More Henderson, Kentucky slough area photos....

The area down along the Ohio River is mostly farmed once the spring floods are over.  There is a huge tract of slough (the Sauerheber Slough) running through the area that is preserved for wildlife.  This is the area where we see the Snow Geese in the winter, when they close the gravel roads to traffic.  In the summer the gravel roads are open to drive along and you can find some interesting wildlife scattered throughout the area.

 One road that runs along a field that is always partly flooded is a favorite spot for us to check out. This day, we got a bonus we had never seen there before!  Up on the power line, a Kingfisher was sitting!  At first we were so far away we couldn't tell what it had......a rather large fish! 

It sat there for at least 10 minutes or more....just sitting.  So we kept creeping closer in the car.  We were curious as to why it just sat there.....waiting for the fish to die?  Resting from the fight?  Waiting for her date to show up?  LOL  I don't see many kingfishers, so I was thrilled.

 We headed down another gravel road that we were unable to travel in the past, but our new SUV sits higher and we could make it past the wet areas that usually stop us.  Even though we have had little rain lately, parts of the road were boggy and wet.  There are swamps nearby.  These Arrowhead plants lined the wet areas of the road.

While trying to get close-ups of the flowers we suddenly noticed in the road puddle.....

 ......a snake!  About 4 feet long.  I don't know snakes, but tried to look it up.  Could be some sort of water snake or a rat snake?  We get water snakes in our pond, but Mike says they look different than this snake. It was very plain and black.

As it left the puddle, it showed off a yellowish underside around the head.  There were little minnows in the puddle, so I wondered if that was what it was eating.

A view along part of the gravel road.  Lots of meadows that probably are too wet to farm.  The skies were gorgeous that day!

Another wire sitter....a Bluebird.

 One lotus flower in the swamp

 A Monarch butterfly.  I haven't seen very many butterflies this year so far, but saw several Monarchs along this road.

Part of the cypress swamp.

 Close to the Ohio River near the boat ramp, there was another "swallow tree" like I had seen at Blue Grass last week.

 I thought that one swallow looks "fluffy" and wondered if it was a young one.

A more distant shot of the tree with the clouds behind it. The swallows were swooping down over the river for bugs and then coming back to rest in the tree.
We saw lots more but sometimes I just can't get a photo.  We scared a raccoon family that was scrounging around the buildings at the slough management area, but they quickly disappeared into the brush.  We also chased away at least one hawk in the area.  It's an area rich with all sorts of wildlife!

I love this area and wish I could go there every day!