Santa Fe Swamp field trip
March 2015 |
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Sixteen people joined biologist Mike Drummond of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department for another awesome spring trip to the Santa Fe Swamp. The more 23 plant species explored included a bright orange milkwort whose name means yellow and a yellow one whose name means small. Mike shared many such interesting tidbits, as well as pointers for distinguishing plant species. Seen along the trail were large swarms of dragonflies, including Eastern Pondhawks, Blue Dashers, Little Blue Dragonlets and Carolina Saddlebags; at least five species of butterfly, including Zebra, Palamedes and Spicebush Swallowtails; and more than 20 species of birds, including Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Northern
Harrier. Additional entertainment was provided by a trio of young raccoons noisily chasing one another on a large snag in the swamp.
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