Domino and Claudia hear a gator plop into the water
This morning Claudia, Domino and I paddled Deep Bayou in the Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. An unseasonably cool morning prompted us up early to get in a quick paddle before starting the days work activities. We saw a lot of wildlife including deer, wild hogs, alligators, anhingas (snake birds), prothonotary warblers, summer tanangers, wood ducks, yellow billed cuckoo, bard owl and a coopers hawk. Even with all that, I’m sure I left something out. The real highlight of the trip was seeing the prothonotary warblers. The sun popping up over the trees was their cue to spring into action and parade their brilliant yellow colors along the banks of the bayou. We must have seen several dozen in two hours and they gave a spectacular show. A wild hog swam across the bayou in front of us at one point which is something I’d never seen before.
My friends Ruth & Tom organized a trip earlier in the week along the same waterway. If you get a chance, it’s a really nice spot to visit.
A quick rest break during group trip