River Wildlife

Nature’s Clean-up crew

While cruising back to Lake Monroe, FL, I spotted a flock of vultures. It isn’t unusual to see them sitting in a tree, but when they are on the ground it usually means they are feeding on something.

At first glance it appeared they were sitting on a log, but it did seem unusual so we turned around for a better look.

We were right to double check…it is definitely a gator. August 15 thru Nov 1 is hunting season.

It’s possible it died of natural causes but with the season open……..not likely.

I know they are dangerous…and the big ones especially so…but I sure hate to see all the big old gators killed off. Many of the problems are caused by people who feed them and they start associating people with food instead of being wary of them. During breeding season it’s best not to hang around their territory. Many people hunt them for the meat, hides and the extra money to keep the family going. I have no problem with that. I’ve done it myself in the past.(though not with gators). Not a fan of “trophy” hunters, though.

Fall Colors

I know it’s hard to believe..but we do have fall in Florida.

It was really pretty on parts of the St Johns River.

It’s nothing like you see in the NE…but the colors are pretty against all the green.

An Anhinga with trash around it’s beak

Our friends, Debbie and George, have a beautiful pond. Many ducks call it home. Many more wild ones come in daily to feed. Blue Herons and Anhingas also frequent it.

This Anhinga showed up and has stayed a few days. They realized there was a problem. I took some pictures this afternoon, so we could get a look at what is on it’s beak.

It almost looks like rags or something with knots in it.

The bird was quite a distance away and the pictures aren't very good.

They contacted someone who knows how to handle a situation like this. They will try to net it when it gets a bit weaker. They don’t want to chase it away, it might not get any help then.

For some reason it cant get it off it’s beak and that means it can’t eat. I will let you know how they make out getting it free.

This is one of the reasons we carry nippers and bags for trash when we are out in our dingy. We once saw an Anhinga with fishing line trailing behind, as it flew past, and decided we’d start gathering all the fishing line that is left in the bushes etc. We have to take our dog ashore each evening and morning…while out..we cruise the waters edge looking for “stuff”.

Check out the “Pick it up” button on the right….just click on it. This is why you’ll find it on all my blogs.

Red Dragonfly

I need some help on this one. I’m not sure what kind it is.

A very pretty reddish brown.

It didn’t seem afraid. I was able to row right up to it.

It was a bit more reddish than the pictures show. There looks to be a dark line down the top of the body.

It was about the size of a Meadowhawk, so possibly a Cardinal Meadowhawk? Not a real bright red though, more of a deep reddish orange. Pretty…whatever it is.

Big Gator

We just spent 3 nights on the St Johns River, FL. It was hot and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms. But it was a good trip.

We spotted this big gator on our way home.

The hunting season hasn’t opened yet, but he was still pretty wary of us making a “U” turn and coming back to take pictures.

But he didn’t make a big run and splash. He just casually turned and glided in.

I hope he makes it through the season. He sure was a handsome guy.

Alligators!!! I love to watch them

We spend some of our free time aboard a boat. We might be out for a few days or a few weeks. We cruise at a slow 5 mph. It’s a slow moving trawler. So we get to see a lot of wildlife that most folks miss. Look at this beauty. Just out of the water and still clean and shiny.

This is another good sized gator.

Look at the size of his thigh and claws. It’s not just the teeth you have to worry about.

I have to take my little dog ashore in an inflatable dingy. It has a 2 hp motor but I row most of the time if looking for something to photograph. We had just gotten back into the boat when the little 5 –6 footer raised up in the lily pads with a fish in it’s mouth. He had to raise up and toss it back into his mouth. I was too slow getting the camera ready, but, if you look closely…you can see the fish’s tail.

He was about 10 feet from us.

Look at all the birds sitting around the gator. None of them look nervous. Maybe they know how to tell when they are hungry.

I missed all the action in the next picture. They are 50 to 75 ft away and I zoomed as quick as I could…but missed the fight..or whatever it was. The one with his head out was bellowing and posturing, while I was getting the camera he and another one did the “death roll” thing with water splashin’ and flying everywhere. When they got done, there were 5 of them in the area, just cruising around looking at each other. There are 3 in this picture. The one in the center is quite a bit smaller.

In this photo you can see the same gator and his tail. That is what I meant by posturing. Normally they just glide through the water, but today he had his tail humped up…his head out of the water…just lookin’ as purty as could be. Don’t know if he was trying to impress or show how big he was to drive other males away. It’s the first time I saw this. Needless to say…I waited until the show was over and every gator had gone on his way, before starting up the river in the dingy with the dog to the beaching spot….and I didn’t row…I fired up the motor and hustled right along. This is not a good time of year to try to get up close and personal. I mind my manners when in their habitat.

River Otter

We spent an afternoon and night at Silver Glen Springs. It’s on the W side of Lake George, St Johns River, FL. Beautiful crystal clear water that is 72 deg year around. In the summer when it is in the 90’s it feels awfully cold, but last winter when the air temp was 28 deg and there was ice on the boat from the mist…it was like bathwater!

I use the inflatable dingy to take our small poodle ashore. It was just before dark and the otters were out having fun. They don’t mind the boats until they realize that they are being watched. As I drifted with the current, I was able to get a few photos.

I saw a lot of splashing and thought they were just playing. One came out of the water and ran to shore with a fish. On second thought, perhaps they were chasing the fish into the shallows where they could trap them. It gave the fish to a small Otter and headed back into the water.