Nature Trail

I had no idea that FGCU had a nature trail until I took this class. On the day I went it was absolutely beautiful outside. It was both sunny and slightly cool.

As I walked down the trail, the plants immediately caught my attention. Mostly there were palmetto bushes everywhere. However, I notice that there was also a lot of ferns covering the ground.

I continued down the path hoping to come across an animal. So far, I have only seen several annoying mosquitos. Then I found a spider! I'm not sure why type it is but at least I've found some form of wildlife.

After walking for 20 minute and not seeing any other animals I started to check the fallen and hollowed logs that were lying on the ground. I came upon a log in the photograph below and found an inhabitant, a lizard. It's not really exciting but it's wildlife so I'll take it.

It's amazing how hard it is to find wildlife even when it's your main objective. I came across many hollowed logs and burrows which looked promising, unfortunately they were unihabitated...at least for the moment.

I found it interesting that a lot of the trees on the trail had looked burned. I know that they don't allow any type of campfires per the signs posted at the entrance. Maybe there were some parts in which they did a controlled burn to get rid of some of the foilage?

As I hit the southern end of the trail, I noticed there were hoof prints in the mud. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the tracks of a wild pig. I know there are a lot of wild pigs in the area so it's not uncommon to come across them. I followed the tracks off the trail slightly but gave up upon entering the thicker brush. I made my way back to the trail trying to avoid the poison ivy that covered the surrounding trees.

After taking numerous pictures of my surroundings, I decided to call it a day and return to the entrance. I did however take a short break on the hammock before I left. Overall, I felt that it was a very productive trip and I can't wait to go back. I might try to do this at least once a month.