Suspended Animation

Great egrets are a fairly common bird in this area, therefore we often tend to overlook them.
But in reality they are graceful and elegant birds.
Captured here in early morning sunlight this egret looks quite lovely.
But what I found most interesting was how the bird was literally suspended in mid air.
Just a slight tilt of it’s wings and a light breeze was all that was needed to keep it aloft and virtually motionless.
 
 
“There’s no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss.
Can’t keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I”
 
“Learning To Fly” Pink Floyd
 
 
 

One Lucky Wood Stork

Earlier this week were watching a group of wood storks feeding in the salt marsh.
Can you spot the one lucky stork in the bunch?
 

“Radar” And A Friend

Some of you may remember seeing our pal “Radar” here before. He is the great egret that has a transmitter pack attached to his back with two antennas sticking out.
He is supposed to be a part of a study of migratory habits of wading birds. The problem with that is”Radar” never really goes very far, so it’s likely his data contribution is not tremendously helpful.
Anyway here he was last night enjoying his evening in the marsh with a friend. They got along just fine.
Actually wading birds such as egrets and herons will often stay near an alligator that is actively feeding. The gator will get fish all stirred up and in a panic, which can make them easier for the birds to catch.
 

A Lot Of Posing…Not Much Fishing

Yesterday evening I spent some time set up on this rather grumpy looking great blue heron hoping it would catch a fish.
However it seemed to be much more interested in posing and preening than it was in fishing.
I was about to give up on the bird but then the sun broke through and it looked like the action might pick up.
Well it did…sort of…the heron made a stab at capturing a fish but only came up with what looked like some marsh weeds.
Despite the unsuccessful attempt, the great blue’s disposition seemed to improve somewhat, but shortly after that heavy evening cloud cover came in and spoiled the lighting so I went on my way and left it alone with the hope that he got a fish eventually!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Greenie’s Big Catch!

Recently we were watching this green heron working the edge of the salt marsh among the oyster beds. The greenie was intently yet patiently staring into the water in hopes a fish would swim nearby.
His diligence was rewarded as the bird plucked it’s evening meal out of the water. The green heron had to be happy with this catch as we so often see them snatch up only tiny minnows which require much more work for less payoff.
 
 
 
 
 

Crunching A Crab!

Yesterday evening I was watching this alligator making it’s way along the salt marsh among the oyster beds at low tide.

I saw it suddenly lunge out at something but wasn’t sure exactly what the gator caught until it lifted up it’s head and I realized it had a nice size blue crab!

Well…the alligator proceeded to crunch the crab (which I could clearly hear from my position) until it finally bit down hard on the now completely cracked crab, and gulped down it’s meal.

Incidentally, if you view the time lapse video I posted earlier of the same marsh area, at 28 seconds in you can glimpse this same alligator making it’s way back into the marsh. 

Time Lapse Video Of The Salt Marsh At Low Tide

Here is a 51 second time lapse video I took tonight overlooking the salt marsh at low tide.

Watch as the tide starts to come back in and covers over the oyster beds and the entire marsh area with water.

Also see the clouds as they move through the area.

Look carefully in the center, right, portion of the water at 28 seconds and you can see an alligator zipping through. Of course the gator was moving slowly but the time laps speeds up his movement.

Also take note of numerous wood storks and egrets that were busy feeding in the marsh.

Lurking In Dark Water…

Recently I saw this alligator drifting slowly into a small cove area of the swamp marsh.

As it got further in, the water and the lighting both got darker.

However there was still just enough late evening sunlight coming through to light the area around Mr. Gator’s face and prevent him from being totally hidden in the dark water.

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