More Caddo NWR Explorations
Caddo NWR is so huge that I could easily spend the rest of my life exploring it! I walked a bit on the southeast portion of the park, but didn't get to see much before the rain became a downpour.
I went with the intention of finding mushrooms, but I didn't see any other than False Turkey Tails, which are everywhere throughout the year; it would be hard NOT to see some of those!
I found a marshy area and managed to photograph a few birds before the heavy rain started. My favorite photo was the Pine Warbler. I hear them a lot, but they stay high in the canopy where they are hard to see. I was in luck because a male Pine Warbler flew down low and perched in a pine sapling long enough for me to snap a couple of pictures!
After running back into the car, I drove around the refuge for a bit. The park staff has done a lot of work lately. They are restoring the park's original ecosystem, the Shortleaf Pine Savannah. The first step is to remove the Loblolly Pines and thin out the trees so that the Shortleaves can take over. A large swath of land along Starr Ranch Road was being cleared of Loblollies when I drove through.
Info about the Shortleaf Pine Savannah can be found here: http://shortleafpine.net/
