Turtle

Reptile Day at the Swamp

There aren’t many wading birds around my favorite swamp right now but I still like to walk around it at least once a week and I always see something. Sunday it was reptiles. We have had some cold weather but Sunday was in the low 70s (about 21 degrees C) and turtles, lizards and alligators were out soaking up the sun.

Turtles were crawling out of the water. They often just move onto the bank of the swamp making it easy to retreat. This one was more ambitious and got a completely dry spot.

Turtle
Turtle

The Brown Anole did a nice job selecting his wooden perch for camouflage and full sun. When I passed he disappeared down a crack in the middle of this dead stump.

Brown Anole
Brown Anole

The Alligators care little about being seen. Usually they can sink and swim many feet away in seconds if they feel the need to escape. The dead tree limbs this one was in between might have slowed him down if a real predator was after him. He was content with this spot; he hadn’t moved when I returned by him twenty minutes later.

Alligator
Alligator

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3 thoughts on “Reptile Day at the Swamp”

    1. Thank you, Belinda. It is surprisingly active as we head into the cooler temps. Reptiles, especially lizards and snakes, are not my favorites, but having a zoom lens helps me psychologically.

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