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St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge has expanded over the years as more and more protected federal lands in Florida's Big Bend have been placed under its protective wing. This consolidation has been a necessary part of slashed funding. Despite the budget cuts, St. Marks staff has expanded outreach programs and activities every year - hikes, talks, guided birdwatching, established a whooping crane migration program, a national-model photo club, and many festivals. It is simply a wonderful place that seems to be thriving in these lean times. We - all visitors - are lucky to have St. Marks to remind us of the beauty, but also of the preciousness and fragility of our dwindling natural world. The creatures who live there are lucky too.
So, without a lot more words (though I won't be able to help but inject a few more), here are the highlights my camera captured at St. Marks over the course of 2011.
A couple camera-shy Belted Kingfishers granted me a few moments...
Then there was my effort to shoot the Super Moon (earlier post) over the lighthouse from miles away...
A Marsh Hawk...
A Yellow Warbler catches an insect...
The Monarch migration...
Family visits...
At the end of the day, end of the year, the majesty is still fresh to behold...
