“Why Did The Gator Cross The Road?”

The answer better not be…”To eat the photographer!”

This morning an alligator marched itself up out of the marsh to say “hello!”

Snowy On The Rocks

Except…they’re not all rocks. Look closely at the oyster encrusted rocks and one might look a little different!

I decided along with the snowy egret, to keep my eye on this alligator last night in the salt marsh, but apparently he had thoughts of keeping his eye on me as he floated by.

Caught Lying Down On The Job!

Last night I saw this alligator climb up out of the marsh pond and pick out a nice spot to relax for a bit before heading back in the water to look for dinner.

After a brief rest which provided me time to grab a photo, he continued on his way to work!

Coming In For A Landing!

This great egret yesterday evening seemed particularly excited about arriving in the salt marsh…perhaps it was the sight of numerous fish swirling around in the water!

But in order to perform a perfect landing the egret has to cut down it’s air speed.

Here you can see it deploy the wing flaps and drop the landing gear in preperation for touchdown.

Stirring Things Up!

Last week we were watching some black skimmers operating in the marsh pond. The skimmers were attracted by the considerable amount of small surface fish in the pond.

Low flying birds and most especially the skimmers, make the fish go crazy! The bubbles and splashes visible are all caused by the panicked fish which start jumping wildly as soon as the bird hits the water with it’s long lower bill. In the third photo you can see how as the bird flies off, the fish start to calm down. In the last photo the bird’s skim line in the water is beginning to expand and it is surprising how long that line remains in the water after the skimmer continues on.

Is Anyone Missing A Doormat?

Last night we were watching an alligator splashing around in the salt marsh at low tide scooping up fish that were getting all stirred up.

Suddenly another alligator appeared heading toward the exact area where the first one was fishing. We also quickly realized that the new arrival was dragging something quite large along in it’s mouth.

As it came slogging up from the mud we saw that it had what appeared to be a huge ray of some type. It did not want to risk getting into an argument with the other alligator over ownership of the prize catch, so it walked around and headed toward the edge of the marsh. We were then very surprised to see this alligator come walking up out of the marsh still clutching it’s catch. It headed right across a paved path likely on it’s way to the swamp where we suspect the captured ray will be stashed for further feeding opportunities!

Guess Who Else Enjoys Eating Crab Legs?

It turns out that a crab does! This morning we watched a blue crab eat a blue crab claw that it had scavenged from the bottom of the salt marsh.

I shot these photos and video looking down and into the silty salt water where the crab was dining on it’s feast. Several small fish also arrived on the scene but the crab kept kicking them away using one of it’s side legs. Watch for that in the lower right corner of the video!

Brief Visit By A Roseate Spoonbill

Last week this one Roseate Spoonbill made an appearance in the marsh to everyone’s surprise and delight.

By the next day it was gone. I only had the opportunity for these quick grab shots before spoonie departed the area.

Earlier in the summer we had a group of six arrive, but they also did not stay long.

We maintain hope that one or more of these colorful and entertaining birds will return before the fall season has them heading farther south.

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