Morning Hike at Brooker Creek Preserve

Reminder: Our monthly photography hikes start again September 26 at Brooker Creek Preserve, 8:30 a.m. to about 10:30 a.m. This year's theme is "Seasons of Florida". We start with a short classroom session of basic photography tips, talk about the type of lighting likely for that day, and a talk about the Preserve for that time of year and what we are likely to see of the landscape, flora, and fauna.

September 17, 2015 Brooker Creek Preserve

Even though the morning started cloudy, the forecast assured us of a small chance of rain so we took off for a morning hike at Brooker Creek Preserve. The unusual perma-rain summer meant less hiking than usual this season.

We walked to the bridge over the main channel, high and flowing strongly due to the recent rains. Mosquitoes buzzed, but not nearly as bad as one would expect with so much rain. We meandered, cameras in hand. As we started down the path to the bird blind, Karl stopped and announced "Rain, we better head back". We retraced our steps and started down the boardwalk to the Education Center buildings and, of course, the rain stopped. The wetlands around the boardwalk held more water than in recent years, and during one period of rain this year the boardwalk turned into part of the wetlands with water covering it by more than an inch.

I stopped and looked through the trees. An anhinga sat on a branch not far from the boardwalk, slender neck retracting and darting, looking for movement and the possibility of a meal. A perfect shot waiting on a busy boardwalk.