Snakes And Alligators!

We had a beautiful Spring day on the Cypress Swamp. Spring was bursting out everywhere, as the Bald Cypress trees get their new needles, and most of the other trees and bushes are leafing out. We had the first alligator of 2017 for this tour, and a very nice female Brown Watersnake. After picking her up, I realized that she had a minor wound on her tail. I am guessing that she had a narrow escape from someone with sharp teeth. This is the time of year when big, beautiful female snakes are sometimes surrounded by interested males, but this was the only one we say today. The rest of the month is supposed to be warmer, and our reptiles should be popping up everywhere on our Cypress Swamp and Sandy Island Tours.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Osprey at an old, abandoned nest in Cox Ferry Lake. The nest had been empty for at least two years, but today, there were three Osprey. My guess is that it was a young female and two suitors. It will be interesting to watch how this turns out. This is the third Osprey nest in this area, so now we have an active nest on each of the possible tour routes on our Cypress Swamp Tour, in addition to the three on our Sandy Island Tour.

Find the Alligator…

Everybody wanted to hold the snake

That’s a BIG snake – but gentle as a baby bunny.

Happy guest holding big Brown Watersnake

Osprey at nest