Adventures In The Salt Marsh

Well here is part 2 of what our pal Mr. Alligator did after he snuck out of the weeds and strolled himself on over to the salt marsh…

After slogging through some low tide mud, our boy made his way into the still shallow salt water and proceeded to swim around in and among the oyster beds hunting for food. In this case his menu item of choice was fish who were being brought in with the incoming tide. After picking his way around the oysters and reeds for about 25 minutes Mr. A took one more close pass over by my location before finally making his way further out into the marsh where I eventually lost sight of him.

33 thoughts on “Adventures In The Salt Marsh”

monisertel on July 25, 2013 at 1:17 pm said:

Hello Phil,
interesting story and amazing pictures!
Wish you a nice day
moni

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm said:
  
  Thank you moni I’m glad you liked the story and photos!
  
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Deb W. Trotter on July 25, 2013 at 1:56 pm said:

Great photos, Phil! I still can’t even imagine living near such creatures.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:13 pm said:
  
  Thanks Deb, and guess what? We just saw that a baby (maybe 18″ long) alligator has taken up residence in the pond in our neighborhood near our house! Very cute 🙂
  
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uthamz on July 25, 2013 at 2:12 pm said:

Stunning pictures , Phil !

utham

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:14 pm said:
  
  Thanks much utham, glad you like them!
  
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adinparadise on July 25, 2013 at 2:24 pm said:

You never cease to amaze me with your ‘gator pics, Phil. The second to last pic is absolutely AWESOME.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:14 pm said:
  
  Hey thanks a million Sylvia, I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
  
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Gunta on July 25, 2013 at 2:29 pm said:

Who knew they were that supple… that u-shape turn is pretty cool. I think he was showing off with all those smooth curvy moves. He certainly seems to have his eye on you in that second to last shot. Great shooting as usual, Phil.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:16 pm said:
  
  Thank you Gunta and I also got a kick out of that U turn in progress photo, it is a favorite of mine!
  He was giving me the eye, maybe he remembers me as the person that took his picture when he thought he was well hidden in the weeds?! 🙂
  
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pixelspielerei on July 25, 2013 at 3:15 pm said:

And he is laughing all the time! 😛 That are really great Photos, Phil, stunning!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 3:17 pm said:
  
  I am so happy you like these alligator photos and yes he may have been laughing he seemed in a good mood. 😀
  
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The Dancing Rider on July 25, 2013 at 3:57 pm said:

He looks happy to me (?). I bet those were some easy, lazy mouthfuls – fish on the incoming tide. 4th photo in sequence make me think “primeval”!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 8:42 pm said:
  
  He looked happy to me as well. And you are 100% correct about the lazy method of fishing he was employing. It was almost like he was fishing baleen style, where he would lean over and scoop up a bunch of water and strain out the fish. 🙂
  
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Cowboys and Crossbones on July 25, 2013 at 4:30 pm said:

I’m surprised alligators don’t have better skin after flopping around in the mud so much! What about his teeth?! I love the second to last photo…those eyes….

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 8:44 pm said:
  
  Well those teeth might need a little work. I have been trying to get a local dentist over to have a once a week clinic for teeth cleanings on these guys but so far no bites. Uh, I mean takers.
  Gotta love that golden eye!
  
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  - Cowboys and Crossbones on July 26, 2013 at 11:42 am said:
    
    Ha! Dentists are such wussies!
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on July 26, 2013 at 12:40 pm said:
      
      Absolutely
      
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mariayarri on July 25, 2013 at 5:14 pm said:

He has a very special look, mr Gator … And i don´t think i want to meet him a dark night … But i do love your stunning photos of him ! // Maria 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 8:45 pm said:
  
  I’m glad you like the photos Maria and since I believe they can be active at night so I tend to avoid the extremely dark situations.
  
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Molly Argo on July 25, 2013 at 5:36 pm said:

Another set of fantastic photos!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 8:45 pm said:
  
  Thanks a bunch Molly I appreciate it greatly!
  
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Amy on July 25, 2013 at 8:24 pm said:

Remarkable shots, Phil! Mr. Gator must eat lots of fish everyday…

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- Phil Lanoue on July 25, 2013 at 8:46 pm said:
  
  Thank you Amy, glad to hear you like the alligator pics!
  I’m not actually sure they even do eat every day, I think if they eat enough at one time it can last them a while.
  
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photographybycalliec on July 25, 2013 at 11:19 pm said:

The images and story are amazing ,that first image is so strong you can see where the tail had been with the separation of the water,he looks like he is keeping a close eye on you. excellent again!!
cheers Callie

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- Phil Lanoue on July 26, 2013 at 12:42 pm said:
  
  One of my favorite things when I see them walking in places like this is the tail drag marks they leave behind.
  Thanks very much for checking these out Callie!
  
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lylekrahn on July 26, 2013 at 12:05 am said:

I love the curving trail in the mud. I wonder what other designs he does:)

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- Phil Lanoue on July 26, 2013 at 12:44 pm said:
  
  If I could figure out a way to get an aerial view of his design we might find that he spelled something out.
  Or maybe he just traced out a cat face.
  
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janmasyn on July 26, 2013 at 3:43 am said:

Amazing shots Phil.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 26, 2013 at 12:44 pm said:
  
  Thank you Jan, glad you enjoyed these gator pics.
  
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Garden Walk Garden Talk on July 26, 2013 at 9:55 pm said:

You got to see some teeth too!

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dweezer19 on July 27, 2013 at 4:35 pm said:

Great photos. Glad you popped in at my blog. Gators are very interesting fellows.

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Fergiemoto on July 27, 2013 at 6:25 pm said:

Great close-up shots!

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