What is spring without some high water? Melting snow and heavy rain combined to bring floods to Madison County in early March. Here we see the waters of Killbuck Creek pouring over the levee into Shadyside Lake. See Spring Scenes for other sights around the vernal equinox.

We turn now from Madison County, Indiana, to central Florida. We recently returned from there. Most of the pictures that follow in this edition were taken there during the month of March; specifically in the Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.

The Woodruff NWR is located immediately west of the town of De Leon Springs, along the St. Johns River. It consists of a number of ponds, each hundreds of acres in size, separated by dikes through which water flows in a controlled manner. Most of the ponds are very shallow, making a perfect habitat for wading birds of all kinds, ducks, fish, and alligators. Woodruff has been the most consistent birding venue we have discovered in central Florida.

The picture above shows a typical Woodruff scene in which we see a Sandhill Crane, Snowy Egret, and a Little Blue Heron.

A mother Sandhill Crane grooms her nest on a little hummock of land in a shallow pond. Notice the egg between her legs. See Nesting Sandhill Cranes for pictures of this pair of cranes as they work to raise more cranes.

A Black-necked Stilt scans the shallow waters for food. See Wading Birds for more of this unusual bird and others found at Woodruff.

The Glossy Ibis is one of the more striking birds found at Woodruff. See Glossy Ibis for more pictures of this colorful bird.

The Tricolored Heron is one of the more unusually colored birds with its blue bill. See Woodruff Herons for pictures of this and other Herons.

We have found Cattle Egrets from Hawaii to Florida, but they are always fun to watch. This one is striding out as it moves from one pond to the next. See Woodruff Egrets for pictures of this and other Egrets seen at Woodruff.

There were too many egrets for one page, so we saved the Snowy Egrets for a page of their own. See Snowy Egrets for pictures of these birds.

Screen Savers

Mallards beating upstream

A pair of Mallards swim as hard as they can, barely making headway against the swift current of Killbuck Creek.

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Sandhill Crane on Nest

A female Sandhill Crane grooms her nest and guards the single egg it contains.

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Woodruff Anhinga

An Anhinga suns itself in a treetop after swimming beneath the water to catch fish.

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Tom and Jean Harbron