CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCTUARY

 We continued on south to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary operated by the Audubon Society.  We had purchased tickets online last night for the 1pm time slot.  They only allow so many people at a time on the boardwalk.  The boardwalk is a 2.25 mile loop through the swamp (a lot of which is dry this time of year) where you can see birds and animals in their natural habitats up close.

It was very warm and the sun was intense.

A lot of beautiful Bromeliad in the trees.

About a 4 ft brown snake

Egret

Alligator

a little alligator

And another alligator

I almost had Darrell convinced it wasn't real because it did not move or even blink.

A Turtle

It was amazing.

The Birds we saw:

Tri-colored Heron

Great Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron

Yellow-Crowned Heron

Green Heron

Night Heron

Egret

Great White Egret

White Ibis

Northern Parula

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Carolina Wren

Grey Catbird

Northern Cardinal

Grackle

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Black Vulture

Red-shouldered Hawk

Swallow-tailed Kite

Black and White Warbler

Northern Mockingbird

And Anhinga sitting on a nest of fluffy white chicks

I was able to identify a lot of these with my Merlin Bird ID by sound.

Afterwards we drove on south to Everglades City where we had dinner at the Diving Pelican Restaurant and spent the night at Everglades City Motel.

It was a great day.

SATURDAY IN SANTA FE

I'm on my own all day Saturday, then.

I went to Abiquiu to see Georgia O'Keeffe's home.  It was great.  I really enjoyed it.

We woke up to a bit of a snow and it continued to come down a little.  I headed out anyway, hoping it would not last.  

First stop, Starbucks for extra caffeine (not much sleep last night).

Headed north to Abiquiu

And it did start to clear up.

I checked into the Welcome Center where I waited for our bus to the house.

The view from her house.

A small group of 12 and our tour guide.

The tour was great, but we couldn't take pictures of the inside.

I can understand her fascination - the light and shadows and colors, oh my.

The door she painted so often.

She's holding a picture of Georgia's gesture painting of the road in the background.

The painting of the trees down below.

After the tour around noon, I headed back towards Santa Fe.

I made a stop at the Audubon Center and went for a little walk.

 I heard the Wild Turkeys, but I didn't actually see them.  I saw Juncos with rufous backs, I guess they are Dark-eyed Juncos but just differently colored than the ones I see at home.  I also saw Whited Breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskens, small Spotted Towhees, and a Ruby-crested Kinglet.  Lots of House Finches singing up a storm.  Oh, and Ravens.