(c) 2010 Lydia Hinshaw
White ibis yawning?
Great blue heron looking angryDE LEON SPRINGS, FL -- We skipped the visitors' center at the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge Saturday. If we had stopped in, we might have saved ourselves some walking.
Instead, we parked the car and headed straight out to wander the berms among various swamps and waterways. The weather was perfect, warm enough that we didn't even need jackets. Several waterfowl presented themselves for our photographic pleasure, including the usual great blue herons, who never seem to move, and white ibises, who never seem to stand still.
We'd made it most of the way around a loop, including a 100-yard slog through a muddy stretch where we had to step carefully lest we sink up to our ankles.
Ahead, the berm made a sharp left and we could already see the observation deck we'd left half an hour earlier. We'd be back in maybe 10 minutes.
Two other hikers were standing on the berm, just past the turn. They kept pointing at something ahead of them. As we got closer, this is what we saw:
Instead, we parked the car and headed straight out to wander the berms among various swamps and waterways. The weather was perfect, warm enough that we didn't even need jackets. Several waterfowl presented themselves for our photographic pleasure, including the usual great blue herons, who never seem to move, and white ibises, who never seem to stand still.
We'd made it most of the way around a loop, including a 100-yard slog through a muddy stretch where we had to step carefully lest we sink up to our ankles.
Ahead, the berm made a sharp left and we could already see the observation deck we'd left half an hour earlier. We'd be back in maybe 10 minutes.
Two other hikers were standing on the berm, just past the turn. They kept pointing at something ahead of them. As we got closer, this is what we saw:
To get past this obstacle, we would have to walk within five feet of its tail.As we pondered the situation, the other hikers turned around and headed the other way.
Prince Charming though he could spook the gator with a broken off tree limb, a literal 10-foot-pole, he'd seen on the trail. He figured he'd chase the gator into the water and we could continue on our way.
I found this idea completely foolhardy, not to mention illegal. Although this fellow looked as comatose as any gator I've ever seen, I also knew he could move with frightening speed if provoked, and not necessarily into the water. He might turn around and come after the fool who was harassing him.
Fortunately the Prince deferred to my better judgment. We turned around, and hiked back the way we'd come, retracing three-quarters of the loop, including the muddy stretch.
Back at the observation tower, we met a couple of tourists from Sarasota and described our adventure.
Unlike us, they had stopped at the visitors' center, where they'd been told about the gator, and were even given a map that marked his usual hangout. They'd been told the gator is 14 feet long.
I believe it.
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