Journal 9: Reflect on the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Field Trip.

 

 For our final class field trip we went to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. When we arrived, we were given a brief history about the Sanctuary. The National Audubon Society has been protecting and preserving the 11,000 acres since the beginning. They protected the land when all of the forests around were being clear cut and ended up preserving all of that land. They even risked their own lives to stay on watch to protect birds from hunters when they tried to kill them for their feathers. Hunters would kill these birds for their feathers and then sell them to put on hats. Along Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary’s boardwalk you can see Pine Flatwood, Wet Prairie, Pond Cypress, Bald Cypress, Marsh and Lettuce Lakes.                                                                                                                     

 The first habitat we came across was the Pine Flatwood. In this habitat we were able to see trees like the Slash Pine, Saw Palmetto and Cabbage Palms. While walking down the boardwalk we were able to see vultures flying in the sky. I learned a few interesting facts about these birds. They use wind tunnels to circle in the sky.  Vulture’s feet only appear white, they actually poop on their legs to cool themselves down. A vulture’s diet mainly consists of dead animals. If they can not find dead animals they will resort to killing their own food.  

After heading past the Wet Prairie our class came across the Bald Cypress Trees. After moving further into the cypress habitat we saw the Pond Cypress. The cypress trees are unique, because they have knees. These knees make up the cypress trees extensive root systems. The knees are a major reason why they have been around so long. While in the cypress area we came across many different types of birds. One of the birds that I found interesting was the Great White Egret. The bird was on the boardwalk only a few feet away from us. I never realized how big this bird actually was until we were only a few feet away from it.  This is one of the reasons why I love University Colloquium. Without this class I would have never had the opportunity to see all of these animals and experience these different places.