​Seeing the extremely low waters of the Suwannee River Sill, I began to fear this trip might not be as productive as I had hoped. I took four days off work to make this five-day visit. But would I even be able to get my canoe through the low water to the areas I had hoped to explore?  But, as usual, the Okefenokee never disappoints.  

Low waters caused by drought in the Okefenokee might make paddling difficult and some areas inaccessible, but it isn't totally a bad thing. When water levels are higher, the critters can spread out over the Refuge’s 400,000 acres. But as the swamp dries out, the alligators and other critters tend to congregate in the deeper areas such as the lakes and channels that still contain water. 
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Being a manmade channel controlled by a dam, the Suwannee River Sill on the western side of the swamp typically maintains a decent level of water, even during a drought. And when the water levels are low, the alligators all become visible. Shallow waters and a warm, fall afternoon means a high concentration of big gators along the banks of The Sill! I certainly wasn’t disappointed on this fall trip. There are enough large alligators along the Suwanee River Sill Recreation Area to rival any Florida destination. 

​When I arrived in the Okefenokee on October 25, 2022, I knew the lack of rainfall through the spring and summer would make the swamp waters low... and they certainly were! Walking to the edge of the Suwannee River Sill to launch my canoe into the water, I marveled that I could actually see the bottom! The layer of peat, leaves and muck are typically hidden through the dark, tannin-stained blackwater. 

​Sliding my canoe onto the swamp, the water couldn’t have been more than a foot deep and the bottom of my canoe was scraping the bottom of the channel. I paddled a few feet, then had to use my oar as a push-pole to dislodge from the peat-covered bottom. A few hundred feet of struggling and I realized I just wasn’t going to be able to paddle up the Sill. Bummer. Now what? Thankfully, there was another route to explore without loading up my gear and canoe to travel elsewhere. I headed eastward up the Suwannee River on the brown canoe trail. 

The Suwannee River begins within, and flows through, the Okefenokee. Upon exiting  Billy’s Lake it flows through The Narrows and Mixon's Hammock until it intersects with the dam along The Sill. The Suwannee then continues westward out of the swamp, eventually meandering to the Gulf Coast of Florida.

​The waters appeared to be flowing steadily from the brown canoe trail eastward up the Suwannee River. Being a main river exiting the swamp, I found the Suwannee’s water was deep enough for paddling. Since I wasn’t getting anywhere on the Sill canal, I’d try going eastward up the brown trail.

The landscape of the brown trail between The Sill and The Narrows is mostly open sky and the canal is lined by tall Maidencane grasses. Large stumps hint at the giant Cypress that stood in this area a century ago. Only a few young, slender Cypress point skyward now. The channel of the Suwannee is fairly narrow as it passes through Mixon’s Hammock and the current is very strong, especially in times of low water. I was thankful that the swift water kept the canal dug out deep enough to use my trolling motor, for paddling alone would have been exhausting. 

​I made it quite slowly three-miles upriver against the current before turning around just before The Narrows, a constricted tunnel of vegetation that leads to Billy’s Lake. Upon turning around and going with the current, the motor was no longer needed, and paddling was at a minimum just to keep my canoe steered in the right direction.  I love the feeling of a lazy Okefenokee afternoon drift downstream. This is the life!

Since the fall days were shortening, I wanted to be sure to get back to the boat launch before it got too dark. After packing my gear back into my vehicle and loading the canoe on the trailer, I still had an hour or so of beautiful golden hour sunset, so I decided to take a walk along the Suwannee River Sill. Being a Tuesday evening, I was the only visitor aside from the wildlife.

Just below the dam, a small group of White Ibis were foraging the banks of the Suwannee River and a cautious gator swam submerged in the mirror-like blackwater that reflected the October fall colors. A bit further northward up the grassy embankment, a young White-tailed Deer buck snapped to attention when he caught my scent. The same Snowy Egret that I had photographed from my canoe an hour earlier was still searching the water while a small Killdeer ran along the canal. And a few big alligators still lay out on the banks to take in the last bit of warmth before dragging themselves into the cooler waters for the night. 

​There are several year-round resident birds within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. But some of those “common” birds are much easier to find than others. No matter when you visit, I can guarantee you are going to see several dozen Eastern Phoebes. Also year round, but more heard than seen, is the Gray Catbird. Red-shouldered Hawks and Pileated Woodpeckers always seem to be screaming from the tall cypresses any time of the year. And there is always an opportunity to see some of the larger wading birds in the Okefenokee.
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One of the more elusive Okefenokee year-round birds is the Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax. Although I had photographed them in other locations, it wasn’t until March 2019 that I spotted my first within the refuge boundaries. Just like the name might imply, I found my first Black-crowned Night Heron at night along the Suwannee River Sill and a photo wasn’t possible. I got another opportunity to photography one at dusk while camping at the Okefenokee Round Top shelter. 

Black-crowned Night Herons are described as stockier and more compact than the other herons and egrets. They don’t extend their necks too often and sit more “hunchbacked”. They also have shorter and thicker bills than the other long-legged waders of the swamp. Adults are easy to discern from their cousins, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, because of the different color caps. But some skill and familiarity is needed to distinguish the juveniles of the two species.

My October 2022 Okefenokee paddling trip was my lucky break for a Black-crowned Night Heron photograph. As I turned my canoe off the Suwannee River Sill to head up-current along the Suwannee River (brown trail), a juvenile sat perfectly posed out in the open fishing from an old, wooden pylon. And not too much further up the canoe trail, two adults flushed from the scrub that lined the channel. One stopped long enough for a good photograph as well. ​

​Some critters are more accustomed to the presence of people than others. But it always amazes me when I come across an oddly acclimated bird within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. On my Fall 2022 paddling excursion, a curious Snowy Egret played leapfrog with my canoe for almost a mile!

It was a relaxing drift downstream along the Suwannee River heading from Mixon’s Hammock toward the Suwannee River Sill. A little way ahead I first spotted this fishing egret. Thinking it would fly off as soon as it spotted my canoe, I got a few shots from a distance. But surprisingly it stayed in place until I came quite close. Then it lifted off and flew about 100 feet ahead, again waiting for me. It did this leapfrogging several times and followed me nearly a mile back to The Sill.
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All the while it pretended to fish, but also kept a curious eye on me, giving me several great photographic opportunities. I suppose some birds have no reason to fear people. Perhaps others have migrated from a place where humans are a more common sight. I don’t know this Snowy’s story, but it certainly wanted to learn mine! 

One of my goals is to photograph as many different species as I can within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. When threats come against the sanctity of the Okefenokee, such as the current nearby mining efforts, I want my photographs to be a part in showing how many different species rely upon the Refuge.

So through all of my explorations to the Okefenokee, I have kept a species checklist and I’m always hoping to grab a new critter observation on each trip. But even after more than ten trips, some of the “easy” birds still evade my lens. Birds I commonly see everywhere else, such as Canada Geese and Blue Jays, just don’t show up when I’m within Refuge boundaries (although I hear those pesky Jays calling, they don’t come close enough for a photograph).

The Wood Stork, a signature bird of the swamp, had also become a nemesis bird for me within the Okefenokee boundaries. I’ve paddle miles and miles of canoe trails; I’ve taken several guided boat tours, I’ve what the trails and drove the wildlife drives, but no Wood Storks!
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But this was my trip! Before I even launched my canoe from the parking area of the Suwannee River Sill Recreation area, a Wood Stork sat regally perched atop a tall Cypress. All those excursions deep into the Okefenokee in years past only to find my first Wood Stork within the Refuge near a parking lot! I also caught a second Stork photograph a little bit up the Suwannee River towards Mixon’s Hammock. I finally got my Stork! Now where are those Jays! Lol 

A few weeks before my October 2022 trip, I was told by a fellow iNaturalist user that the water levels were low in the Okefenokee, but I wasn’t prepared for what I found! When I arrived on in the Refuge on October 25, 2022, my first outing was to be on The Sill Recreation Area on the western side of the swamp just before the Stephen C Foster State Park campground. As soon as I turned the corner and the channel came in sight, I could see the waters were very low. The canal is typically deep and wide, but not now.

Normally it’s a short walk with my canoe from the parking lot to the water’s edge. There are even times where the lower parking lot is totally submerged. But today I had to drag my canoe about eighty feet just to reach the water’s edge! I had a feeling that paddling was going to be difficult and my trolling motor was out of the question in the low waters. 

The low water exposed some of the cypress stumps and debris usually concealed by the dark, tannin-stained blackwaters. I a few places, the pylons of the railroad tracks that once crossed areas of the swamp during the logging days of the early 1900’s were visible.

​My biggest hope upon seeing the low water was that the alligators and birds weren’t spread out through the swamp like they are in times of high water, but would be more concentrated along the lakes and canals for some prime photography. This was certainly the case. I shot twenty gators, a Great Blue Heron and Wood Stork along the Sill before even getting out of my vehicle! 

​My friends at church ask how I could dare to paddle the Okefenokee - especially alone! - with so many "monstrous alligators" lurking about. In my machismo, I'd love to feed the impressions of danger and dread by those not familiar with gators; fantasies conjured by dramatic YouTube videos and sensational news stories. But the truth is, those alligators don't really pose that big a threat!

Thousands upon thousands of alligators live at peace alongside people. The American Alligator can be found in ten states. Kent A. Vliet writes, "In fact, the alligator's range includes four of the top ten most populous states in the United States." Yes, they do congregate in our wildlife refuges and parks, but they can also be found without incident in neighborhood water retention ponds, roadside ditches and at times seem to be quite fond of golf courses! For those who live within the range of the alligator, they aren't the sharp-toothed predators lurking in the dark waters always ready to kill. They are simply another part of the landscape and get about as much notice as a local park Mallard. 

So while I'd love to tell folks some heart-pounding stories of my adventures through the Okefenokee Swamp while being assailed by fierce crocodilians, that just has never been the case. Most of the time, if they are brave enough to even stay in sight, they simply watch me drift by as I watch them. But that doesn't make a good story! 

​It’s time for a fall trip to my favorite destination: the Okefenokee Swamp! It’s been a long, busy summer so I’m happy to get away for a few days of absolute peace. I’ll be making a solo trip and hitting a few of the canoe trails that I haven’t covered yet. 

I plan to leave around 4 AM and make the drive down to arrive at the Stephen C Foster State Park and launch by 10 AM. I have a wilderness permit reserved for the Canal Run platorm the first night. I’ll be able to hit a section of the orange trail I haven’t yet explored (between Floyd's Island and the Suwannee Canal).
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After a night in the swamp, I’ll paddle back to Stephen C Foster State Park, load up and drive around the swamp to the eastern entrance at the Suwannee Canal Recreation area where I have a cabin rented at Okefenokee Pastimes for two nights. I’ll spend the next two days paddling an out-and-back down the pink trail to Monkey lake and then the green trail from Kingfisher Landing to Bluff Lake and back.

​My current species count (see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/www-okefenokee-photography-by-william-wise) within the refuge stands at 266. It will be difficult to increase that count too much, but I’ll certainly be able to reach over 2,000 photographed observations within the great Okefenokee on this trip. Looking forward to it! 

I decided to spend eBird's October Big at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta, Georgia. Not far from my vehicle, a spectacle played out overhead and a surprise appeared at my feet.  

I had just walked to the first wetland cell and an Osprey successfully dove for a fish. Almost immediately, a Bald Eagle materialized, swooping and diving after the Osprey's meal. Simultaneously while attempting to record this aerial battle, a Least Bittern flushed from the reeds near my feet. Being a life bird, I had to go after the bittern as well! I never saw how the eagle-osprey scene played out, but I did get some good shots of all. All this within the first 20 minutes. I knew it would be a good day! 

By the end of my 6 hour visit, I had logged 52 bird species, a dozen or more alligators, a Greensnake and a Ribbonsnake. Great day! 

"Maple" was a playful blue Pitbull puppy that was brought to the animal shelter as a stray. I had the pleasure of doing her adoption photography session on September 28, 2022 and she was saved by a rescue on October 5, 2022!

Other than a few birding trips, I haven't concentrated on backyard birding for the last few months. Late summer can be a bit unproductive, and way too hot, for birding to be enjoyable. But the mornings have cooled down and the fall migration has begun! ​

The Joro Spiders have begun to hatch and once again invade Georgia. Their large, strong, sticky three-dimensional webs have been going up on every power line, bush and tree throughout northeast Georgia over the last few weeks. 

First arriving in 2018, this invasive species has continued to spread throughout Georgia. iNaturalist spottings have now spread to Tennessee and the Carolinas. The single observations posted this year in outlying states will no doubt continue to spread over the next few years, unless something happens to control this invader.  

"Duke" was a handsome male Bluetick Coonhound mix that was picked up by an animal control officer on September 13, 2022. "Duke" and I had a Pet Rescue Furtography session on September 15, 2022. Coonhounds are always so photogenic and make my job much easier. No owner came to look for him and he was rescued by Atlanta Lab Rescue on September 20, 2022!