Okefenokee Cottonmouth

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

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​Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the southeastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. This is the world's only semiaquatic viper, usually found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes.

Saturday, March 16, 2019 - On the final day of our Okefenokee Swamp canoe trek, my daughter and I came across a nice sized Cottonmouth snake. It was just off the side of the boardwalk of the Trembling Earth trail in Stephen C Foster State Park.

I was amazed how well hidden it was, camouflaged in his brown and black colors that matched the sticks, branches and leaf litter of the swamp. In fact, I would never have spotted it if another hiker hadn’t pointed it out. It was just six feet off the side of the boardwalk and there is no telling how many people just walked on by oblivious of its presence.

After taking a few still shots with my telephoto lens, my daughter wanted some footage with her GoPro camera. Being a bit too far away for a decent video with such a wide-angle camera, I had to make a decison. What good father wouldn’t oblige his daughter? So I jumped off the boardwalk, found a branch, fished the venomous reptile out of the tannin stained waters and tossed him up on the boardwalk at my daughter’s feet!