 Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Macro photography of a Squirrel Tree Frog, Hyla squirella, climbing a tree in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park campground. Shot with 40mm macro lens. The squirrel tree frog Hyla squirella is a small species of tree frog found in the southeastern United States, from Texas to Virginia. An excerpt from Suwannee River, Strange Green Land by Cecile Hulse Matschat, 1938. "In the evening, or after a warm rain, the frog orchestra turns out in full force. Each species has its own peculiar song and pitch; and much of the really primitive folk music of Okefenokee is borrowed from its frogs and toads. The swampers call the frog music the Song of the Okefenokee and imitate it in their signal calls, and in the songs without words that they sing in long hours of poling down the runs." Cecile Matschat’s work, published in 1938 by the Literary Guild of America, is full of colorful stories of the Swampers that lived in the Okefenokee, exciting folklore encounters with bear, boar and cannibal alligators, as well as scientific descriptions of the flora and fauna of the great swamp. It a worthwhile purchase if you come across a used copy of this collectible out-of-print treasure of Okefenokee literature.
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Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message
American Alligator with an injured deformed nose, missing nostrils and teeth. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia.
On day three of our Okefenokee Swamp canoe trip, we came across a unique alligator. This big gator was missing the end of its upper snout. I suppose it could have been born with a deformity, but I guess it was injured in a fight with another gator. Its nostrils were missing and a good bit of scar tissue was built up along the edge. Several of the bottom teeth were missing as well.
American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis 
I began to wonder how he would breathe like the other gators that stick their nostrils and eyes above the water’s surface. I also wondered if he had issues with grabbing and holding prey. But based upon its size, it must not have too much trouble, being a good sized alligator.
As it was sunning on a log, we pushed our canoe up for some closer photos. But as we crossed his comfort zone he retreated into the water. We saw it again later in the day as we were paddling back to our camp at the Stephen C Foster State Park campground.
American Alligator with an injured deformed nose, missing nostrils and teeth. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia.
As we paddled on about 2.4 miles upstream on Big Water lake, we came across another gator with some battle injuries. It too was missing a small portion of his upper lip. It wasn't until I was back home and editing my photos that I noticed its entire front right foot was missing!
American Alligator with an injured deformed nose, missing nostrils and teeth and missing a front foot. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Minnie's Lake. March 15, 2019.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Golden Club, Floating Arum, Never Wet plant relection in blackwater tannin swamp. Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. From naturalist Francis Harper’s journal during his first visit to the Okefenokee Swamp; May 1912.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message
A large American Alligator on Billy`s Lake in the Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park.
Close up photography of an Okefenokee Alligator making a big splash!
A large American Alligator on Billy`s Lake in the Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message
Giant alligator camouflaged behind a cypress tree in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Billy`s Lake in Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia. March 14, 2019.
Why come to the Okefenokee Swamp? Gators galore! Other than a zoo, I haven't been to another spot where there are so many alligators and so many opportunities for close up photography in the wild. Alligators of all sizes lie everywhere about this majestic swamp!
Often, I return home with hundreds of usable alligator photos and footage. It is hard to decide what to delete, so I keep them all! Each gator has its own personality when you sit and watch them closely enough. 
Alligator and lily pads. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster State Park, Georgia. March 14, 2019. (30.83686. -082.34394)
Young American Alligator close up of teeth, eye with vertically elliptical pupil, scales. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. March 15, 2019.
 Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  The Northern Parula was by far the most abundant and most vocal bird during our four day Okefenokee Trip. Once I learned which bird went with their distinct call, I realized they were everywhere! The northern parula, Setophaga americana, is a small warbler. It breeds in eastern North America. Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge between Minnie Lake and Big Water. March 14, 2019. Birds and reptiles! Large wading birds and huge reptiles of the order Crocodilia! That is what the Okefenokee is all about. It's a wildlife photographer's dream!  Double-crested Cormorant perched on a dead Cypress snag on Billy's Lake in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Friday, March 15, 2019 at 12:04 PM.  Looking through a pair of binoculars while birding on a lake in the Okefenokee Swamp Stephen C Foster State Park in Georgia. Zeiss Conquest HD binoculars. Photo taken with iPhone 7. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.  American Bittern camouflage in marsh grasses in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, Stephen C Foster State Park. The American bittern Botaurus lentiginosus is a species of wading bird in the heron family.It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. I was a bit surprised that the birding didn't seem as good this year as has it had been in the past. In 2017, there were Little Blue Herons, both white and blue, Great Egrets and Double Crested Cormorants everywhere. I recall eBird telling me to double check my lists as the counts seemed too high! So perhaps this year was normal, and 2017 was higher than normal. Nevertheless, we did encounter several birds throughout our trip.  A Pileated Woodpecker behind a tree on the Trembling Earth trail boardwalk at the Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, is a large woodpecker native to North America. Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 6:52 PM.  New for me on this year's paddling excursion was my new pair of Zeiss Conquest HD binoculars that I bought from Redstart Birding last month. I clipped the strap to my canoe seat with a carabiner just in case. At times it was a pain to swap back and forth between my camera and the binoculars, but the clarity and the field of view with the Zeiss optics was unbeatable! It was much easier to locate the birds and wildlife with the binoculars, switch and fire away with the Nikon D500, and then go back to the Zeiss once the shot was captured. I enjoyed watching the quirky behavior of the Parulas through the binoculars.  A pair of binoculars in hand while birding on a lake in the Okefenokee Swamp Stephen C Foster State Park in Georgia. Zeiss Conquest HD binoculars. Photo taken with iPhone 7. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.  Copulating pair of Red-shouldered Hawks seen in the Stephen C Foster RV campground. March 15, 2019 at 9:44 AM.  The trees and swamp waters echoed all through the night with the calls of the Barred Owls. At times, sleeping under a tent, the calls were loud enough and right overhead to wake us from a sound sleep. Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  American Alligator on floating peat mat; Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 13, 2019. ©www.williamwisephoto.com An excerpt from William Bartram's Travels, published in 1791.
William Bartram was a botantist, artist, and nature writer that explored the southeastern United States around the time of the American Revolution (1773-1776). He was a scientist, creationist and Christian that gave glory to the Author for all the wonderful works he observed and documented in his book, Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message
American Alligator close up profile of teeth and scales
My daughter has always been the captain of our canoe. She sits in the stern and controls the trolling motor while I photograph all the critters. But last Christmas she got a GoPro camera, and it came with us to the swamp.
Over the course of this four day trip, she collected some great footage and made a video of her own. I really enjoyed seeing some of the clips that she produced and wove some together with my still photos. Here is one of the gator we encountered on our 2019 paddling trip. It was a medium-sized gator basking on a floating peat mat on Billy’s Lake, just up from the Stephen C. Foster State Park canal. 
Medium sized American Alligator basking on floating peat mat bog in front of water lily pads. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park.
Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  A Pileated Woodpecker behind a tree on the Trembling Earth trail boardwalk at the Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. Okefenokee swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, is a large woodpecker native to North America. Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 6:52 PM. (©www.williamwisephoto #201903047_DT142928589) A loud call breaks the warm, still afternoon air. “Are there monkeys in the Okefenokee Swamp?”, my young daughter asks. “No. That’s a bird”, I tell her. “Watch over there.” In a moment, a flaming red crest appears from behind the trunk of the tree, peering in our direction as it searches another soft spot in the bark to hunt for an insect meal.
“The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest” says Cornell’s wonderful website. I’ve come across several Pileated Woodpeckers in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia; more often hearing them than seeing them. But a few in particular have given me the privilege of a swamp photo session! Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Large Alligator with mouth open showing teeth; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. In 1875, The Atlanta Constitution published the dramatic headline: “We now announce to our readers, and the people of Georgia, that we are fitting up an expedition for a complete and thorough exploration of Okefinokee. The full details of the plan and expedition will be published soon – if they come out alive.” Over the next months, the paper released many exciting stories from the Okefenokee Swamp. Here is an excerpt from May 25, 1875:
 Creation Speaks is a Biblical teaching ministry that uses nature writing and photography to glorify our Creator and teach the truth of creation. “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" Job 12:7-9  March 13, 2019 - An American Bittern camouflaged in marsh grasses in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia; Stephen C Foster State Park. The American bittern , Botaurus lentiginosus, is a species of wading bird in the heron family.It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. "Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power." Romans 1:20, The Living Bible 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 boat pass by. As they went by, the naturalist on board pointed out an American Bittern camouflaged in the marsh grasses. We had paddled right past it, hidden in plain sight! But we can’t be blamed. Even one prominent ornithology website says, “You'll need sharp eyes to catch sight of an American Bittern. This streaky, brown and buff heron can materialize among the reeds, and disappear as quickly, especially when striking a concealment pose with neck stretched and bill pointed skyward” (i). With his bill pointed upward, he blends in perfectly with the tall brown grasses that line the water’s edge. Again, perfectly hidden in plain sight.
But why don’t we see them? In part, we are blinded by an outside force. The Bible states that, “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). And we are also blinded by our own internal biases against the Bible that cause us not to see the evidence of God in creation. When speaking of the past creation and future destruction of this world, Peter wrote, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” (2 Peter 3:5). Even though my daughter and I paddled right by that Bittern and didn’t recognize his presence, he was still there. He was just hidden in plain sight and merely needed to be pointed out to us. For twenty years, I paddled right through life not noticing Christ. But when someone pointed Him out on December 1, 1993, I realized He was there all along, hidden in plain sight and the overwhelming evidence became more and more obvious. i. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Bittern/overview Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Large American Alligator submerged in blackwater tannin swamp bog. Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Stephen C Foster Georgia State Park. March 13, 2019. Psalm 148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: With only an occasional, gentle stroke, our canoe glides easily across the surface of Billy’s Lake in the Okefenokee Swamp. The morning air is still, the water smooth, the entire scene quiet and meditative. From a bit further up the lake, echoing across the water, comes a deep rumble. A second time, the rumble breaks the still air, this time followed by another on our left bank. We stiffen in an attentive hush. Hearing the rumble again, I whisper to my daughter, “The bull gators are bellowing.” What a sound! You hear it, not only with your ears, but with your entire body. Never will you forget those intense, guttural moanings. The dragons of the deep were roaring. This is swamp!
 Waltonpets Furtography is an animal shelter pet adoption and rescue photography blog highlighting the dogs and cats of the Walton County Animal Control shelter in Monroe, Georgia.  Allie was a Labrador mix picked up stray by a Walton County Animal Control officer in Georgia on February 26, 2019. She was rescued on March 11, 2019 by Washington Wilkes DAWGS Rescue!    William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  Pileated Woodpecker; Clarke County, Georgia. Sunday, 2:14 PM - If I sit long enough, almost daily I can hear that loud, distinct call of a Pileated Woodpecker or two near my house. They are typically further off in the woodline across the meadow. But on this gloomy, rainy afternoon, a pair made a direct visit to my backyard. I was sitting on the back patio covering my camera from the blowing mist with the loud pair passed over the yard. One came all the way to the ground and began pecking away at the old, termite infested firewood along the back fence. He stuck around a few minutes foraging up a few dead snags before flying off. Showers and thunderstorms, high near 65. South wind around 5 mph.  Pileated Woodpecker; Clarke County, Georgia.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- Jeremiah 5:22 Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.  Bonaparte`s Gulls frolicking in Atlantic Ocean surf on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Bonaparte`s gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) is a member of the seagull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. Among the smallest of the gull species. It winters along the coasts of North America, and in the Great Lakes. My wife and I made a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Leaving work and the kids behind, we had an evening to ourselves to walk along the beach. Strolling hand-in-hand along the shell covered sands, we laughed along with the Laughing Gulls at all the silly Bonaparte’s Gulls frolicking and wave jumping repeatedly. I also spotted some life birds. Light showers. Cloudy, with a high near 62. South wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.  Myrtle Beach is a city and vacation resort on South Carolina Atlantic coast. The next morning I set out birding with several thousand other people. And this was no normal birding excursion, but Marathon Birding. No, it isn’t what you’re thinking. Marathon Birding sounds like hour after hour of non-stop, high-speed bird watching and listing for a period longer than most people care to do anything. And no, there weren’t six-thousand people actually birding. My Myrtle Beach Birding Marathon wasn’t a figurative birding marathon, it was literal marathon: twenty-six miles of running. Saturday morning I lined up at the starting line of the Myrtle Beach Marathon. At 7 AM, the gun went off and I began that long trip toward a finish line far off in the distance. As the miles wore on, 26.2 of them to be precise, a mental bird list was growing in my head. As my feet began to ache and my quads began to stiffen, repeating a list of birds I had spotted along the journey helped to ease the suffering! Some runners repeat mantras, I repeated a list of birds!  Ring Billed Gull on Myrtle Beach seashore  Double-crested Coromorant in Atlantic Ocean Waves  Gull playing in surf at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Bonaparte`s gull Chroicocephalus philadelphia is in seagull family found mainly in northern North America, one of the smallest gull species. It winters along the coasts of North America, and in the Great Lakes. Myrtle Beach, a city and vacation resort on South Carolina’s Atlantic coast, is the hub of the Grand Strand, a 60-mile string of beaches.  Male Bonaparte`s Gulls flying over Atlantic ocean waves  Horned Grebe; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Bonaparte`s Gull frolicking in Atlantic Ocean surf Myrtle Beach  Bonaparte`s Gull over Atlantic Ocean; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina  Bonaparte`s Gulls frolicking in Atlantic Ocean waves  Bonaparte`s Gull on Myrtle Beach seashore  Ring Billed Gull on Myrtle Beach seashore  Bonaparte`s Gull on Myrtle Beach seashore |
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In December 1993 I came to know the Designer and Creator of this wonderful planet and its creatures: Jesus Christ.
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