Today was just right for a brief afternoon kayak trip on the Wacissa. The water is low and the birds are mostly gone but there are always surprises on this river if you stay quiet and look. This gator was sunning at Blue Spring. I have not seen a gator at the spring before but the lack of human traffic was probably a great opportunity for him to dive deep at the spring and rest on the shore afterwards. This little otter surfaced next to the kayak. The limpkin is eating apple snails. Apple snails I'm told, are invasive but the limpkins snag them and deftly pull the meat out. I hung around the spring looking for ivory bills. Haven't found one yet, but I'm hopeful...When the leaves fall, the views are much better. I've seen lots of bark stripped trees on this river which look like ivory bill feeding signs.
Your pic of a Limpkin eating an apple snail is great...kayak stealth must be the key! -Waxwing
ReplyDeleteAlways great pics. One things for sure: You'll never run out of great material around these parts!
ReplyDeleteBFF,
Miss T
Awsome photos as usual. I still don't know how you ladies do it..kayaking in gator water. I think I'd be terrified!
ReplyDeleteStacie
There are two types of apple snails in this area. There's the native Florida Apple Snail (which the limpkin is eating), and then there's the invasive Channeled Apple Snail, which are spreading like crazy and are destroying are rivers and lakes.
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