Salt Grass Flats - Celebrating Gulf Coast Birds
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Field
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Birds
American Bittern
American Coot
Belted Kingfisher
Black-necked Stilt
Black Vulture
Caracara
Common Moorhen
Cormorants
Double-crested
Neotropical (Olivaceous)
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Great Egret
Great Horned Owl
Killdeer
Little Blue Heron
Loggerhead Shrike
Pelicans
Cooperative Fishing
Roseate Spoonbill
Tricolor Heron
Turkey Vulture
Snowy Egret
White-fronted Goose
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Wildlife
Reptiles
Alligators
Green Anole
Red-Eared Slider
Snakes
Mammals
Armadillo
Bobcat
River Otter
Wildlife Rehab
Field Notes
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The Sibley Guide to Birds contains marvelous illustrations originally drawn by the author using watercolors. This is a great identification guide, not only for adult birds, but juveniles, also. |
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The
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) has been a successful
predator for the last 200 million years.
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The largest crocodilian
in North America, adults typically range from 15 to 18 feet long
and weigh 450 to 500 pounds. The longest alligator on record was
captured in Louisiana and taped a whopping 19 feet 2 inches. |
Little
alligator hatchlings start out about 8 inches long and weigh about
2 ounces. They start eating immediately and grow about a foot a
year reaching maturity at about age 6.
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An alligator's muscular tail makes up about one half
its overall length. They use their tail for locomotion and steering
while their legs and feet trail along. They can also crawl quite
swiftly and gracefully along the bottom. |
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The American alligator
is a conservation success story. Nearly hunted to extinction in
the 50's; declared an endangered species in the 60's; they've rebounded
to the point that they are no longer threatened. A great deal of
the alligators' habitat has been declared protected as well as the
animals themselves being protected from hunting and harvesting.
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They
hunt mostly in water and are opportunistic feeders resting peacefully
on the bottom or floating calmly in the water column until an unsuspecting
critter comes to close. Fish make up the majority of an alligator's
diet but the adults eat almost anything that's within reach, including
mammals, birds, and other reptiles. Small prey they snap up and
swallow whole; larger animals are dragged underwater to be drowned,
then torn into pieces and swallowed in chunks.
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Move
your cursor around the picture until you "encounter" the
well-camouflaged alligator.
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Alligators
are not just denizens of the wetlands they also perform a valuable
service. During dry periods with low water levels they maintain
their own waterways by pushing aside vegetation and mud to keep
open a channel. They also dig hollows in banks, some as much as
65 feet long. Deep of the hollow maintains a moderate water temperature.
The
alligator in the image to the left reminded us that even in the
most familiar of wetland areas one must always be mindful that you
are a visitor. When disturbed, alligators make a unique and ominous
sound rather like a combination hiss and low, throaty growl. It
means "Get back". We did. |
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