Alligators and birds at Gatorland

The big gators were bellowing when I walked into the bird rookery.

A big one standing in the water.

You can feed hot dogs to the gators in the lake but I think the birds eat more of them than the gators do. I once saw a kid throw the hot dog on the gator's head and a bird picked it off his head. I have also seen a gator catch and eat an egret so it happens.

Wood storks close to the boardwalk. I think they were walking around looking for lost hot dogs.

Big smile!

It always seems funny to see the birds use the gator tails as logs to stand on.

This snowy egret was stepping over the gator.

A loud video of the gator bellowing. Birds are calling in the begining. Towards the end you can hear the bellow.

I got to Gatorland right when they opened at 9am and headed straight for the bird rookery. When I got there I heard the strangest noise. I have been to Gatorland several times in the spring for the last 2 years and had never heard that sound before. All of the alligators were bellowing. It sounded like a sick dog groaning. It was very loud. Creepy but interesting. I was just glad I was on the boardwalk and not in some swamp with that sound. The weather was cool when I got there which I think is why the gators were so active that early. It warmed up pretty quick though. It's interesting the relationship with these birds and the gators. They are both just looking for food in the same places. The alligators in the lake provide a safe place for the birds to build their nest over to keep raccoons out (until one of the babies falls out of the nest).  I posted this picture last year on Flickr of an alligator with a great egret - flickr picture. Sad but I know everyone has to eat.

Too Many Birds At Ding Darling NWR

The title of this post is made in jest while it's somewhat accurate with regard to my perceptions for bird photography at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge of late.

The Great Egret with White Ibis above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Of course, an early morning visit to the refuge at a low tide is the ideal time to be here for wildlife observation.

At that time, the rising sun will be for the most part behind you as you make your way along Wildlife Drive.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

To clarify earlier comments made related to the importance of the tidal conditions, it is best to arrive at Ding Darling four to five hours after a low tide at Matanzas Pass timing a visit as close to sunrise as possible.

The time of an ideal low tide will vary depending on the time of year of your visit.

The Ring-billed Gull above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Biting sand gnats can be a nuisance at the Refuge as I've observed in virtually all of my visits, so you may want to have an insect repellent with DEET available.

Please note that if viewing the exif data for any of the photographs taken this week that I failed to change the time ahead an hour in my camera.

The White Pelican above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

I've observed the tide to change this many hours after the low at Water Control Structure 2 with predictability.

My last three visits to the Refuge have been particularly overwhelming in the wildlife seen.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

This smacks in the face of commentary I've been told or read that there has been a reduction in wildlife observations made in recent years across the state of Florida.

I've given some thought to this perception and what the explanation for it may be.

The White Pelican above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

I have been diligently observing wildlife in southwest Florida for about four years with 12 favorite venues that I visit as regularly as possible.

These southwest Florida venues include Ding Darling, Bunche Beach, Estero Lagoon, Lovers Key, Harns Marsh, Lakes Park, Corkscrew Swamp, Six Mile Cypress, Venice Rookery, Eagle Lakes, Tigertail, and Babcock Webb in no particular order.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

So what might be the cause for such a negative perception of a wildlife decline?

I can think of a few things that may have different degrees of relevance.

The Great Egret above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Foremost is perhaps the unprecedented back to back hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 when hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne in '04 and Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in '05 undoubtedly devastated countless nesting colonies.

Hurricane Charley is particularly noted as having changed the ecology and topography of Ding Darling NWR.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Hurricane activity in Florida has fortunately been subdued in more recent years giving wildlife the opportunity to recover with more favorable conditions.

Abnormally cold weather the last two winters has possibly impacted birds favorably in Florida with the '09-'10 fish kill when wading birds gorged themselves earlier than they typically do when water levels are at there lowest before the start of the rainy season.

The Great Egret above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

A comment overheard by a volunteer at Ding Darling noted however that rainfall, whether plentiful or not, has not been a cause of the failure of Wood Stork nesting colonies at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary the last couple of years to the extent that cold weather has been.

Wood Stork have been seen in the Fort Myers area with frequency this winter (though not this past week), particularly at Ding Darling NWR and Harns Marsh Preserve.

The Pied-billed Grebe above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

In addition to the above speculated uncontrollable forces, I've made observations that have negative impacts from moment to moment.

Most recently was an observation of a few young kids at Estero Lagoon that were running into a flock of resting birds near the surf.

The playful activity above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in February 2011.

This event reminded me of kids doing the same on the flats at Lovers Key State Park at New Pass with much greater numbers of birds impacted a few years ago.

The lack of parental supervision is disappointingly seen with positive efforts made at Ding Darling noted recently as a bus load of kids passing by were heard educated about the wildlife they could see.

The Pied-billed Grebe above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

The education about wildlife has been made in the form of questions like, "What do you see?"

On occasion I've also observed pets that are allowed to run unrestrained by their owners with the dogs as expected attempting to play with wildlife which reacts as you might expect.

The White Ibis above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

I'm not sure the impact of exotic pet release or hunting, but these factors may have notable impact for observations of wildlife as well.

Florida has allowed the hunting of snakes in the Everglades this past year.

The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

I've encountered an abundance of wildlife during my visits to the venues mentioned in this post with very rare exception.

Ding Darling NWR was my sole focus this week devoting much time along Wildlife Drive at my favored observation point at WCS2 with numerous observations made that were no less than extraordinary.

The Little Blue Heron juvenile above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

As was normal in the moon's cycle, the favored low tides had been getting higher and later in the morning each day.

I believe this was the cause of fewer birds seen overall on each successive visit to the refuge while the most recent visit I found to be the most memorable.

The Pied-billed Grebe above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

A Swallow-tailed Kite was seen for the first time this season as it gracefully circled above.

Toward the west near mid-morning I thought I observed smoke rising into the sky, but it was thousands of Tree Swallows upon closer inspection.

The Swallow-tailed Kite above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

There were many opportunities to observe feeding behavior, overflights of birds, and the mere daily routine of the interesting avian creatures.

I was able to photograph for the first time the double crest of a cormorant which is not an easy thing to do even considering how abundant this species is in the area.

The Tree Swallow with egret above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

An adult Snowy Egret was not tolerant of a juvenile that was within its territory.

A distinctive waterfowl observed flying with a pair of Mottled Duck would be identified as the rarely seen Northern Shoveler at the Refuge.

The Northern Shoveler above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

And perhaps the most exhilarating experience was an overflight of about a hundred Willet that strafed me at less than ten feet from behind.

The allure of Indigo Trail has been incredibly enticing, though yet to be explored.

The Willet above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Too many birds at the refuge has been my concern for a photograph of the wildlife without a distraction in an image taken of a particular subject ideally engaging in behavioral action.

I'm not a fan of manipulating photographs beyond traditional means though desperately need to learn how to add canvas to an image which I hope to do in the near future.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

For returning visitors to my blog, I hope you find the new look appealing.

I'm grateful to Tim Rucci for his help with my Pbase style sheet while attempting to emulate it in this blog.

The Pied-billed Grebe above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of timing visits to venues nearby the Gulf of Mexico for the most part at a low or near low tide.

If you fail to do this, you may end up being disappointed.

The Brown Pelican above was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in March 2011.

Eve Of Ding Darling Days 2010

Two visits to J.N. "ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge this week offered distinct observation opportunities made on the eve of Ding Darling Days 2010.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

I weighed early morning light of more importance than low tides that occurred near midday in planning my visits.

The picture perfect weather on the morning of the first visit led to an initial sighting of a solitary Great Blue Heron in the company of a pair of Wood Storks while grebes flew along the shoreline into the mangroves before I could get out of the car.

The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

Double-crested Cormorants were abundant and offered entertaining views of their feeding behavior.

I couldn't help but be captivated by the extraordinary activity and great numbers of fish jumping from the water.

The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

A solitary Roseate Spoonbill made a flyby while a Bald Eagle and an Osprey flew together across the sky.

Laughing gulls were the most abundant species seen on the first day.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

It was interesting to observe the gulls feed for themselves while dining on shrimp.

Once a gull found its quarry, it was of course expected to be and was harassed by others of its kind.

The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

A Little Blue Heron was observed to capture shrimp as well as the bird flew from its mangrove perch several times very gracefully.

The fish and shrimp had a sense of presence of a bird flying near the water's surface and would make defensive maneuvers effectively.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

A pair of Belted Kingfisher consumed the lion's share of my observations on the first day as they remained relatively close to me for some time.

A pair of kingfishers were at one point in a dispute of territory with one bird driven from the area.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

From either side of Wildlife Drive, the feeding behavior of the kingfisher was observed as the birds would hover about 35 feet above the water's surface for over five seconds before a dive to find its prey.

The kingfishers were simply too fast for me to get an appealing photograph which I've been practicing to get since my initial observations of terns that have similar behavior at nearby beaches.

The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

From a much greater distance I was able to observe a Belted Kingfisher that was perched on a low lying branch while it made numerous dives into the water.

I concluded the kingfisher was merely making an attempt to cleanse itself as it never came up with food although preened itself on each return to the branch.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

The early morning weather forecast heard on the radio was ominous calling for rain south of the Caloosahatchee River on day two.

Although the sky was overcast for much of the morning offering a much different lighting opportunity for photography, precipitation was fortunately never a threat.

The Bald Eagle with Osprey above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

It was on this day that I found a more rewarding experience that would unfold through my five hour single trip through the wildlife refuge.

On both visits however, the swarming and biting sand gnats were almost unbearable as a breeze was barely noticeable from the east with repellent almost more of a nuisance than the insects themselves.

The Brown Pelican above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

The view toward the west at water control structure 2 (WC2) on the second day offered a surprisingly larger number of wading birds with the water level higher at sunrise.

The Wood Storks I had seen the day before were not initially present, but flew in shortly after my arrival.

The Osprey above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

It was about this time that the weeds on the side of the roadway were being mowed along the entire length of Wildlife Drive.

The dust kicked up and slowly working its way across the water toward the birds I was photographing was less of a concern than stones thrown that might do some damage.

The Great Egret with Reddish Egret above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

At one point along the drive, it was evident the groundskeeper had found a Mourning Dove carcass which had its feathers scattered over a large area where the prey had met its doom.

As I made my way through the refuge, a stop at WC4 near the north access to Indigo Trail offered a sighting of a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron on a sign post.

The Great Egret above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

A fellow wildlife photographer had approached me to ask if the bird seen was a Limpkin which I was sure there was no chance of at all based on my observations of the species in the past although the Limpkin has been sighted as a rarity at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.

In this same area I would observe a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker for the first time.

The scene above above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

While savoring my new sighting, fellow visitors to the refuge stopped to see what had interested me.

My initial reason for stopping at this point along the drive was the sighting of a Red-shouldered Hawk which was followed by Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Palm Warbler, Gray Catbird, and then the sought after Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

The Pileated Woodpecker, cardinal, and Gray Catbirds were observed to eat berries in the trees.

As Ovenbirds advanced ahead of me along Wildlife Drive, I chose to make my first stop at Shell Mound Trail.

The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

I encountered a number of "Rovers," or volunteers at the refuge that engage visitors of Ding Darling very well.

The first of whom approached me to tell me that the identification of birds is left to "these guys" as she held the eastern edition of Sibley's Guide to Birds.

The Pileated Woodpecker above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

Shell Mound regrettably can't be seen clearly due to the overgrown mangroves and other trees on and around it.

I met Rovers Ann and Bill Wollslager whom between them have over 7500 volunteer hours at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge while on the 1/3 mile Shell Mound Trail.

The Palm Warbler above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

I was settled down for IBB, or itty bitty bird action, which I first heard coined by Paul E. Allen at Eagle Lakes Regional Park in nearby Naples.

Gumbo Limbo trees that are very evident in this area of the refuge are most appreciated for their form.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

Ann had told me of Ed Colmbs' approach towards us along the boardwalk speaking very highly of his skills.

Ed had made his expertise of wildlife observation known without question telling me of birds present deeper in the woods that I had not seen nor heard.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

While speaking with him briefly, he identified a White-eyed Vireo above us that I would have great difficulty in identifying with my limited experience and inability to photograph the subject directly overhead.

Ed had informed me that my sighting of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was the first documented at the refuge for the fall 2010 season and also told me that he had acquired his interest in birding at the age of five.

The Gray Catbird above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

I was amazed that he was able to identify the sapsucker as a 1st year female from my display on the camera.

In attempting to confirm the names of all the great Rovers I had met on my second visit of the week, it was a surprise coincidence to have Karen, working the visitor center, claim Ed as her husband.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in October 2010.

Ding Darling Days 2010 will unquestionably be enjoyed by all of its participants with visitors to the refuge doing the same in the future.