The Great Blue Heron was wading, two American White Pelicans swam by, the Alligators were just hanging there. And just a flash of pink of a Roseate Spoonbill preening in the grass.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
November 27, 2021
I see YOU
Do YOU see ME?
That was all.
I do wonder what the world looks like to an Alligator with his eyes at water level.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 14, 2021
The stripes on a young Alligator provide camouflage in a variety of environments, and this youngster in the dark water littered with dried pine needles blended right in.
Working against him, and how I knew he was there before I saw movement, is that the little ones tend to chirp. I didn’t see mama, but I’m sure she wasn’t far off.
I had startled a Great Blue Heron on this bank as I approached. I’m sure the bird was keenly tuned into this being a possible lunch.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 14, 2021
How low can it go before it falls?
First, a throw back to two years ago… changing water levels in the pond worked to carve out the earth under the roots. Alligator action might have played a role, too.
The smaller branches long gone, some kind of vegetation hid the base over this past summer.
At the beginning of October:
A couple of weeks later that cavity beneath the tree had collapsed.
I’m hoping the tree will stay around even after it collapses to serve as a perch for the wading and water birds.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
I was watching a Little Blue Heron wander along the side of a pond when another movement caught my eye.
An Alligator climbed up out of the pond and plopped down in the middle of the path.
The heron just didn’t know what to make of it.
Back and forth he paced while the Alligator basked in the late afternoon sun.
Finally, he’s leaving!
Where’d he go?
The Little Blue Heron wasted no time following the Alligator down the bank into the marsh.
A profiling Alligator caught my attention as I passed by. I couldn’t hear any growling or other noise, but kept my eye on him. He might have been eating something or just showing off.
The action was all over in a few seconds, and that was the end of the excitement.
At least from my viewpoint. It’s hard to know what, if anything, either Alligator was thinking.
Being watched from the water…
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
September 2, 2021
Alligators, just doing their thing.
They clearly know when to give way, and when they can pass on by.
Rice Field, Santee Coastal Reserve, SC
August 26, 2021
Dikes run along both sides of this canal behind the lines of reeds. If you zoom in on the left you’ll see some dragonflies perched in the reed tops and some in the air. Many of my recent dragonfly images were taken from that dike.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
August 29, 2021
