Phinizy Swamp Nature Park
Encyclopedia
Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is a 1100 acres (445.2 ha) nature park
Nature park
A nature park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for touristic purposes....

 in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...

. The park contains wetlands and woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s and has a campus for education on wildlife, which includes a visitor center. It has many bald cypresses draped in Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....

 and forests of Loblolly
Loblolly Pine
Pinus taeda is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from central Texas east to Florida, and north to Delaware. It is particularly dominant in the eastern half of North Carolina, where there are huge expanses consisting solely of Loblolly Pine trees...

 and Longleaf Pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....

 trees. Birds commonly found at Phinizy Swamp include: Red-Shouldered Hawks
Red-shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico.-Description:...

, Great Blue Herons
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

, Sora
Sora
-Tribe: Sora is the tribe inhabitant the districts of West Siang and East Siang of Arunachal Pradesh in the North-East Indian Himalaya.-Places:Colombia* Sora, Boyacá, a municipio in Boyacá Department, AndeanGermany...

, Wood Ducks
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...

 and Bald Eagles
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

. Sometimes the park yields rarities for Georgia, including Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
The Black-bellied Whistling Duck , formerly also called Black-bellied Tree Duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the USA, it can be found year-round in parts of southeast Texas, and seasonally in southeast...

,, and a Cave Swallow
Cave Swallow
The Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, is a medium-sized, squarish tailed swallow belonging to the same genus as the more familiar and widespread Cliff Swallow of North America...

, in 2004. Other wildlife commonly found in the park include frogs and toads; snakes, including Water moccasin, Pygmy Rattlesnake, and Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake found in North America, a member of the Crotalinae subfamily. The more common name for the species is "copperhead". The behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans...

; beavers and muskrat
Muskrat
The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...

; turtles; and dragonflies. Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

are not permitted within the park.
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