Noxubee from New Angles

I’ve written before about the fascinating place that is Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.  The two afternoons that my family and I spent there this November definitely attest to the refuge’s uniqueness.  Our first excursion this month occurred on the 4th.  The daytime temperature was in the mid-70s, so it was hardly surprising that we saw three alligators almost right off the bat.  Being ectothermic, these reptiles can’t internally regulate their body temperatures, and instead rely on the external environment for heating and cooling.  The first two gators of our day were in the shallows of Bluff Lake, basking in the afternoon sun.

Large alligator

Larger alligator!

This smaller alligator, which was basking in the spillway, looked like a silvery bit of debris or a half-submerged log in the calm, murky water.

I like how the cypress foliage in this photo reflects on the water's surface, adding rusty hues to the muddy green.

A quarter-sized (including the leg span) orb-weaver spider seemed to float in midair as it built its web between a road sign and some nearby vegetation.

Great Blue Herons and a couple of Great Egrets foraged in Bluff Lake.  Hopefully, they were wary of the alligators!

It was nearly dark by the time we arrived at Goose Overlook, an observation platform over part of Bluff Lake, but there was still light enough for us to watch a very large cottonmouth wind its way through the shallow water.  Unlike the nonvenomous water snakes, which swim with their bodies submerged and their heads sticking out of the water, cottonmouths swim with their bodies parallel to the water’s surface.

In addition to the various chirps and chips of forest and marsh songbirds and the barking of the Canada Geese that were settling in for the night, we heard the sonorous Hoo hoo hoo hooooo hoo of two Great Horned Owls.  Visitors are not allowed to be on the refuge trails after dark, so we made the most we could of the waning daylight before packing up and heading out.  Only a few minutes before we left, I attempted a Barred Owl impression (Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for YOU-all?) and was delighted when a real one called from deep in the swampy woods.  Had the owl really responded to my noise, or was it just coincidence?  I suspect the latter, but it was nevertheless a fun incident.  Remember the Barred Owl—it will be significant later on.

Goose Overlook, November 4

Here is a picture of Goose Overlook on a different date: November 22.  Obviously, it was a different time of day, as well, and the forest birds—including Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, and Golden-crowned Kinglets—chattered away much more noisily.

One of my sisters drew my attention to a Wilson’s Snipe feeding in the mud.  This chunky shorebird is commonly found in marshy areas during the winter in Mississippi.

There were other good birding spots on this day at Noxubee, including Cypress Cove, where we saw a Belted Kingfisher.  The rust-red band across the belly marked this one as a female.  The male lacks the reddish band, but, like the female, it has the blue chest band.  True to their name, kingfishers are master hunters, diving into lakes and ponds to catch fish with their spear-like bills.

An American Kestrel darted up to the top of a cypress snag at the Cove.  This was a male kestrel, as you can tell from the slate-blue wings and the prominent dark bar near the end of the tail.  Kestrels tend to bob their tails when perched, and that is exactly what this bird was doing.  I noticed that most of the songbirds in the area became very quiet when this small falcon made its appearance.  Kestrels feed primarily on small birds, rodents, and insects.

We greatly enjoyed our visit.  As we headed out of the refuge at about 4:00 p.m., a Barred Owl flew in front of our van and landed in an oak tree on the side of the road.  Wow!  This was even more interesting than the aural encounter with an owl of the same species during the last visit.  The owl seemed nonchalant about our presence, sitting still and allowing us to take several photographs.  Eventually, we had to leave, but our afternoon could not have ended on a better note.  Of course, days like this are the normal state of things at the fascinating Noxubee NWR.

Photo Essay: Spring at Noxubee NWR

Spending time in nature provides many benefits—not only physical ones, but intellectual and emotional ones, as well.  Let's take a look at one of my favorite natural places to visit: Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

It’s a warm, sunny day in late March.  Looking down from Goose Overlook, I marvel at how the surface of Bluff Lake reflects the blue skies and cottony white cumulus clouds like a mirror.

A Northern Cardinal chirps out his song from the spiky branches of a fallen cypress tree.  Breeding season is in full swing, at least for some species.

A Great Egret hunts patiently in the shallows.  Its black legs and toes are long and spindly, facilitating wading.

Splash!  Lightning-quick reflexes are a must.

On the prowl…

 “What’re you lookin’ at?”

The main food source here seems to be minnows.  This egret probably had a lot of success today. 

A crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) trails up the trunk of a tree near the boardwalk.  Note the red-and-yellow trumpet-shaped flowers and the long, unlobed leaves.

On Woodpecker Trail, which loops through a section of pine woods, a few common blue violets (Viola sororia) can be seen near the path.  Woodpecker trail is also a good place to observe endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, but I don’t hear or see any today.  Pileated, Red-bellied, and Downy Woodpeckers make themselves noticed, though.  Songbirds, including Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Chickadees, and Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped, and Pine Warblers, sing and flit around in the lower forest canopy.

The delicate white blossoms of a flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) stand out against the subdued grays and greens of the forest behind them.

I go back to Bluff Lake, this time to the Cypress Cove Boardwalk, and observe a large American alligator basking in the sun.  Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped Warblers are vocal here, just as they were on Woodpecker Trail.  Red-winged Blackbirds add their bugling to the mix. 

The Yellow-throated Warblers may be vocal, but they’re not necessarily easy to photograph.  One moves down to the lower branches of a cypress, but is backlit at first.

I try photographing it from another angle.  Yellow-throated Warblers are actually fairly subdued in plumage—the sunny yellow of the throat is offset by the subtle slate-gray back, white wing bars, black mask, and black streaks against white flanks.

As the sun drops lower in the sky, I take a look at a large cottonmouth sunning itself on a log at the edge of Bluff Lake.  Although I’m glad to be a safe distance from this very venomous snake, I do not begrudge it the space it inhabits here at Noxubee.  It fills a niche in the ecosystem that is no less significant than those of the more easily-appreciated things in nature—e.g., birds, flowers, and trees. 

It’s getting late.  Bird-voiced treefrogs begin calling from the cypress swamp, their whistling songs mingling with the piping ones of spring peepers.  I know that, later in the season, the spring peepers will be silent, but green treefrogs, gray treefrogs, cricket frogs, and others will fill in the chorus.  I will return soon.