Corkscrew Swamp

 When we traveled to corkscrew swamp I was unsure where it was, what I was going to see, or what I was going to learn. The weather was bleak at best and the smell of smoke from the far away forest fires lingered in the air. The preserve was located far from any civilization and was in its own little nook of the road, I doubt I would be able to find it again. Standing at the entrance, the professor explained what the whole place was about with the National Audubon Society being the biggest role player in its existence. The professor's apparent love for the place made more interested as time went on, he knew every plant, animal, and sound that we heard. We stopped at a couple places to talk about wood storks, the population of which had decreased exponentially when man came to Florida. I found it really interesting to hear about the history of the birds and their plume feathers, which at one time were worth twice there the weight in gold! With the rain coming down we headed inside and huddled around three large displays. They showed the everglades in the pristine condition in the late 1800's till present day, which are now being strangled by roads and civilization. I found it disturbing to see how we have ruined one of the most important natural resources we have. We then went to go talk about the Living Machine, which is an environmentally friendly way to recycle and treat water with the use of plants. I could see it being implemented in every household and how easy it would be to make. The swamp was underneath a huge boardwalk system which expanded far into the distance. On one side of the boardwalk you could see the untouched forest, with all the low lying palms and taller slash pines. The other side had much less plant life, indicating a recent prescribed burn. The burns help limit the amount of fuel for unintended fires and also help wildlife come to the area. We felt the boardwalk have a slight downward slope and came into a marsh. In front of us was a forested area and behind us the palm filled land. It was absolutely amazing to see three distinct, different ecological zones thriving right next to each other.  It felt like I had traveled from Florida, to North Carolina, to Pennsylvania in an instant. The marsh was filled with grasses and we searched for deer and other wild life to no avail. The forest was much more interesting, every twist and turn revealed something different. One thing that was cool was how the Skipper Butterfly would go inside an unopened leaf and eat, which lead to a circular pattern of holes when the leaf finally opened. Coming around one corner we saw a White Ibis which was being stalked by a huge alligator. We waited in suspense for any sign of seeing it getting gobbled up by the gator. A bit further we saw more gators, a total of five for the day. Turning around, we saw a Red-shouldered Hawk perched on a branch, it was awe-inspiring. It was one of most beautiful birds I had ever seen with my own eyes. As we left, I felt happy for the things I had learned, saw, and experienced on our visit, and told myself to come back and see it again.