Boots crunch as we zigzag through tilled soil where feral hogs have rutted up Cowtrap trail. We move along high and dry up on the levee with a view of marshland as far as the eye can see. Scattered pools of open water offer habitat for all manner of waders and ducks. Mosquitoes buzz around us but are held tolerably at bay by a steady breeze.
Grackles trade their whistle like calls and the air is filled with the telltale trill of red wing blackbirds as they skip hop the trail in front of us. It is overcast with just enough sun to bring the gators out to loll on their favorite patch of grass.
I am on the lookout for rails, it is the perfect habitat but none make a showing. We spot grebes, egrets, herons and all the typical ducks. We startle a group of hogs at the trail’s end and they noisily scurry off into the brush.
Shadows grow longer and the sky takes on a warm orange glow. Blackbirds disappear from the trail side and coalesce into an undulating cloud on the horizon. The sun flashes off wings of a flock of white ibis floating just above the marshland. As daylight wanes, critters we seldom see announce with clicks, gurgles, and chirps rising from all around us. Amazing how different this world becomes as night falls.