I will start with the video I took of the spring. It may not look exciting but the results are surprising. Here is what you see from the parking area as you look over one segment of Sardis lake in November (from the Waterfowl Wildlife Refuge).
More to come after the page break.
There are several springs in a small area that make up the large flood plain I am highlighting. Here is another nearby.
It should come as no surprise that there are spots of quicksand lying in wait. The two sites below were caused when shrubs were undermined by water below the ground. As the shrubs died and rotted away, the area where the roots had formed filled with a fine silt. That silt remains suspended and fluid. A trap of suction by hydraulic forces ensues from the underground water table.
This site (and the one below it) were probably from a Cypress (including it’s “knees” and tap root system). The depth of this pit can not be measured accurately because of the flow of the underground water table. The quicksand will draw any solid into the conical shape of the hole.
This is a expanded view of the springs and quicksand.
This flood plain covers about 60 acres. There is an elevation drop of about 6 inches between the tree line and the waterfall (1000+ feet in length). There is a 12 inch drop from the top of the waterfall to the channel’s base (about 50 feet in length). Here is a look at the entire area.
52 second film
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Though the site looks bleak and barren, it is teaming with life. I found this fresh water clam shell. Clams would make this area home when the lake level is higher.
Tracks were everywhere. Coyote, Bobcat, Raccoon, Fox, Black Bear, birds and turtles.
The variety of insects buzzing the area was enormous. But I was able to find my Bug of the Day breeding and laying eggs in the larger areas of water. Here is Variegated Meadowhawk — Sympetrum curruptum.
12 second film
I hope this diary has inspired you to look at the environment differently and appreciate how all wildlife depends on the highs and lows of seasonal balance.
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