Harris Neck NWR, Georgia

Brunswick, GA: If you have never been here it is definitely worth the trip. You may want to bring a bicycle though as the place is huge and there are many places accessible by bike that would take too long to reach on foot and not at all accessible by car. Sadly, it is also a place with limited canoeing. There is a public boat launch adjacent to the refuge that will grant access to the tidal marshes. I spent about three hours here, until darkness set in and I was forced to leave.

Birds: If you are into birdwatching it is a great place. The diversity of habitat is astounding; from field, to hardwood forest, to salt and fresh water tidal marshes, and freshwater swamps. Here I saw white ibis, moorhens, american coots, coopers hawks, bald eagles, great egrets to mention just a few.

Armadillo: I also came across an armadillo! Been a long time since I've seen one of those little armored opossums! Odds are we will one day find them in Maryland as well. The 9 Banded Armadillo came from Mexico, crossing on its own into Texas in the 1800's. It was introduced to Florida at about the same time and has been expanding its range ever since. Currently, on the East Coast, they can be found as far north as North Carolina.

American Alligator: On a seriously cool note, I saw my first alligator of the trip today. I was wondering if I would encounter any as it has been so unseasonably cold and they, being cold blooded, are likely not very active. Of course, the one I saw was not very active -- I don't think I saw him move once! The american alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was brought to near extinction by harvesting for its skin and meat and general slaughter because of fear. Today there are more than a million alligators from Virginia south, though you don't encounter them in quantity until you get to South Carolina -- they don't much care for the cold! If alligators remind you of dinosaurs, that is probably because they were around when dinosaurs were ruling the planet -- they are basically little dinosaurs who got the upper hand when their bigger cousins died off and they survived! They can grow to 15 feet long and weigh almost 1000 pounds. Clearly an animal to reckoned with. They eat mostly fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals; sometimes unfortunate pets and, rarely, humans.

Palm Trees: Cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) can be found from Florida to southern Virginia. They are, however, not trees at all, but are, rather, more closely related to grasses. They are a monocot, meaning when their seeds sprout only one leaf emerges; as opposed to a dicot were the seedling has two leaves. Grasses are monocots, just about everything else is a dicot. This is a cold tolerant plant and would probably do quite well in St. Mary's County.

Gnarley Laurel Oak

When plantations die ...

Plants grow on plants!