Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Better Late Than Never

      Although our field trip was postponed quite a few weeks, I was so glad we were able to venture out to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  The sanctuary is an absolutely beautiful place.  I found it so peaceful and relaxing there, except when I walked into a spider web.  I enjoyed looking for creatures hiding among the grasses and alligator flag, and I was amazed to learn  about the Living Machine.  What a great idea!  The worst part of this trip was dealing with the extreme heat.  Other than sweating bullets, I had a great time at the sanctuary and I will definitely visit again if I have the opportunity to do so.  Here are some pictures I took on our journey!

Corkscrew is such a unique area,
the only area left untouched in Southwest Florida
(Other than the boardwalk that was built
throughout the sanctuary, of course)

Saw palmetto is abundant through the sanctuary

Our lovely tour guide, Ariel!

Ariel teaching us about woodstorks

The wildlife sighting board before you venture on the boardwalk.
What a great idea! 

The edge of the cypress dome.
It looked like a mountain!

Yup, no water.  The land was bone dry!

We weren't lucky enough to see any black bears,
but there was signs of one marking its territory
or sharpening its nails on this cypress tree!

A pond apple- one that we learned would not be tasty to eat!

We thought this was a salamander at first,
but we learned it is a five-lined skink!  

Signs of a caterpillar that had rolled up in
this alligator flag leaf

Blurry, but you can see how enormous that
grasshopper is!  I was surprised to learn that it is poisonous.

A green anole!  We watched as it turned different
shades of green as it moved from leaf to leaf.

My favorite picture from the trip- a tree frog!
What a beautiful little guy.

Apparently this is an area where alligators usually thrive.
As you can see, the area is a tad dry right now...

The unique trunk of the cypress tree with a strangler fig
growing around it

I was bummed we didn't see some of these beautiful
animals that people had seen earlier in the day,
but I added things to the board that our class saw!
I wrote in the five-lined skink, the tree frog, and the banana spider.

     These pictures capture some of the beauty we saw in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, but there's nothing like seeing these things in person for yourself.