Ron Mangels, a close friend who I know through our church, invited me to take a boat ride with him in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge area that I described in an earlier blog (24 Jan 2009). We had talked about doing this together sometime, so I was excited when Ron called me up early this afternoon inviting me to go with him.
I included a Google Earth map of where we went by boat (the red lines). The map also shows where we live (red arrow) to provide orientation. The area we went through was truly breathtaking and otherworldly. It's hard to imagine that we are within one or two miles of areas like this when we are driving on the highways down here. 
I don't even begin to remember all the different bird species Ron pointed out to me, but they included herons, egrets, coots, wild ducks, owls, woodpeckers, and so on. The close up I have in the collection of pictures was of two yellow crowned night herons in a tree. We saw a good number of alligators. I got a nice picture of a young alligator on a log basking in the sun. We saw some wonderful cypress groves. The pictures don't really do them justice. 
I was also impressed by the large outcroppings of cattails. This country is almost tailor made for cattails. We took a side trip (where the red line splits) to see if I could access the area by kayak without having to go to the Intercoastal Canal, and proved that it could easily be done. If I didn't put the lines in the right place, Ron can straighten me out. 
At any rate, it was a very nice activity for a Saturday afternoon, and I am very appreciative of Ron's offer to go on this boat trip with him.
2 comments:
Sounds like a fun trip. I'm glad you got to go.
You live in such a pretty area! I'm glad you got to take that trip and see so many things. James and I were just talking about how it's about time for another visit. :)
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