I was really happy to see this big guy drift over. The morning was dark, damp, chilly, and really empty. I think I had walked the length of a dike and not seen a single thing close enough for a shot.

That doesn’t happen very often but when it does I immediately look for a local. Being chilly now they are going to be scarce too.

I was surprised to see this one due to the cold. Alligators will not eat if it’s cold out. Being cold blooded they don’t need food at these temperatures. Also they can’t digest anything if they did which is dangerous for them. So there was no need for him to be swimming around at all.

Later it warmed up and his relatives came out too. However, at the time I thought I might be going home empty handed.