Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, Finis

Transitioning from the Cypress Trail to Observation Building

I do apologize in advance for the number of photos in this post. I got carried away. They're not the best photos in the world but I had such fun taking them! Leaving the Atkeson Cypress Swamp I slogged through a boggy spot (thanks to recent rains) to check out the reed beds and grain fields before hiking the short trail to the Visitor Center's Observation Building. By the way, this is Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.

Two Northern Shovelers are lazily negotiating a path through some cool looking reeds.

You must know how captivating these reeds are. Almost hypnotic in their appeal.

I confess such patterns in nature grab my attention. I forgot all about the Shovelers for a spell.

How pretty they look with the grain field in the background.

I just like this shot. Time to move on towards the Observation Building.

The Visitor's Center has a buffet all laid out for area songbirds and squirrels, who both flew and scurried off as I approached ... except this one lone, brave, cocky Tufted Titmouse.

American Coots, Northern Shovelers and Ring-Necked Ducks

One travels down a gravel pathway a short distance toward a building that's completely hidden by forest and planned growth. The last few yards I'm surrounded by a tall fence and bamboo, no doubt to keep noises down so as to not scare off the birds. Entering the building there are glassed walls that give you the perfect vantage point for bird watching. Off in the distance I see a gaggle of some small waterfowl. Upon later inspection (thanks to Photoshop) I see some Northern Shovelers, American Coots and ... Ring-necked Ducks. I thought they were Scaups until I got a close look at my images at home. Clearly, these are Ring-necked Ducks.

Male Wood Duck

Walking to the other side of the building I spy a pair of Wood Ducks. As many times as I've been here, all along the Refuge, I've never seen Wood Ducks up close and personal. These were paddling away from me, grazing among the reeds, but the light was so beautiful as were their colors.

Ring-Neck Ducks and the cool-o reeds

Juvenile male Mallard and a female Mallard - NOT!
I've learned these are Gadwalls! E-GADS! GAD-Zooks!
(Thanks birding buddy, Eve!)

A pair of Canada Geese

A lone female Red-Breasted Merganser paddle by while Mr. Northern Shoveler ducked down for a treat. I saw two female Red-Breasted Mergansers this morning - no males, and no other mergansers. I sorta felt sorry for them. Where were their little merganser buddies?


Back to the other side of the building where the light directionality made the water glow a rose color. There were my Wood Ducks again.

A pretty shot of more reed beds.

As I was leaving Mr. Wood Duck floated by to bid me adieu. As primitive as the Cypress Trail was, my visit with the waterfowl was peaceful and serene.

Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, Pt. 1

Wood Duck Love!

Keep your fingers crossed that this, my third try to post a new entry, will "take." Blogger kinda went gonzo on me for some reason. This is the story I've been trying to tell you. Tuesday morning I had the honor of meeting the Supervisory Park Ranger of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. She graciously agreed to meet with me to hear about a project that I hope will come to fruition. More about that later if everything works out. After our meeting I took time for myself and strolled around some of my favorite spots there.

See the little bird house?

The first leg of my trek was down the Atkeson Cypress Trail. It's a short 1/2 mile boardwalk adventure through a lowland filled with Bald Cypress. I love this little trail. There are seats built in for sitting and soaking in the peace, however it was just me visiting this day and there was peace aplenty. The day was cloudy with rain showers playing around the edges. The light was so soft and pretty, changing often with the breezes. This veiled light brought out the subtle colors of the lichens and tree bark, mosses and cypress knees. Powder gray skies created stark reflections upon the dark waters. This places feels primeval.

Every ripple in the water made me think a T-Rex was walking toward me!

My last visit here was with my road trip buddy, Carroll. The winds were stronger then and the trees were swaying and dancing. Those of you who read that particular post may remember my mentioning the singing trees. "Singing" as the winds made them rub together and a strange throaty sound filled the air, much as a cellist strums a bow across her instrument's strings. We'd stood there the longest time listening to the trees sing. I was hoping to hear that again today, but the winds were too light.

Hairy Knees

The water is low now and multiple bands of colors ring the bottoms of cypress trees marking the rise and fall of the seasons. Fallen cypress leaves rest like rust-colored feathers below the water, adding a reddish hue to the overall effects. Cypress trees have exquisite bark. Lightly shaggy, with colors of iron and rust that provide the backdrop to light teal lichens and bright green mosses.

Looks sorta like a lightning bolt!

"Bald cypress is a long-lived, deciduous wetland species that grows along rivers, streams and creeks as well as in swamps with slow moving water. It can live up to 600 years old. It is a legendary tree of the Deep South known for its "knees," moss-draped crown, and buttressed trunk. It occurs in the coastal plains along the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean and north through the Mississippi River Valley."

The Boardwalk

"Bald cypress is a very important tree in the swampland ecosystem. It is valuable for wildlife food and cover. Canada geese migrating to the south feed on the seeds. Swamp rabbits and other birds, such as Florida cranes and ducks, also feed on bald cypress. White-tailed deer escape to the cover of bald cypress swamps during hunting season. Many animals find shelter in and around the base of large old-growth trees."

Knee with reflections

"Knees" are present in both pond cypress and bald cypress root systems when they are growing in water. Cypress "knees," or pneumatophores, are cone-shaped extensions of the root system protruding from the ground. Pneumatophores are thought to function as the trees' means of obtaining oxygen for the roots during flooded conditions. Bald cypress and pond cypress are "Trees with knees." (source)

Goodbye trees with skirts!

It's time to say goodbye to the cypress trees and start my short hike to the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Observation Building. Next post, I'll show you what I found!

Hays Preserve, Finis

Today's missive is a gentle goodbye (and I'll return) to the Hays Preserve. From their website: "The Hays Nature Preserve and the Goldsmith Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary together form the City's largest and most undeveloped parklands. We have over 10 miles of trails that wind through bottomlands, swamps, and sloughs, suitable for hiking or mountain biking. Horses are also welcome on the northern trails. Come explore our hardwood forest, walk our fields, and discover our wetlands. Wildlife abounds with deer, rabbits, raccoons, and resident and migratory birds, in fact, this natural area is an important part of the North Alabama Birding Trail. Join us in our efforts to preserve this valuable asset for our children and learn something along the way."

In fact, upon arriving home after my all too brief visit I downloaded a wonderful map that outlined a myriad of hiking trails yet to be taken. You can download maps to the Hays Preserve and Goldsmith Shiffman Wildlife Sanctuary here if you're interested in visiting, which I highly recommend.

Reflections continue to mystify and captivate my attention. You'll see a lot here in my final piece about Hays Preserve. Because I am passionate about land preservation but own no clever quotes of my own I want to leave you all with wise words from some wise folks in between the pretty pictures.

"Let us a little permit Nature to take her own way;
she better understands her own affairs than we."

Michel de Montaigne, translated

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."

Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.
When we see land as a community to which we belong,
we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man
if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature
and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority."

Elwyn Brooks White, Essays of E.B. White, 1977

"When you defile the pleasant streams
And the wild bird's abiding place,
You massacre a million dreams
And cast your spittle in God's face."

~John Drinkwater

"When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves."

David Orr

"There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man
than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before."

Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays

Bat houses at Hays Preserve

From the Organization for Bat Conservation "Bats are extremely important. Yet due to years of unwarranted human fear and persecution, bats are in alarming decline. By putting up a bat house you are helping by giving them a home. You will also benefit from having fewer yard and garden pests, and will enjoy learning about bats and sharing your knowledge with friends and family.

As the primary predators of night-flying insects, bats play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature. And, as consumers of vast numbers of pests, they rank among humanity’s most valuable allies. A single little brown bat can catch hundreds of mosquito-sized insects an hour, and a typical colony of big brown bats can protect local farmers from the costly attacks of 18 million root-worms

"It is imperative to maintain portions of the wilderness untouched
so that a tree will rot where it falls,
a waterfall will pour its curve without generating electricity,
a trumpeter swan may float on uncontaminated water -
and moderns may at least see what their ancestors knew
in their nerves and blood."

Bernand De Voto, Fortune, June 1947

"It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment."

Ansel Adams

"Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time."

~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a caving society

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."

Chief Seattle, 1855

That's it from Hays Preserve. These reflections were mesmerizing, and the sense of place there is peaceful, open and honest. Please make every effort to support Hays Preserve and the Goldsmith Shiffman Wildlife Sanctuary. Quotes come from Quote Garden.

Hays Preserve, Part 3

Where'd I leave off? Ah, yes...meditating. Zenning out. Totally immersed in the water thing. I tell ya this is a peaceful place. It's quiet except for the birds twittering and water babbling and the scritch-scratch of creatures in the brush - undoubtedly more birds. Okay, to be honest the occasional bicycle-riding family would swoop by but things always settled right back down.


The sun is slowly sinking westward which makes the water turn a beautiful blue. When I began this missive I stated that the water gets even more beautiful toward the end of my visit but I'm taking that back. This water is just beautiful, period, regardless of time of day.


I'd spotted a pair of mallards. Around the next bend a small cleared area off the pathway provided a photo opportunity. Despite my moving around the area there were always twigs in front of Mrs. Mallard's lovely self. Mrs. Mallard was completely at ease with my presence across the narrow river but Mr. Mallard was growing more and more nervous.

Mrs. Mallard was clearly enjoying the sunshine. Mr. Mallard was tense.

"Hey! I just got comfortable....my leg up and everything!"

Mr. Mallard is so outta here. Mrs. Mallard eventually joined him but she seemed perturbed. I never saw them again after they disappeared around some brush in the river. My friend had told me the trail ended just ahead and a new trail was being cleared. Time to investigate. Walking along I begin hearing a low rumbling. A waterfall?

Sure enough! A lovely little waterfall spilling water from a hillside stream. This stream feeds the Flint River with clean, clear water. Again with being mesmerized for along with my love of water comes a love of waterfalls! Who doesn't love a waterfall? I stood on the little bridge for a while watching the waterfall and listening to the birds in the trees. Sunshine on my face, shoulders relaxed but beginning to get a little thirsty. Time to begin my trek back to the car. ....but I feel something watching me. .....again.

My heavens, a blue frog! Okay, it's not really a blue frog but a gorgeous tree fungus of some sort. I've never seen fungus with this coloration before. Naturally, I had to walk down to the tree and see all of the fungi on parade.

The bark looks pink here.

I guess the fungi must be of a certain age before attaining that luscious blue coloration. There were other blue ones but the frog is my favorite!

I'm really, really thirsty at this point. The pleasant sun is actually beginning to feel a little too warm since I prepared for cooler temperatures. Still, I have to stop often to look at the water again since the colors are so different.

Next blog will be a wrap-up of the Hays Preserve. I hope you are enjoying the tale as much as I am enjoying the telling!