Our World Tuesday,
ABC Wednesday, and
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N is for Nature Center - A
nature center (or
nature park) is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. (Wikipedia)
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| Jackson, Tennessee, USA, October 10, 2016 |
On Monday we visited the Cypress Grove Nature Park in middle Tennessee.
Since the nature trail we followed is through a Cypress Tree Swamp the entire walk is elevated.
In order to thrive in the swamp, Cypress trees grow aerial roots known as 'knees.' Our weather has been very dry; there was very little water around the trees when we were there. But during the rainy season, water will cover the forest floor.
Along the trail there were several live birds on display. Though the cages were large and surrounded by trees, I was sad to see them in captivity. But there were several family groups with small children, and the children's excitement at seeing the birds was refreshing.
Wild Bird Wednesday: Barred Owl,
Strix varia
Barred Owls are natives of low, wet woods and swampy forests in the eastern half of North America. They build their nests in hollow trees, and eat rodents, small birds, frogs and crayfish. We did not see any songbirds in the Nature Park. I wonder if it was the presence of owls and other predator birds (even though they were all in cages) that kept them away. The caged birds are given mice to eat.
On the other side of the swamp is Wood Duck Lake. The walkway skirted around the edge of the lake to an observation tower.
We did not see any ducks, but the turtles were out enjoying the sunshine. The water looks green at the lake's edge because of the many trees casting their shadows on the water.
This is the view from the observation tower. It was a beautiful sunny day with mild temperatures, and we spent about 2 hours walking through the Nature Park.
Hope you are having a wonderful day!
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NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Along the trail there were several live birds on display. Though the cages were large and surrounded by trees, I was sad to see them in captivity. But there were several family groups with small children, and the children's excitement at seeing the birds was refreshing.
What a great place!
ReplyDeleteI love taking nature walks and the cypress groves made me miss our Florida home ...
ReplyDeleteI'm putting Cypress Grove Nature Park on my list. Next time I'm in that area I'll try to pay it a visit.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great nature park. Great choice for the letter N!
ReplyDeleteIt does look nice, with lots of green trees and a good board walk.
ReplyDeleteThe Barred Owl has such a quizzical look!
wonderful choice... i love place like those, thankfully we have lots of them too here
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful ABC-day / – week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-19n/
That is a beautiful place - I love how they have the boardwalk to make the wet areas accessible.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place. those turtles are really a pile.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a very interesting trail!
ReplyDeleteWonderful spot to wander. Love this type of place.
ReplyDeleteLeslie
abcw team
I love a boardwalk through I've never visited a swamp (must put that on my list of things to do) our boardwarks are usually over peat bogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour on the boardwalk! We me a black Bear on one in Big Cypress Swamp-- it ran away from us and hid not far off.
ReplyDeleteThat looks so fascinating!
ReplyDeleteWe have barred owls in the woods behind our house. I heard them calling out just a little bit ago. In 2010 we helped re-nest 3 baby owls. (I wrote a couple blog posts about it.) That was a great experience!
What an interesting and beautiful place !
ReplyDeleteThat owl does have a quzical look on it's face,
ReplyDeletealthough I don't like birds or animals being
in captivity,
great pictures,
Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.
Looks like an interesting place to visit. Love the owl and turtles.
ReplyDeleteHow I would love to have a chance to walk on that elevated walkway you show us. That must have been a lot of work to build.
ReplyDeletewe have a place like that around here, outside of Albany, NY
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
An interesting walk and park. That's cool how you saw turtles sunning themselves.
ReplyDelete