And can I add... They are unbelievably swift once they are on the shore!
Been there Rick
On Apr 2, 2015 9:28 AM, "Charles Geilfuss" <charles.geilfuss@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>
> Nice capture, Chuck. They have been emerging from their winter nap here as
> well. I've seen about a half dozen, mostly 3-4 footers and one six footer.
> The small ones are no threat except to frogs and fish. Once they get to
> five feet, cats and small dogs are at risk. And for the really big ones
any
> dog is at risk. Last year my neighbor lost his 80 lb. hound to an eight
> foot gator. He made the mistake of letting the dog off the leash near a
> large pond. The dog went nosing down by the waters edge and it was over in
> a flash. Gators have had many millions of years to perfect their hunting
> technique and they are very good at it.
>
> Charlie
>
> On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 8:51 PM, Chuck Norcutt <
chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > wrote:
>
> > We have a small pond behind our house which, due to the construction of
> > other new houses around it is pretty muddy. I had considered it likely
> > devoid of much life... until the weather started warming up. Peepers
had
> > been peeping for months but when the temperature rose last week, as the
> > night fell, the little guys were joined by a chorus of bull frogs from
the
> > pond and followed by daytime visits of geese, ducks, herons large and
small
> > and even a stork.
> >
> > Yesterday I spotted a familiar dark object laying low on the water and
> > another resting on the bank at the end of the pond. Further
investigation
> > led me to go grab the E-M1 outfitted with the 75-300 and a monopod.
> >
> > This is what I finally shot from about 10 feet at 300mm. He wouldn't
let
> > me get any closer than that. He looks large but he's only about 4 feet
> > long. You can tell he's young from the yellowish marks on his skin.
He'll
> > be all black as he get older. His buddy was playing shy somewhere and I
> > estimate him at about 5 feet. <http://zone-10.com/tope2/
> > main.php?g2_itemId=16857>
> >
> > This little guy demonstrated some interesting behavior. At first he
> > skedaddled when I got about 30 feet away. But he didn't go very far. I
> > approached him again and got to within about 20 feet. That time he made
> > himself scarce for a while. I walked to the other end of the pond and
> > started looking for the other one. Then I got distracted wondering if
> > there might be any snakes in a large pile of (warm) stones designed as a
> > spillway should the pond overflow. After a short time I looked up and
saw
> > the little guy swimming directly at me from some distance away and he
then
> > made a 90 degree turn and approached the bank of the pond that's near my
> > house. I slowly worked my way over there stopping every now and then to
> > take an ever closer shot. I finally got the one at the link from about
10
> > feet away. When I tried to get even closer still he decided the game
was
> > over and dove under and away as fast as his tail would take him.
> >
> > I saw him and his buddy both again today but didn't have time to go
check
> > them out. I hope to play the game again soon to see how close he'll
let me
> > approach.
> >
> > There are also lots of turtles in the 8-12" diameter range. They like
to
> > sun themselves on a small concrete culvert that empties into the pond.
> > They're much more afraid of me than the gators are. The turtles
skedaddle
> > as soon as they spot me moving toward them. It's been hard to get a
good
> > closeup shot even at 600mm equivalent.
> >
> > Chuck Norcutt
> > --
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> >
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