Eyes closed tight.
Note; I had already labeled the article and photograph ‘A Deep Sleep’. However, I then scrolled through the next 3-4 images shot, just seconds later. His eye was opened just a slit, he was looking.
Sneaky bugger.
I could call these the lazy mans photographs. Unlike some of the other animals there are times Alligators are just there waiting for a camera (or so it seems).
What could be better on a cloudy, rainy day.
A simple but interesting critter accommodating me.
Few people get to see a scene like this, I’m out there and I don’t always get this. Best viewed full screen to see the details.
The photograph was taken facing one of the dikes out in an old rice field. The steep bank isa side of this old dike and you can walk this for a long way.
A Great Blue Heron is on the dike, another below to the right in the water.
This is fall so the reeds are down and the color more brown than anything. On the bank below the dike is a large Alligator sleeping.
And of course easily seen are the White Pelicans swimming by.
The immediate surrounding wildlife areas are over 350,000 acres. That is like a small country.
However, just today I read the other connecting public/private wildlife lands now are approximately 1,000,000 acres. Yep, one million.
I bumped into an old friend the other day.
An elder statesmen out in these marshes. Not the largest, but after a certain size and number of years it’s all relative. Not many argue with him.
Old Alligators will eventually have scars, wounds, and like here distinctive markings. He has appeared in numerous photographs on this web site over the last few years.
I suppose it should seem odd to me, actually recognizing animals like this. Yet it doesn’t.
And that’s the oddest of all.
The plan here could have been better. At least the flaw was discovered in time. But it was pretty funny to see.
This Great Egret was flying low, onto a marsh island in a nice glide.
Suddenly the bird leaned back and started to frantically flap his wings.
I think that was about the time I spotted the Alligator too.
The poor bird had some really good forward motion going, so stopping was not happening in an instant.
He was flapping hard though.
He was able to pull up short and touch down without crashing landing on top of an Alligator.
But I have to wonder… why not pull back up and fly over him. A lot less stress.
Another case of you never know what you may see out there.
Why would everyone here would be snuggled up ?
This another one of those things that could end badly.
Another photograph in the category of ‘You can’t make this stuff up’.
When it comes to food all the rules get broken.
The Alligator had a crab, the Heron wanted some.
So did another Alligator.
If you look close, another Heron was coming in too.
Click any image for a full view.
I wasn’t in an ideal spot for these shots but unless this Alligator finished fast, and went under water, things would get interesting.
The Gator didn’t get this big being dumb, he ducked under real quick and was gone.
