk. Most of the walk is inside forest and can be a little dark. Keep this in mind with your choice of camera equipment. There are open fields also, and I have seen deer there. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is owned and operated by the National Audubon Society and acclaimed as the crown jewel of the Audubon's sanctuaries I am told.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Pileated Woodpecker making a dent in this tree limb

Almost 200 types of birds are residents of the Sanctuary, either permanent or temporary. Year round, you can see egret, ibis, heron, limpkin and anhinga. Songbirds include black-throated green warblers and yellow-billed cuckoos visiting during the spring and fall as they migrate. In winter, birds include pine warblers and painted buntings.

By early spring the "Swamp" is dryer. There are at times competitive feeding frenzies at these small watering holes that are left behind when the water recedes.

These 'coons were looking for food from this small pool. They looked cautious, and for good reason, these small holes are home to at least one alligator also looking for a meal. Just a few moments after this picture was taken a small alligator sprung out from underwater but was not fast enough to make a meal of this pair. You can see the cave the alligator had created at the back of the pool. And, of course, I was too slow with my camera for that shoot.