Okefenokee Birding

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.