Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge

We just returned from the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge is on  2,088 acres of land and is the most biologically diverse refuge in all of the United States. The refuge is home to  nearly 400 species of birds and half of all butterfly species found in North America.  Many endangered species live there such as the ocelot, which is now found only in Southern Texas.  

 

 We took a 11/2 hour trolley ride around the park with a tour guide who gave us a running commentary about both the history of the refuge and the different species of life that live there. Although we were not fortunate enough to see any ocelots, javelina's, snakes etc. we did see a lot of butterflies.

The tour guide was very knowledeable concerning the different species of trees and moss in the park. The picture below shows some ebony trees draped with Spanish Moss.

 

 

The ebony trees have large black pods
which contain nuts the size of large peanuts. You can roast the nuts and eat them.






There were some very pretty areas in the park.

 

 

 

 Part of the tour included a climb up a 40 foot tower to get a birds eye view of the refuge. There are several towers with bridges attached that  span over the trees.

 

The refuge land once belonged to Mexico. This land was granted to Benigno Leal in 1843 by the Mexican government. Leal established his ranch headquarters on this land  and built a  cemetery.  We stopped at the cemetery which is surrounded by ebony posts and contains the crypt where Benigno and his wife and many of the workers of the ranch were buried.

 

The refuge was flooded a few years back and was completely covered with up to 15 feet of water. Part of the park was under water for 5 months causing a lot of devastation which is still evident in some areas.

It was a  very interesting way to spend an afternoon. The only down side to the day was that Anna got badly bitten by insects while we were on the tour. For some reason they just really go after Anna. None of the rest of us got a single bite. Before we venture into another wildlife area we need to find a natural insect repellent.

Finally, for those of you who have requested a picture of me in my cowboy hat, check this out.

I look like a bandit with my shades on, but the sun was very bright today. The temperature was about 27C, a little cooler than the last few days but still very nice.

Keep warm.