March 18, 2016---gator boys at Wakodahatchee!

Been over a week since I've been to WAkodahatchee, so it was time to get over there again.  Time to see if any new birdies have hatched.  Didn't see much in the way of new babies, but there are still a bunch of young anhingas and Great Blue Herons.  Plus I got to see a few other really exciting things (to me)---a couple birds I haven't seen before and a gator chase.
I see an egg!  And it's blue!

 glossy ibis

 love the colors and plumage of the birds in breeding season!

a new guy for me---a Sora

 Saw another one of these guys a ways down the trail.

cattle egret

 Then we heard a loud noise coming from the water.  I looked over and saw this alligator swimming vary quickly towards where I was standing on the boardwalk.

 Then I noticed there was another alligator chasing it.  I was surprised how fast they can move in the water!  They had to be using their arms, legs and tails.  Finally the one in front dove underwater and the other one slowed a bit and continued under our boardwalk and over to where the group of trees are with the baby anhingas. 

 Looking back towards that bunch of trees where most of the baby anhingas are.  I noticed, too, that just since I was there a little over a week ago, the trees were beginning to leaf out.

 colorful dragonfly

a dove

 a pair of tri colored herons

a cute little palm warbler

a wood stork flying over to pick up some nest building materials.

 great egret with nesting material

 another great egret collecting nesting material

 a pair of great egrets

 another new find for me---black crowned night heron

 here he is again.

 a soft shell turtle.

 over by the trash can at the entrance to the boardwalk was this guy having a lunch from the trash can.

 I've been here 6 or 7 times now and it seems like each time has something special going on there.  This time was the Sora, Black Crowned Night Heron, and the fast moving alligators.  Gonna miss this place.