Firstly, just this afternoon, Amanda and I loaded ourselves and her 2nd grade class onto a school bus and headed south for a field trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.
Upon entering the park, we promptly had our first wildlife encounter: A mother fox and her 3 cubs. Like a couple of kittens, the cubs were playing freely in the middle of the road, hopping up and down, while the mother hung back making sure that all us people weren't getting too close. As the day progressed we saw many more foxes. Normally seeing these guys during the day is a bad sign, but our guide assured us they were out only because of the recent rains flooding their dens...
After watching the foxes for a few moments, we got moving again and headed to the brackish pond near Raymond Pool. Here, the kids got to wander around the boardwalk and learn about the history of the refuge as well as about how tides affect different areas of the refuge. Then the kids got to do a "dip" in the pond and see what treasures they pulled up. Again, due to the recent rains, this time affecting the salinity of the pond, our take was light: Only a grass shrimp and a few small insects.
So we piled back on the bus, and drove around the tour route before breaking for lunch. During the driving time, we saw a multitude of different birds, including Egrets, Blue Birds, and Red-Winged Black Birds. The highlight was the spotting of a very patriotic bird atop a dead tree: A Bald Eagle (photo: top-right side of tree - sorry my camera doesn't have a better zoom).
After lunch, it was back on the bus to head over to the fresh water pond for another dip. This time, we hit pay dirt. The kids caught a wealth of different tadpoles, fish, crawfish, and insects. We also nearly caught a black snake...much to the dismay of Amanda's teacher. And to my surprise, Amanda willingly held one of the larger bullfrog tadpoles. Way to go, girl!
