What’s your favorite cure for the winter doldrums? I can’t settle on one answer, but, as you
might guess, among my top choices would be a trip to Noxubee National Wildlife
Refuge. I visited that area on the drab
and overcast afternoon of December 30.
The Bluff Lake Boardwalk was the first stop. Kinglets, wrens, chickadees, and
Yellow-rumped Warblers called and flitted about in the thickets and cypress
trees. A surprisingly unperturbed Hermit
Thrush watched me from some low branches near a Smilax vine. Hermit Thrushes
are fairly common in these types of habitats, but they generally don’t make
themselves as obvious as this bird did.
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Hermit Thrush
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The boardwalk winds through some of the woods on the north
side of Bluff Lake, ending at an observation deck that provides views of the
egret rookery.
Most of the egrets have migrated
south and won’t be back until spring, so the main attractions right now are the
waterfowl and the Bald Eagles.
I saw cormorants,
coots, Pied-billed Grebes, and some distant Mallards, but no eagles.
However, an Anhinga swam lazily by,
demonstrating why it is also called “snakebird.”
Anhingas lack waterproof feathers and are not
particularly buoyant, so their bodies tend to stay submerged.
This one resembled a miniature Loch Ness
Monster.
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A swimming Anhinga
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From the Bluff Lake Boardwalk, I went to Webster Memorial
Grove.
There is a short woodland trail
and an observation deck over part of Loakfoma Lake.
Gloomy clouds hung low in the sky, portending
rain.
Although this is not always a very
productive spot, there were blackbirds and Canada Geese flying overhead, a
Barred Owl hooting from the woods, and a Common Yellowthroat darting around in
the reeds.
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Loakfoma Lake
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After spending about twelve minutes at Webster Memorial
Grove, I went to Cypress Cove Boardwalk, which is on the west side of Bluff
Lake.
There were only a few ducks and
coots on the water, but that might have been because a Bald Eagle—an apex
predator—surveyed the area from a cypress snag.
The eagle was actually preening when I arrived, and seemed more relaxed
than watchful.
Still, I suspect that
waterfowl don’t like to take too many chances around eagles.
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Bald Eagle
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American alligators were the other apex predators putting in
appearances that afternoon. These two
medium-sized ones were basking on logs near the lake edge, adding yet another slight
undercurrent of danger to the scene. Alligators
are fascinating animals, but you should never be too complacent around them,
especially if you see them in an area where people congregate on a regular
basis. The more accustomed they are to
humans, the more dangerous they can be. Fortunately,
the boardwalks at Noxubee NWR are pretty safe spots to watch them.
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Alligators basking
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As the daylight waned, hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants
came in to roost.
In the photo below, you
can see one cormorant flying, while the others appear as dark specks in the
background trees.
I made one last stop
at Goose Overlook, also on the west end of Bluff Lake, to see the Canada Geese,
Mallards, blackbirds, and sparrows that are usually present during the winter.
After that, it was too gray and dim to see
much of anything, so I headed out, feeling refreshed in the soul.
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Double-crested Cormorants roosting in cypress trees
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