Missing The Target?

I decided to check out the swamp earlier today to see who might be out and about. I saw a few alligators swimming around, and I scared one baby (maybe a two footer) who was walking up out of the water but then quickly turned and scurried back when he caught a glimpse of me. I felt bad for the poor little fellow.

A little later I saw this one big guy come gliding in. I noticed a bent over reed frond making a circle and it looked like the gator was heading right for it and would swim through the center of the ‘target’. I wish he had done that because it would have been funny and made this story more interesting. But as you can see he passed just to the side of it, totally missing the target.

As he slowly glided by in front of me though I could see this was a pretty good size boy. I couldn’t fit all of him in my lens and ended up chopping off the back third of his body and tail.

14 thoughts on “Missing The Target?”

donna213 on April 6, 2015 at 7:57 pm said:

Someday I want to see them in their habitat. In Costa Rica I did see the crocs and they really are a scary predator. The little ones are cute, but boy those big ones give me a chill. I do love your photographs, all from a safe distance for me. 😀

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- Phil Lanoue on April 7, 2015 at 11:13 am said:
  
  These guys are usually fine to be around, they would rather avoid people when possible which is a good thing. They are very obliging photographic subjects though which is nice. 🙂
  
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Girl Gone Expat on April 6, 2015 at 8:59 pm said:

Scary guy:)

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- Phil Lanoue on April 7, 2015 at 11:14 am said:
  
  Nah, he’s a pussycat. 😀
  
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Birder's Journey on April 7, 2015 at 7:18 am said:

He is a long one! Nice sequence, and I love the way you captured, with images and words, that ‘gliding in’ behavior.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 7, 2015 at 11:15 am said:
  
  He was doing a nice slow lazy glide out there for sure. There was one a bit smaller that saw this guy coming in and immediately took off. 😮
  
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Raewyn's Photos on April 7, 2015 at 2:43 pm said:

Great photos. I love the reflections in that last one.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 7, 2015 at 3:03 pm said:
  
  Yes he is a very reflective guy! 🙂 Thanks
  
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foxleylady on April 7, 2015 at 3:08 pm said:

He’s too clever to be a target for anybody, he’s too busy lining up targets of his own!

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- Phil Lanoue on April 8, 2015 at 2:34 pm said:
  
  That’s exactly right Maggie!
  
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Patrizia M. on April 7, 2015 at 4:21 pm said:

Ti è proprio passato vicino questo bel “ragazzo” 🙂
Ciao, Pat

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- Phil Lanoue on April 8, 2015 at 2:37 pm said:
  
  Ero solo la fortuna di vederlo. Lui è un buon amico. 😀
  
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naturesnippets on April 7, 2015 at 8:02 pm said:

Does he know you by name? Such interesting pictures. It’s hard to stop looking at them.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 8, 2015 at 2:35 pm said:
  
  I think he knows me by sight. Now, whether he likes me or not is a different story. 🙂
  
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