I took one more step to get a better angle of these four Yellow-bellied Sliders and in a blink of the eye they slid below the duckweed covered surface.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
June 16, 2025
Yellow-bellied Sliders, All In A Row
Tag Archives: Duckweed
Green Heron Hunting
I had a great view looking down on this Green Heron as he hunted at the edge of a duckweed covered pond.
Slowly…
… then the plunge…
This time he came up empty.
Not to worry, there was plenty of prey beneath that duckweed and after more patient watching for movement he would try again.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
June 12, 2024
Duckweed, and a Frog
Looking over the railing of the boardwalk through the rookery I spotted cammo-frog.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
March 29, 2024
Two Male Wood Ducks
I don’t visit this little pond often. It’s a bit off the beaten path, a mosquito haven, and most wildlife I’ve spotted there has made a fast exit before I could take any pictures.
These two Wood Ducks made it worth my while on an afternoon walk last week.
They did make an exit, but it was rather slow, hardly making a ripple in the duckweed.
The moment I put my camera down they flew.
Leaving a Trail
I heard this young Alligator chirping at the edge of a duckweed covered pond. I’ve seen juveniles in this area off and on over the summer and suspect they are now around six months old and about 2 feet (60 cm) long.
From there he headed out into the pond, using his full body and tail to propel forward. I didn’t hear any more chirping and didn’t see any siblings. Or mama.
Then he made a 90 degree turn.
Finally he straightened out and headed for the other side of the pond, leaving a squiggly trail in the thick duckweed behind him.
Alligator In The Green
The greens seem more intense in some places as we head into fall. This Alligator slid from the walking path into the water as I approached, then bobbed up in the duckweed as I passed by.
Between the Knees
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.
Blue-winged Teal Vacuums
Blue-winged Teals often eat in circles, almost like a choreographed dance of vacuum cleaners. There was plenty of duckweed to go around on this day and the wind was keeping it concentrated in one side of the pond, keeping the ducks near the walking path.
The duck’s movements leaves trails in the duckweed, indistinguishable from a path made by an underwater Alligator.
These three female Teals stayed in a row for quite awhile, perhaps because there is safety in numbers.
When the light hits them just right the iridescence on the males’ heads is quite pretty.
