Saturday morning, I ventured up to John Chestnut Sr. Park, lured by a bird walk. Unfortunately, I was discouraged by the large (and talkative) crowd. Thankfully, the cloud cover was perfect for exploring the trails so I wandered off on my own instead.

As I cut across a field I came across a feeding frenzy, grackles and blackbirds were feasting on small grubs that were wriggling in the grass. Adding proof to the claim that the early bird gets the worm. A squirrel and a male cardinal foraged nearby.

Up on the boardwalk, I was focused on all the fungi under me until a large flash movement in the trees caught my eye. I watched the Barred Owl for quite some time. Long enough to see it swivel its head at the sound of prey, launch from a branch, snatch a crayfish, fly up to a perch, and gulp it down.

A few steps later I noted another hunter gliding through the duff, a Florida Cottonmouth. A first for me, I appreciated that the boardwalk afforded me a great view (and some safety).

Raccoon prints in the mud let me know that the masked mammals had also been scouting for food recently.

Around the bend I encountered a small bird party. They noisily flitted around while I tried to capture them in photos. Pausing from my seemingly fruitless endeavor, I noted a White-tailed Deer chewing its cud while resting on a small hammock in the swamp.

After exiting the trail, I cut across a field and encountered more deer. They are obviously quite used to sharing their park with humans as they continued to browse without concern about my presence.

I was tempted to stay longer but opted to leave once the clouds started their ominous rumbling. The bird group may have spotted more species than I did but I don’t think they had nearly as magical a time.