A Georgia Wildlife Haven Forged by Fire and Peat Nears UNESCO Recognition
Key takeaways
- A school group tours the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
- “This was already worth the trip out today,” Joshua Howard said earlier this month from a gray flat-bottomed tour boat just a few yards away.
- With one quick movement of its neck, which seems to take up most of its body, the tiny heron plunges into the water and comes up with a fish.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
Republish. A school group tours the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Ryan Krugman/Inside Climate News Related The Cherokee Rose, Georgia’s State Flower, Actually Has Nothing to Do With the Cherokee People—or the State Alabama’s E.O. Wilson Land Between the Rivers Preserve Is a ‘Place That Time Forgot’ Mining Fight on the Okefenokee Swamp’s Edge May Have Only Just Begun Share This Article Republish Most Popular EPA Rollbacks Could Raise AC, Refrigeration Costs Despite Promise of Lower Prices Malnourished Gray Whales of the Eastern North Pacific Are in ‘Serious Trouble’ In Florida, an Agricultural Town in Need of an Economic Boost Eyes Hyperscale Data Centers FOLKSTON, Ga.—The world’s smallest heron hops from blade to blade in a patch of tall grass, testing its footing above the dark water as it searches for an evening meal.
“This was already worth the trip out today,” Joshua Howard said earlier this month from a gray flat-bottomed tour boat just a few yards away. The tiny creatures, called Least Bitterns, are secretive birds, not easy to spot.
With one quick movement of its neck, which seems to take up most of its body, the tiny heron plunges into the water and comes up with a fish. Howard and his guide continue down the swamp between walls of Spanish moss-adorned cypress trees and alligators, hoping to find more of the birds and wildlife that call the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge home.