There may have been a shift in the ‘good spots’.
Big guys get what they want in the Alligator world. Little guys wait and are carful until they become the big guys.
Low Water Means They Are Out And AboutA guess is the large guys kicked the others out of the nice sleeping spots. They were all around in the open, but no king size critters.
This shot interested me even if the water was ‘boiling’.
As the marsh water recedes the insects, just like the fish, have a smaller area to inhabit. What you can see above, causing ripples , are millions of tiny insect larvae hatching in the heat.
These wildlife areas support life from the smallest to the largest.
All will be good as long as everyone knows their place. No room for error here.
Two photographs in the same general location. Each group of small trees was covered in marsh birds, and of course both spots had the local Alligators sleeping below them.
Always something to see out there.
Even for calm species getting this close is hard. They really don’t trust each all that much.
Here we have three different birds tolerating each other because this sale pool has plenty of food.
There is a White Ibis, Tricolored Heron, and in the back a Glossy Ibis.
The lowering tide creates pools of water where small fish and insects become trapper. In this particular salt marsh there were multiple temporary pools.
No award winning shot here, glare and spotty.
But really, a fun shot.
I have a number of series captured of different birds feeding on the fly, like this Snowy. Not their usual methods, but I have photographed it before.
What makes it so interesting is the various gyrations these birds go through to make it work.
Above the Snowy is ‘trying’ to hover over the water as he grabs a very small fish. This poor guy is not built to hover.
He must move away quickly or else he falls into the water. This tidal pool is not really deep but a bunch of other birds are doing the same technique and heading straight for him.
Feeding in a watering hole is not easy for the birds, but a ‘party’ for any photographer that walks up to one.
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Above is a quick shot taken of a ‘grab and go’ Snowy I just discovered.
Very funny.
I was focusing on the Spoonbill when he made a sudden U-Turn.
He had noticed some feeding action I was photographing and wanted his share. It didn’t matter I was there before him.
Most of the shots here had his wings clipped since he filled the frame at 150 mm, the shortest my lens would go.
Taken on a quick trip to Florida this week. The mature Spoonbills are in full breeding colors now.
No momma or other full size gators this day. However, the waters were filled with youngsters.
Most here are first year babies, under a foot (.3 meters).
Above is probably a 2 year old (2 feet – .6 meters). For the first three years they will grow about a foot a year. Growth is much slower after that.
What we can’t see here is the adult female. She was probably off in the reeds, just watching the kids.
