Oahu Swamp Critters

Nov 2012

We were conditioned by our society to think that a swamp is a bad thing. Its full of mosquitos, bacteria, dirty water, dangerous snakes and a whole lot of nasty bugs. I would like to contest those notions that swamps are nasty, and useless mud pits. They are not nasty mud pits. They are mud pits of sheer awesomeness!

Water lilies thrive in nasty sticky water. Ironically, this nasty canal leads to the pools of nastiness adjecent to a wildlife refuge. The board of water supply has now cleaned up the water and the pools are home to crayfish which feed many hungry birds.

The sky’s reflection reminds me of an impressionist painting. Unfortunately my camera didn’t pick up the details of the water lily.

We caught a glimspe of the Hawaiian Stilt gliding overhead.

A Hawaiian Coot gracefully poses for my picture.

This picture is taken from another swampy area on Oahu. I love how the plants fight each other for the attention of sunlight.

A hidden river

Trees stretching for the sky

Peek-a-boo

Not all swamp water is nasty. This part of a stream was crystal clear and full of fish. The mangrove trees helped hide little crusteceans from the birds.

In another mosquito infested swamp I found an incredible discovery: A Japanese Red Dragonfly! This is the first time in my life that I saw a Red Dragonfly. I was jumping for joy while the passing motorists were wondering why the crazy brunette was climbing into a bog and screaming.

Apparently this little fellow wasn’t scared of me. I was able to get close up shots.

I even found a beautiful golden dragonfly. I know I need to buy a real camera. The irridescent golden dragonfly’s details seem to have been lost. Its opal wings were transluscent and its body shimmered like a golden ring in the sunlight. This dragonfly was shyer than the Red Dragonfly. I don’t know the name of this golden dragonfly.

This swamp was home to many banana and guava trees. The nutrient rich mud helps fruit trees flourish and in return the fruit trees help me to flourish.

Snack time!

I wanted to show through this blog post that even the most “useless” of land serves many purposes. When we cutt down the bushes, trees, weeds and fill in the swamps with concrete then we lose valuable habitat for wildlife and for ourselves. Food doesn’t grow on concrete buildings. Fruit grows on trees and fishes live in the lakes and streams. Destroy the swamps and forests and in return we destroy ourselves.

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