Wildlife in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

[terrib]

My husband and I took a quick trip to the Texas coastline where we visited the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We arrived in the morning when they opened and on the first trail we saw wild pig, deer, a bobcat, many alligators and many species of birds and ducks. Here are a few. C&C always welcome.

#1 Alligator. This shot is not cropped.




#2 Little Blue Heron. I passed these more than once but could never get close enough when they were in the water. First time I've seen one of these.




#3 Tri-color Heron. Also a first siting for me.



#4 Great Blue Heron. I took a ton of pictures of this one on burst mode coming in for a landing. Even though he's looking straight at me, I liked the pose just because I think it is amusing.



#5 Alligator on the side of the road. This one was small, maybe 4 feet long. I got out of the car so I could try to get more on his level, although I wasn't brave enough to actual lay on the ground. I don't move fast enough from that position any more. This is not cropped.

[splashy]

Nr 4 is really very nice, like it's dancing.
Nr 5 perfect picture, with the gators be careful, there might be more nearby you don't see, they are masters in sneaking up.

[jprzybyla]

Good work Terri, now you have found my secret where I shoot many of my images... national wildlife refuges. The birds and animals seem to know they are protected. When I go to an area like that whether driving or walking I locate the sun and then make a mental note... I can shoot here but not there, I want the sun to light the subject. Regarding the last alligator, I am like you in not being able to rise from the ground gracefully and quickly... way too old.

[Teton Chuck]

Terri, nice series. I especially like number 4. i also like your first alligator shot. Seeing part of the animal under water lets the imagination work on the photo. I like that. Sounds like you are having fun in Texas. When do you return to Colorado?

[terrib]

Thanks Splashy for the nice comments. Yeah, I'm not all that familiar with the behavior of alligators and my husband and I joked about being the dumb tourist that the locals shake their head about. We saw many alligators in the waters near the established walking trails and noted many beaten down paths that looked like trails from one marshy area to the other across the walking trail. Most of the time we were very aware and watchful but caught ourselves a few times getting caught up in the moment of the shot - like when I was following the bobcat.

[terrib]

Thanks, Joe for commenting. It would be pretty special to live near a wildlife refuge where you have time to get familiar with the trails and possible lighting conditions. As you can see, it was very overcast the morning we were there so there was no "direction of light" but pretty bright, uncolored skies. Maybe we'll get back down there again sometime because we sure enjoyed it. It's about a 6.5 hour drive.

[terrib]

Thanks, Chuck. Not sure yet about Colorado. My husband has some medical issues that we'll have to get direction on before we can make those plans. So we're just trying to make the most of the time between doctor visits and treatments. It makes for a lot of last minute trips but at least we are fortunate to be able to do that.