Marsh Hen – mother and chick

Nature Walk – Spring Lights, 04.20.18

I went for a little jaunt around Green Cay late this morning.  The spring sunshine is already intense here, although it gets more humid when the rainy season arrives.

Here are some photos:

Green Heron and turtles

Little Blue Heron

Great Egret

Saucy Tri-colored Heron

Leaping Lizards!

Immature White Ibis

Berry crop

Cruising

The photo above shows an alligator that I heard first before seeing it glide quietly across the pond.  I was about to enter one of the hammock islands when I heard the roar of an alligator.  I have heard it before so knew that one was nearby.  When I left the other side of the hammock, I scanned the lagoon and spotted the gator.  It glided under the overhanging branches of another hammock island across the way.

Northern Cardinal

It was later in the day so there were more sunshine and heat.  A lot of the birds were sheltering in the tall grasses.  The water level of the ponds had risen quite a bit since my last visit a couple of weeks ago, due to some heavy rain that we received over the weekend.  We’re going to be getting some more rain according to the weather forecast.  The area is in need of the moisture as it has been dry for several months now.

That’s it for now.  Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Namaste,

“Sunny” VaCoupe (aka Eliza Ayres)

© All Rights Reserved, Elizabeth Ayres Escher, http://www.bluedragonjournal.com