Life at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

While walking through the slough there is always the feeling that momentarily you will see something exciting and/or something you have never seen before. We have been trained to use all our senses so that the feeling of anticipation is very high. Many times you hear a rustling in the ferns, a very faint splashing of water, see a quick movement out of the corner of your eye, hear a loud plop as a cypress cone falls into the water, the rhythmic pecking of a woodpecker, bird songs fill the air, a hawk flies overhead casting its shadow through the forest and everything is suddenly hushed, a noisy flock of birds is high in the trees and when you stand still they gradually move down. Colorful birds migrate through the area in the spring and fall and we always welcome them as they herald another season ending and watching as another one begins, after a rain or in the early summer morning the squirrels in the trees create a shower below as they scamper about above, a muffled ruffle of feathers in the trees can signify a flock of white ibis or maybe even the barred owl watching you long before you spotted it - many of the changes are gradual and subtle - you hardly notice them unless you've been away for a week or so.

Seasons come and go - in the fall we enjoy the high water levels, the leaves changing from their dark green summer color to a more bronze color, the spiders and their glittering webs, the grebes and kingfishers returning, the migratory birds passing through, the squirrels busily harvesting and storing the acorns and the snap snap snap you hear as they are amongst the wax myrtle bushes eating the berries, the woodpeckers very noisily fussing over the strangler fig fruit and the various other berries and acorns. The slough is so busy - we watch for baby alligators, the common snipe, the many varieties and large numbers of wading birds, the milkweed pods, saltbushes in bloom, our seasonal volunteers to return, the smell of the cypress cones that permeates the air where the squirrels are busy high above us in the trees, we love that the fire flag around Wood Duck Pond acts as a natural blind so we can observe the wildlife without them always seeing us first. The summer rains gradually end and we begin to see a few cooler nights - there is no end to the gradual changes as one season runs into the next - time goes on and winter sets in - the water levels gradually go down culminating with the "feeding frenzy" in Ibis Marsh where hundreds of wading birds come to eat the fish trapped in the marsh - the leaves fall one by one until everything is so much more easily visible. Many visitors come to the slough to enjoy the cypress forest and its many inhabitants and visitors. They delight in learning about the park and its history and listening to the sounds, observing all the bird and animal activity, noting the plants and trees and their special adaptations to the wet and dry seasons, hearing about conserving our water and using fertilizers and pesticides wisely, noting the different smells as we walk along - they eagerly watch as the leaves come back on the trees displaying an incredible array of greens and again providing shade for the forest floor. They learn about and enjoy observing the ferns, bromeliads, habitats, life cycles in the forest, etc. and we hope they leave with a lot more knowledge and respect for the environment and have thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

We watch again for seasonal changes - the iris buds, the activity in the lakes and ponds, the temperature changes, the activity in the forests, the wild flowers, the willow flowers, the butterflies - it's incredible how the seasons and cycles come and go - their ends blending into the beginnings. The clouds gradually change and the sky too lets us see that summer is approaching. The birds change into their breeding plumage so they look their best to attract a mate - oh, how beautiful they look. The hawks get very noisy and their calls echo across the park, the yellow crowned night herons sit around Pop Ash Pond and the black crowned night herons sit more around Otter Pond - absorbing the first warm rays of sun on cool mornings. The belted kingfishers are very territorial and noisy and can often be seen in the branches overlooking the ponds and we watch them dive down and catch fish until we notice that they have left for their summer home. The green herons can be seen on the very low branches around the ponds watching for fish to swim by. High in the sky the vultures can often be seen circling around. The great blue herons can be seen around the ponds with their magnificent plumage as can the great egret. The snowy egret displays its breeding feathers - all the while they are busy feeding around the ponds. The turtles and alligators come out of the water to sun themselves on the exposed logs and occasionally an alligator can be seen on one of the rafts in the lake. The little blue herons get bright blue bills, the ibis get bright orange bills and legs, the glossy ibis get blue markings on their face, the anhingas sit and display their beautiful wing feathers and the bright ring around their eyes, the cormorants are busily fishing in the lake. The days warm up till they gradually get hot and the afternoon rains come - by now the woods are dry and the cypress knees very visible. When you look high in the trees you can see the activity of the birds and hear their calls. The swallowtail kites are here for the summer and can be seen flying over the marsh and ponds. Then the sounds in the forest increase as the birds are accompanied by their young begging nearby for food - what fun to watch them.

There is no end to the activity in the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. After I saw a summer tanager sitting openly in a tree one day and gradually grew more and more in love with the slough, I decided to get a camera and record some of the activity so that others can see what goes on there. All my photos are taken as snapshots as I've never had any lessons in photography but I love to observe life as it goes on in the slough. This is one small way to share it with our visitors and those who are unable to visit it in all the seasons. I hope these photos help people appreciate the small number of natural habitats being preserved in the area and their importance to the quality of life and hope they support others being planned. We are so thankful to those people responsible for the preservation of this area and it is of great pleasure to me that occasionally a person on a guided walk states with pride that they were a member of the "Monday Club" or that they voted for the referendum when it was presented to the voters. I am also so grateful to Mary Rude who patiently teaches us and is so very knowledgeable and willing to share her knowledge and so much time with us. She also provides us with much encouragement along the way so being a volunteer at the slough enhances all our lives.

Wilma Keidel
July 2001