Hey, Ralph, did you see something move?
Ralph? Hey, Ralph, where did you go?
It is amazing how the wading birds seem to pay so little attention to the alligators–how do they know it isn’t lunch time?
Their heads did all snap around when a Bald Eagle flew over.
One Roseate Spoonbill perched in a tree above a pond full of Alligators. I stopped counting at 60 and I’m sure there were more hidden in the reeds and along the banks.
From a distance the alligators looked like logs bobbing in the pond. Most of them didn’t move much but make no mistake they were alive.
Don’t fall in!
Donnelly Wildlife Management Area, Colleton County, South Carolina, 11/25/2016.
This group of four American White Pelicans swam round and round for over a half hour, occasionally using their bills to scoop food.
They seemed oblivious to the alligators floating nearby, but did mostly stay in a tight group, perhaps for safety. The reptiles were not moving much and were clustered near shore. It was hard to see how deep the water might have been and how that might have affected both the birds’ and the alligators’ movements.
I was hoping the Pelicans would display their flight skills, but they just continued round and round, eventually disappearing beyond the bend in the pond.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, 11/25/2016.
A common Anole hanging out with the flowers on this early fall day. He twisted up and down stopping in yoga-like poses.
The flowers remind me of a wild aster, but different than those in New England. The bank of the canals running through the old rice fields at Caw Caw County Park are lined with them.
Click any photo to enlarge.
The Ural Owl flying demonstration at The Center for Birds of Prey, Awendaw, SC was in a wooded area rather than the open field where the Black Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon were featured.
He flew between the audience members where we got a close up look of this owl from Europe and northern Asia.
Certainly not nature’s most beautiful bird, but what elegance in flight.
Their bald heads help them stay clean as they dine on decaying matter.
Taken at a flying demonstration at The Center for Birds of Prey, Awendaw, SC.
Or Lynx rufus depending on where you look. Evidently there had been debate over whether to classify the Bobcat as Lynx rufus or Felis rufus. National Geographic is using Felis rufus: National Bobcat Rescue
& Research uses Lynx rufus.
All wildlife resources describe Bobcats as nocturnal so I probably should have been even more surprised to see this one just after noon today. The sun highlighted his gorgeous coat.
Normally photos of wildlife from the rear aren’t worth sharing but this one clearly shows the distinctive white patches on the ears that are part of Bobcat identification.
I had thoughts of getting a little closer but less than 15 seconds after my first shot he disappeared into the underbrush. The red bar in the photo is the top of a gate to prevent vehicles from entering this trail.
Full view of the header photo:
Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI, has a number of exotic bird exhibits. Visitors can get close to the Flamingoes; most of the rest are enclosed in some way that limits photography. The West African Crowned Crane (above) was behind plexiglass and the Laughing Kookaburra is in a large, covered enclosure (aka cage).
Not surprisingly, there are a number of birds there that have chosen the zoo as their home, or at least a place to hang out on a sunny Ocober day.
Many of the exhibits at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI, are constructed so that visitors can see at least the faces of the animals without looking through fencing, posts or wires. Presumably these exhibits include those animals unable to escape from these enclosures that take advantage of elevation differences, moats, or an animal’s disability.
However, there is a plexiglas barrier between you and the big cats, making for a tough shot of these leopards piled up together on a rock in the sun.
It was late morning on a warm fall day when we went and many of the animals were resting, but the elephants and giraffes were very actively having lunch.
Click on a photo for larger view or slideshow.
We read some tips on taking photos through fences and headed out to the zoo in Bridgeport to try our hand at some different wildlife.
The Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard are both part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan, where endangered animals are part of a captive breeding program to help ensure their survival.
The zoo is home to a number of un-releasable birds, including this Bald Eagle and Barn Owl. Both quite distinctive, Guinea Fowl and Peafowl roam free around the zoo grounds.
Click on any photo for a larger view or slide show.
A fast approaching thunderstorm shortened our visit so we’ll have to go back to see the Toucan, Ocelot, and the not yet open Pampas Plains exhibit that was having some finishing touches worked on the day we were there.
