Diario del proyecto Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Scanning the shore with my binoculars around Billy’s lake, I was a bit startled when...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 46503864 - Spotted Sandpiper; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 2, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

Scanning the shore with my binoculars as my daughter piloted our canoe around Billy’s lake, I was a bit startled when I saw a small group of four plump sandpiper birds gathered on a downed cypress tree. Sandpipers in the Okefenokee? This was definitely a first for me. Since our Okefenokee excursions have always been in March, I had not spotted a Spotted Sandpiper in the swamp before! About an hour later, near the entrance of The Narrows, I saw another group of 9 standing on a log in the shade.

Apparently, I wasn’t the first person to be surprised at seeing them. In 1913, Albert Wright and Francis Harper explored the Okefenokee for the American Ornithological Society. In the society’s scientific journal and official publication, The Auk, they wrote of the delight in finding the Spotted Sandpiper within the great Swamp:

“The Spotted Sandpiper was a distinct surprise as a summer resident of the swamp. Not only is this several hundred miles south of its known breeding range, but one would not expect it to find a suitable haunt in the Oke-finokee. The lakes and runs are practically shoreless; they are simply open spaces in the otherwise continuous cypress swamps. However, the logs and driftwood near the edges of Billy’s Lake serve as teetering stands; half a dozen were seen here on May 11, one on June 5, and still another a few days later. Earlier in the spring one or two were reported from the canal. The species probably does not breed in this latitude.”

According to allaboutbirds. com, Spotted Sandpipers are “the most widespread sandpiper in North America, and they are common near most kinds of freshwater, including rivers and streams, as well as near the sea coast”… and apparently blackwater swamps as well! Looking at eBird’s illustrated checklist for Charlton County, the Spotted Sandpipers are most commonly observed in the Okefenokee in April and May. So I was happy to be able to make a May visit to the swamp (thanks COVID19!) and spot this Spotted Sandpiper!

© Photographer: William Wise | Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. May 2, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

Between the open skies of Billy’s Lake and the prairie landscape of Mixon’s Hammock lies a twisting, constricted canoe trail called The Narrows. The sky overhead is darkened by Black Gum, Cypress, Bay, Red Maple and Dahoon Holly. The eye-level view left and right is overcrowded by Titi, Hurrah Bush and other shrubs. Unless the refuge cutter boats have recently passed through, sharp sticks and twigs stab toward the narrow channel hoping to impale the unskilled kayaker.

The current flows westward from Billy’s Lake toward the Sill. This seems like an advantage to the westbound paddler, but don’t be deceived. The current can carry you along so quickly that steering becomes difficult and pushes you into the scratchy shrubs lining the narrow channel. Many of these protruding limbs are tipped with spiders, and even snakes, to jump aboard the canoe. Even though the current is against you heading back to Billy’s Lake, I have found it a much more enjoyable journey with time as the steering is much more manageable.

Okefenokee Journal from Tuesday, March 10, 2015; 4:13 PM -

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 29932812 - Green Heron; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 10, 2015. ©williamwisephoto.com

After pitching camp in the Stephen C Foster State Park campground, the game with my daughter was to see who would spot our first alligator. So we headed down the Trembling Earth Nature Trail and onto the boardwalk that heads into the swamp. On our way, two woodpeckers chased each other, spiraling around and through the trees; a doe and fawn casually fed on the grass near the cabins, and a Green Anole darted across our path.

Near the back of the trail loop, a spur of the boardwalk heads 2,000 feet out into the standing water of the swamp. Underneath lies 2 to 3 feet of dark tinted water, but very clear to the bottom, revealing submerged debris, logs, grasses and vegetation. As we neared the mid-point of the boardwalk, a Green Heron burst aloft between the bushes on my left and stopped on a limb to check out the intruders. An agitated rooster-like crown covered his head but then smoothed back as he settled on a perch; beautiful, shimmering, iridescent shades of blue, green, and tan. To my daughter’s impatient dismay (she was ready to see what lie up ahead), I stayed with the heron for at least ten minutes, following him from perch to perch, waiting for the opportune “Kodak moment.”