Get Off My Grass!!!

On Wednesday we were watching a great blue heron fishing in a small pool that had formed in the salt marsh during low tide. The heron wasn’t having much luck, so he may have been in a crabby mood! That was confirmed when a cormorant came flying in to the same pool and the heron went totally bonkers and pitched a huge fit. He came rushing over and not politely, explained to the cormorant that it was not welcome and needed to immediately leave the premises. The cormorant understood and very quickly complied and left the area. Soon after, the heron did end up catching a fish so I’m sure he felt the harsh ejection of the cormorant was justified!

Surprise In The Swamp

We went over to the swamp hoping for a little action. Unfortunately however there was not a lot going on. There were alligators all over the place as usual, but all they were doing was napping in the sun or swimming lazily in the water. We finally spotted this very cute juvenile white ibis fishing (playing) in a small water pool. The youngster appeared to be having the time of his life being left alone to practice hunting his own snacks, and he apparently caught one fish while we watched. On the way out, the last picture of the day was big turtle, small turtle, sunning on a log.

Alligator Fishing…part 3

The big guy continued the hunt. The alligator continued to prowl around the shallow pool and was successfully finding more fish. It got to the point where it seemed he might need a little rest as he was dragging fish along under the water before beginning to gulp again, which he did do. More fishing action to come…

Nice Flight/Tough Landing

Last week I saw this Great Blue Heron come gliding in across the oyster beds in the salt marsh. The flight went smoothly, the landing appeared OK initially, but another blue heron was waiting to jump the new arrival. Rougher flight than expected!

Alligator Fishing…part 2

Ok…so here’s another sequence of our large, hungry, alligator continuing to enjoy his lunch of fresh caught mullet. And this is about as fresh as can be, plucked right from the water in the salt marsh. With the big guy having such a great time, along with an extremely skillful fishing technique, you just know he’s not done. Part 3 (and possibly part 4) still to come!

Alligator Fishing…part 1

We were extremely surprised to find an alligator had walked himself from the marsh pond to the salt marsh to do a little, uh, actually, a lot of fishing. The surprising part was that it’s unusual to see an alligator both in the salt marsh, and also feeding so enthusiastically. We were surprised as well, to see fish (presumably mullet) as large as a foot long with some even larger, in a relatively small shallow area of the salt mash. I don’t know if, or how, the alligator would know those fish were in there but he sure seemed thrilled about it! Just a short note for those wondering, the alligators do not generally live in salt water but will be happy to cruise over there for a visit if it means tasty fish or their favorite blue crab await. In addition, there was so much going on, expect to see a part 2 and likely 3 of the event coming soon.

Hunting

This past weekend we saw an osprey on a serious hunting expedition. You could tell he was on the hunt because he was constantly moving his eyes both side to side and downward. That is bad news for any fish that happens to be swimming in the salt marsh below. We never saw the osprey dive down and he quickly left the area heading east just a short distance toward the ocean, which should provide a tasty meal. Also notice, in the second photo, the small patch of black feathers on the top of his head. It’s not often you see the top on an osprey head while it’s flying!

Prospecting

Last week, while we were watching the pelicans battle the cormorants, the snowy egrets battle each other, and the alligators mostly sleeping in the sun, a bald eagle did an unexpected fly around. He didn't appear to be seriously hunting, more of an aerial check of the salt marsh to make sure everything was in order and while at it, keeping his eyes open for an opportunity to potentially strike gold!

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