October 2020 Road Trip - 10-15-20 - Stephen C. Foster State Park

 We made a 1 1/2 drive to the Okefenokee NWR West Entrance.  On our trek over, we found a couple of Wood Storks foraging in a wet area. 

Our first stop in the refuge, was the Suwanee River Sill.  We rode along the sill, watching numerous gators.  Needless to say, there weren't any turtles or other critters around with all these beast.

We walked across the Dam, took a few pics of flowers and such, then noticed a Turkey in the horizon. It way too far off for a good picture.

My attempt to use the port a potty was abandoned when I saw way too many spiders hanging around.

We made it to Stephen C. Foster State Park, toured around, checking out the area, and stopped for a picnic lunch. 

 After lunch, we walked around, took a few pics of birds and such.  We got another good shot of the Red Shouldered Hawk.  Afterwards, we  realized there is a boardwalk.  And away we went.

We saw several species of birds, including Flickers on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail.  

We also found an 8 point Buck foraging.  We carefully, creeped, trying not to make a sound on the leaves on the boardwalk.  We finally realized, he could care less that we were there. 

On our way out of Stephen C. Foster State Park, we found a very photogenic Wild Turkey. 

We made another Swamp Island Drive at the Okefenokee NWR main entrance.  The Gator in the pond greeted us again.

A hungry Cottontail rabbit was foraging as well.

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October 2020 Road Trippin - 10-14-20 - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

We spent the day at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.   We were greeted by numerous birds along the Cane Pole Trail; Scarlet Tanagers, American Red Starts, and Black and White Warblers, just to name a few.

                                       

We took the Swamp Island Drive and hiked the Chesser Island Boardwalk to the 40 foot tower.  It was really cool to find a Spicebush Butterfly Caterpillar meandering across the path.  It is supposed to be nocturnal and wrapped up in leaves during the day.  This was a really lucky find.

We found Humped Bladderwort and several different species of birds on this pretty hike.  One of our favorite birds that we found was a Red-bellied Woodpecker eating a Millipede.

We stopped and took a walk on the Chesser Island Homestead grounds.  It was an impressive, old homestead.  The hand water pump on the porch still pumped water.

We stopped and walked the road alongside the Borrow Ditch.  We found Hooded Pitcher Plants which is a new species of pitcher plants for us.  We also found lots of other pretty plants, plenty of butterflies and other critters, including an alligator.

We walked the Discover Trail looking for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, but didn't find any.  

We made another stop at a small pond, and found a very friendly alligator.  

At our last stop for a restroom break, Lauren managed to get a good pic of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker. 

We wrapped up the day with Ferny Kat enjoying the water drips off the camper and a pretty sunset.

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October 2020 Road Trippin - 10-13-20 - White Oak Conservation Preserve

We rode around getting our bearings this morning.  We made a quick drive thru at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.  We found a beautiful Red Shouldered Hawk eyeing a Squirrel for lunch near the Visitor Center.  He was distracted by us, and the squirrel was sparred.

We checked out Scott's Landing on the St. Marys River and took a few photos.

This afternoon, we had an awesome tour at White Oak Conservation Preserve.  We got to see where some of our captive reared Mississippi Sandhill Cranes live, as well as numerous other species of animals.  We learned so much about animals that we never knew existed.  

They have several different species of Cassowaries.  The first one we checked out was the Double-Waddled Cassowary.  The male and female are kept in separate pens because the female will kill the male unless she is in heat.  When she is ready to mate, she goes in a trance, which spares the male's life.  These birds can also kill a human with their claws. Who would of thought these gorgeous birds could be so vicious. 

We saw three species of Cranes; the Whopping Cranes, the Waddled Cranes, and of course, our favorite, the Mississippi Sandhill Cranes.

We saw several different cat species; Panthers, Cheetahs, and Tigers, Oh MY!  Thank goodness there were fences between us.  The Tigers were very active in the wading pool playing with their keg.

And then there were Giraffes.  The tallest Bull, leaned over the fence and greeted us.  It reminded me of the What Day is it commercial, only with a Giraffe not a Camel.

They had Okapis.  They look like a Zebra, but are actually a Giraffe.  Who would of thought it? 

 There were also these Star Wars looking critters that are called Gerenuks which are in the Antelope family.  The male's horns were wrapped to prevent him from stabbing the girls. 

 They were several  species of Antelope living at the preserve, including the spiral horned Lesser Kudu.

The Babirusa was very playful running along the fence as we drove by.

They had 2 equid species, the Somali Wild Ass and Grevy's Zebra. 

 The Southern White Rhinos, which are actually not white in color, were spectacular to watch as they somewhat got along when the different families ate hay together.

The Roan Antelope was very striking with his black and white clown like facemask.

The Eastern Bongo was another striking antelope with his striped body, white cheek patches, and white chevrons under their eyes.

When we got back to camp, the Ferny Kat was ready to come out and play in the water dripping off the back of the camper.  We think she might have a little bit of Tiger in her genes.

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