Canoeing

After a day for the ducks, yesterday was a day for canoeing. Paddling upstream from Mallard Lake, Yellow-bellied Sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta) slid into the water from their sunny perches on logs. Later, a Brown Water Snake(Nerodia taxispilota) and a Banded Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata fasciata) were seen taking advantage of the plentiful sun. In the next few weeks, the canoe trail will be inundated with the songs and colors of neotropical songbirds returning from their wintering grounds in Central and South America to breed in Four Holes Swamp. As the canoe trip ended back at Mallard Lake, a 6-foot Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) slid off the bank and eyed the canoe flotilla from its nearly submerged position in the water.