Sometimes it pays to experience a little mud. Wetlands and swamps are beautiful places and are great places to spend a few minutes.
The other day I was in Tippecanoe State Park. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to spot a family of river otters in the wetland at Tippecanoe. I like to stop in every so often and see if I can spot the little guys again. The otters were not home the other day but there was a lot of action in the swamp; starting with the frogs enjoying soaks and mud baths.
Wetlands clean pollutants out of water. Not only otters, but muskrat, beaver, dragonflies, and frogs call wetlands and swamps home. Wetlands are pretty important in the scheme of things.
As you can guess from the photo's the wetland area of the park is a busy place. The Blue Heron was feeding on the tadpoles. The tadpoles were congregated really close together because the wetland is drying up this late in the year, making them easy pickings for the heron.
There were hundreds of Red-tailed Pennant Dragonflies laying eggs in the water and the dragonfly nymphs will feed the tadpoles that the heron doesn't eat. When the dragonfly nymphs get big enough they may even munch on some tadpoles too.
Yes, there is nothing like a wetland. I love a swamp!
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