Well, it’s rather a harsh song, and can grate on your nerves if you are sharing space with them near a boat launch. That’s where I spotted this pair, the male trying really hard to impress the female.
When they are in the shade the grackle’s blue iridescent feathers don’t show off much but they make a nice silhouette.
The male’s efforts didn’t seem to be making enough impression.
Hmm, I can ignore you, too!
The Sheep bolted for the barnyard after the Sheep-pede and seeing the pressure washer. Their caretaker went back to the barn, too, for some grain. Clearly the group was won over and towards their pen they trooped.
Except these two that stayed behind cleaning up some grain that got spilt by the group leaders.
The shepherd continued to call and one of the two wanted to be with the group more than he wanted a snack.
The final hold out was determined to do a thorough job.
Then he scampered along to join his pals.
A low key stampede, but these sheep were on a mission.
As part of their Heritage Breeds program Middleton Place maintains a herd of Gulf Coast Sheep that roam the grounds freely during the day.
Herd of Sheep
Every afternoon the animal staff go through a process of securing the animals for the night.
Herd of Sheep – Getting Closer, Me not ready with 100-400 mm lens!
The sheep know the routine and easily headed towards their enclosure when it was their turn.
Herd of Sheep
They got a surprise when they got closer to their nighttime quarters and decided they would mill around rather than go by a pressure-washer that a worker had been using to clean fence that evidently hadn’t been there when they left that morning.
Herd of Sheep, Milling AroundOn a recent visit to one of the local wildlife management areas several Alligators were bellowing all around the old rice field pond. Both males and females can bellow and will do it year round, not just in mating season. During mating season they will do it as a chorus. Needless to say, it can be a little disconcerting. You the human have no way to know what a particular chorus is all about and sound echoing on the water often makes it hard to know just where a particular Alligator is hiding.
I watched this Alligator work his way along the bank of the dike and unfortunately couldn’t see his whole body but was fascinated by the jumping water. The “water dance” is caused by an infrasonic signal known as “subaudible vibrations” and is only performed by males.
After this performance he was done with his socialization activities.
He picked a spot a little further along the bank and settled in.
Alligator social behavior is quite complex, and include at least visual, auditory, and olfactory components. I found a fascinating article by Kent A. Vliet published in the journal American Zoology and shared by the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
You can read the full article
Click to access Social%20Displays%20of%20the%20American%20Alligator.pdf
