I took this photo back in April when this Cypress Knee had just the right light shining on it to make it look like a Halloween cartoon ghost. The caterpillars were a scary bonus.
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
April 7, 2023
From the still wet duckweed you could tell this young Alligator had recently climbed out of the pond.
I hadn’t spotted him until I was right up to him. I backed up to get a view of him threaded through the Cypress Knees.
And back a little more to capture the whole pond-side scene.
I haven’t seen many frogs around the various ponds I visit. Usually I just hear the splash as they disappear. I heard this one and his pals in a croaking chorus long before I got to the pond. I finally spotted him near the edge of the water. At least two others were answering in the deeper reeds.
He was huge! Bigger than my hand.
This is a bit further out in the pond, which is the same pond that the Barred Owls hunt around. The frogs might live longer if they didn’t announce themselves with such enthusiasm.
