A Day in the Life: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Visitor

Binoculars in hand and a refillable water bottle in her pack, Pamela Telis gets her bar code scanned at the admission desk and makes her way out into the Sanctuary. This was her first time visiting during fall migration.

“I come to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary for the birds, at least that’s what I tell myself,” says Telis. Telis vividly recalls her first visit with her mom in the spring of 1993: Wood Storks were nesting, and they saw wading birds galore. Every turn on the boardwalk brought another flash of color in their binoculars. “We both loved the opportunity to be within an old-growth cypress wetland, appreciating the serenity and peace it offered,” she says. “I’ve never forgotten how I felt that first time under the giant cypress trees, as if I had entered a primeval forest.”

Hailing from the Jacksonville area, Telis has returned to the Sanctuary many times, marveling at how it continues to evolve — where nature seems to be truly in control. Watching from afar as “growth and progress” edge into Southwest Florida’s natural spaces, she recognizes and appreciates that Audubon’s commitment to this unique place is increasingly important.

During Telis’s November visit, things seem pretty quiet: The water level is lower than she remembers. As she sees fewer birds, she decides to simply be present in each moment, letting Corkscrew tell her what her visit will be. Up ahead, a uniformed naturalist points something out to other visitors: An Anhinga is perched in a tree over the water, preening and seemingly posing for the cameras. One barely needs binoculars to appreciate this view. In the distance, a Red-shouldered Hawk calls to alert all to its presence, while a handful of small birds perform acrobatic maneuvers in the treetops above. Below, a raccoon family scampers through the shallow water under the boardwalk and into the forest. Then, another sound from deep in the swamp gets everyone’s attention: the rumbling bellow of an American alligator!

“I especially enjoyed the plants, trees, and the tranquil scenery on this trip,” she says, focusing her sight at eye level and down below to take in the ferns, moss, and flowering bushes, observing tiny details on a downed log. She felt rewarded by the scenes that she normally wouldn’t notice or would look past. And of course, the birds she did see were relished.

After strolling for a little more than two hours through pine flatwoods, wet prairie, freshwater marsh, and old-growth bald cypress forest, she returns to the Blair Visitor Center, where she learns more about the Sanctuary and its work before perusing new merchandise in the nature store.

“It’s hard to find words to explain why I visit whenever I’m in Southwest Florida — I am drawn to it,” says Telis. “I know of no other place quite like it, especially in my own state.”

Nearly every day of the year, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary visitors can enjoy an escape from life’s pressures, a connection with nature, and a memorable experience. But what is even more important for many is the knowledge that the price of admission and other purchases made at the Sanctuary are an investment in a world-class nonprofit organization that is working to improve the quality of life for wildlife and people.