Audubon Newhall is a natural wonderland. Explorers of the New World often wrote home to Europe detailing astonishing varieties of plant and animal life to be found on the far side of the Atlantic. In the days when many still believed the earth to be flat and civilization to be wholly contained in the ancient cities of Europe, the pristine natural expanses of the American continent were a stunning revelation, and it took generations of explorers and pioneers to catalog the abundant array of life that teemed all around them. Audubon Newhall offers a veritable library of fauna and flora in its environs; it's a small piece of nature harkening back to a time when every day in the New World held fresh marvels for the lover of nature.

The preserve is home to an array of birds. The clever and patient bird watcher will find the Carolina chickadee, the Solitary vireo, peregrine falcons, turkey vultures, ruby-throated hummingbirds no larger than egg cups and the Eastern screech owl. Brilliant butterflies flutter and dance from flower to flower, and the tracks of deer and other animals are clearly imprinted on the paths that wend throughout the preserve. They make their homes in the trees, ferns and fans of palmetto that fill every space in the forest.

Many of Audubon Newhall's trees have been cataloged, with descriptions provided for the layperson. At first glance, the preserve seems to be a forest of pine and live oak, but as the eye becomes accustomed to the shapes and shadows of the land, one begins to notice the startling variety of trees. There is the Hercules'-club, the "toothache tree," marked by spines, a round crown and, when in bloom, small flowers with five yellow-green petals. The passionflower ("maypop") is a vine with pink flowers; it produces edible, melon-type fruit that pops when opened. The Chinese popcorn tree is marked by its savory-looking seeds -- however, they are poisonous, so we ask that you refrain from eating them. Among the trees are thick brackets of mushrooms and other fungi, as well as black-eyed Susans, furry deer tongue, red salvia and St. Peter's wort.

After a short stroll through the preserve, one comes to a pond in a clearing. The caretakers of the preserve have posted a schematic of the aquatic habitats of the pond with a description of its complex eco-system. The pond is home to dozens of turtles known as yellow-bellied sliders, and one is likely to see a group of them lolling near the bank, feeding and swimming; one will be astonished to note that turtles are rather playful, and that they swirl and dip in the water in a manner that seems quite uncharacteristic, given what is known of the turtle's deliberate and phlegmatic character. Surrounding the pond are coral honeysuckle, yellow jessamine, sassafras and Cherokee rose with red hip blooms. Nearby is a boardwalk overlooking the "pocosin," a wetland with a persimmon grove, a sphagnum moss bed and two types of marsh, sedge and fern. The Audubon Society has thoughtfully provided a detailed description of the pocosin, so that one may better understand the ecological significance of the area that nurtures so many different forms of life.

The Audubon Newhall Preserve is a cathedral, the sort of place in which Henry David Thoreau would have felt completely comfortable and, well, natural. It is a testament to the grandeur of nature's design, and it brings one back to the era when every footstep was a breathtaking revelation, every animal and tree a breathtaking wonder.

The Audubon Newhall Preserve is off Palmetto Bay Road at the foot of the Cross Island Parkway. For information, call 843-785-5775.