Sadly for this turtle, it was playing the role of Little Red Riding Hood, and we all know grandma wasn't grandma... But to continue the circle of life, as we Disney fans should, the well fed alligator survives and goes on to make cute little toothy babies: All taken this Saturday in Green Cay Wetlands. ; The alligators are very active now, with many little gator babies croaking and climbing all around, and adult gators trying to keep themselves fed as the heat comes on strong.
Great shots Justin! ; I am really going to have to try and get down near you one of these days so we can go out into the wilds and do some shooting. ; You seem to always get great stuff.
You definitely should...it's not that far a drive for you - maybe come down for a day of wildlife shooting at two of my key places. ; 3hrs down, 3 hrs back, 5 hours of shooting in between. ; You could be back by 8pm for late dinner!
Hmmm, you make an intriguing offer my friend. ; Let me look at the calendar. ; When does it get too hot to go out for 5 hours? ; Might this be something better to do in say Sept or Oct.?
Certainly it's a little easier to handle in the cooler (relatively) weather...but honestly down here we're not all that different in September than in April. ; I pretty much go out there all year round, but the times most people find it too unbearable are June, July, August. For me it's not all that bad - you sweat a little, there are some spots to get under some tree cover and places where there are pavilions to grab a seat and get some shade - so it's not backbreaking the whole way around. ; Green Cay is about 2 miles around, and Wakodahatchee probably about a mile. ; They're both unassuming places right in the middle of suburbia - which is what makes them so amazing - they are wildlife oases and much more concentrated than the Everglades, where you've got vast hundreds of miles. ; Because of the size, you can pretty much go for a walk around these places in a few hours, can get by even with a 200-300mm lens, and will spot 50+ species of birds even on a quiet day, along with various reptiles and amphibians. ; Both parks are about 15-17 miles north of me, so anytime you want to head down, I can meet you at the places. ; Directions there are pretty easy. ; And me being a 'bird' and 'wildlife' guy, I can help identify whatever it is we're seeing and shooting.
Awesome, I will put this in my to do list and see what comes up. ; As I figure out when I can make it down, we will talk further to work out the details.
Cool series. My first thought was, poor turtle. My second thought was, shells better be digestible, otherwise poor alligator.
I always have a little pang of 'awwwww' for the entrees, but then I go home and eat a hamburger and understand the predator's position!
Great shots Justin. ; You are most certainly lucky to have a place so close to home where you can observe the wildlife. ; Around here we get squirrels, Robins, humming birds if you feed them and the occasional deer(hopefully not jumping out in front of your car in which case the deer usually loses but then so does your car.). There are also bald eagles near by but they are extremely hard to see.
Thanks. ; I wouldn't mind seeing more deer, as ours hide really well, though I prefer they stay away from my car for sure. ; I wish we'd get eagles down this way, but they're very rare. ; Otherwise, I must admit we have a pretty amazing variety down here, and all very close and interactive.
Justin, do either Merritt Island or NASA have birding tours that would let you get to the bald eagles there?
I haven't heard of a 'tour' there, but Merritt would have normal access and eagles are possible from the roads there. ; It's a bit more of a drive for me, but I may give it a go sometime. ; Orlando area gets them too - so I've been thinking of trying up there too when on a Disney trip. We have one eagle nesting in Broward county where I work - but he's quite far from any road and there are no trails out there - they've been spotted with powerful scopes and binocs, and I could get a look at them, but I'd need a 600mm lens + 2x TC to get a shot of them!
The deer are very thick around here and during the winter you can see deer tracks every morning in the snow. ; I have been tempted to put a salt block in our back yard just to get some shots of them. ; ; Just spent the day making some hummingbird nectar so hopefully will be able to get some bird shots soon.
