After the bigger fellow from my post Alligator Coming Up got settled I turned my head to watch an Egret and the little gator bailed off into the water. I watched him swim around the ramp and then he took at turn at climbing up.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
He made a huge effort, flailing his front and back legs around.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
I can do it!
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
Almost there, just need to get that back leg a little higher!
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
And then he lost his grip.
Alligator Falling Off Ramp
Notice that the bigger Alligator never moved during all this action.
Many nature areas provide ramps for the Alligators to get get out of the water and sun themselves. The result is safe, fascinating viewing for visitors and keeps some of the Alligators out of the areas where said visitors might be walking. Usually the low end of the ramp is in the water but the pond has been lowered for maintenance so access to this ramp required some work.
A younger Alligator was laying there minding his own business and didn’t seem aware he was about to have company.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
He stayed in that spot for longer than I expected.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
But then he thought better of it as the larger Alligator heaved up over the side with a gargantuan effort.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
For a moment I thought the big one was going to flip back into the water. Alligators are proportionally tail so even with his front legs on the platform he had a ways to go.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
Made it!
The big guy made it and the little one moved a few more inches away.
Alligator Climbing Onto Ramp
The larger Alligator is probably 4 to 5 years old. He is loosing the yellowish stripes that younger ones have to help with camouflage. When they get to be this age and size they are no longer prey to other animals.
A few Great Egrets were swooping over the pond as they vied for mates or nesting spots in the nearby trees.
Great Egret Flying Over Alligators, Turtles
Some were gathering sticks for their nests but they were easily distracted when another Great Egret invaded their space.
Great Egret Flying Over Turtle
Occasionally I’ve seen a large Alligator snap at a bird flying overhead without making contact, but these smallish Alligators and turtles ignored the aerial displays going on above them.
Even though it is winter, with some nights down to and below freezing temperatures, many Alligators are still out and about during the day around the swamp.
Alligator and Turtles
Supposedly they don’t eat it when it is cold, their metabolism slowing in a process called brumation.
Way at the back of the pond, under an overhang of trees a young Alligator assumed a pose I more often associate with sun bathing. We’ve had some warm days, but it is still winter and the water remains cold.
The majority of the water has been let out of one of the rice field ponds at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in advance of some repairs to be made on the back dike. This has left a mud flat that is very attractive to the wading birds.
Tricolored Heron and Alligator
From a distance I thought the other creature was a stick but I could clearly see the eyes of a small Alligator as I got closer.
Tricolored Heron and Alligator
The last image is focused on the Alligator, that was content to hold that spot while the Tricolored Heron hunted behind him.
The rice field impoundments and canals were busy last Saturday morning including a Bald Eagle that was scooping up fish. There had been a die-off over night, likely due to a sudden temperature drop to near freezing.
Bald Eagle Fishing in Rice Field Canal
The Great Egrets went about their business without any fuss.
Bald Eagle Fishing in Rice Field Canal
I was quite a distance from the action but it was cool to see a few Eagles swooping over the Great Egrets and Alligators.
These images were taken in a section of the wildlife management area that I don’t visit often. Until recently you had to climb over fallen trees to get there and the dike is lower, which puts the photographer closer to the water which is good and bad.
Getting a lower prospective and Alligator reflection is good. Being closer to unseen Alligators can scare the &#!% out of a photographer if they move!
Alligator and Reflection
Being lower also means less breeze, which much of the year means more mosquitoes. Last week was cooler so there wasn’t much insect activity.
White Ibis
This White Ibis was enjoying the sun and along came a Little Blue Heron.
Little Blue Heron and White Ibis
The Little Blue Heron slowly encroached on the Ibis’ space.
