Diario de williamwisephoto

El legarto is no mere "lizard"!

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 46517992 - American Alligator; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

Rumor has it that the alligator received its name from the Spanish explorers that claimed Florida in the 1500’s. If true, I’m sure that "el legarto" didn’t simply mean a lizard, but THE Lizard! For the impressive alligator is no mere squamate, but on the order of a greater magnitude: Crocodilia!

The order Crocodilia are large, predatory reptiles. They are primarily carnivorous and feast upon fish, crustaceans, birds, mammals and even other reptiles. While they are quite imposing in appearance, and some crocodilians have attacked humans (the largest number of attacks comes from the Nile crocodile), the American Alligator is rarely a threat to people. According to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources publication, “the opportunity for humans to experience any of the alligator’s weapons first hand will come only to those who attempt to capture one. Under natural conditions, alligators are usually shy, retiring creatures that generally mind their own business, which does not include promoting encounters with humans.”

Still, el legarto is no mere lizard!

Nature Journal July 7, 2018

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 91858801 - Osprey Nest; Greene County, Georgia. July 7, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

A few weeks ago I went to a small restaurant near Lake Oconee in Georgia, USA. I spotted several active Osprey nests. How badly I wanted to stop the car for some photos! But I didn’t want my photography addiction to get me in trouble again. Just have patience. Enjoy dinner with family. An opportunity will arise later, I told myself.

Patience paid off. After dinner, while my wife and kids went to a small store, I raced back and parked under pole #66 where a large Osprey nest sat atop the utility tower. Two hungry juveniles waited in the nest. It seemed their patience had run out as they squealed and cried for dinner. Patience youngsters. Mom and dad will soon be back with dinner. After a few minutes, an adult Osprey soared in toward the nest with a fish in its talons. Then the action began!

​The two juveniles and two adults shifted and bounced around the nest while eating their dinner and a few good shots became available. The longer I exercised my patience, the more shots became available. More Osprey circled the skies, some carrying large fish. I also shot a soaring Mississippi Kite. Patience pays off!

Getting my photos, I quickly sped back to the store to pick up my family. No problems! I had family time and photography time! You just have to have a little patience!

• July 7, 2018; Greene County, Georgia
• Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
• Sunrise Today: 6:28 am, Sunset Today: 8:47 pm
• Daylight Hours: 14 hours, 18 minutes (-43s)
• Moon: 37.1%, Waning Crescent

Okefenokee Journal entry from March 13, 2019...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 21510857 - American Bittern; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 13, 2019. ©williamwisephoto.com

My daughter and I were only ten minutes into a four-day canoe trip through the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and already we nearly had missed something! As we were paddling up the channel to Billy’s Lake from the Stephen C. Foster State Park boat ramp, we pulled to the side to let a tourist-laden pontoon boat pass by. As they went by, the naturalist on board pointed out an American Bittern camouflaged in the marsh grasses. We had paddled right past it, hidden in plain sight!

But we can’t be blamed. Even one prominent ornithology website says, “You’ll need sharp eyes to catch sight of an American Bittern. This streaky, brown and buff heron can materialize among the reeds, and disappear as quickly, especially when striking a concealment pose with neck stretched and bill pointed skyward.” With his bill pointed upward, he blends in perfectly with the tall brown grasses that line the water’s edge. Again, perfectly hidden in plain sight.

Nature Journal entry, July 17, 2015...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 30164327 - White-tailed Deer; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. July 17, 2015. ©williamwisephoto.com

I love to see the neighborhood deer. It is good to know that we humans haven't been able to eradicate every habitat and animal on the planet yet. However, the deer love our Day Lilies. I wouldn't mind, except I paid money for them! And now I'm forced to spend more money on deer repellent to spray on the desired vegetation. I wish the deer would just be satisfied with the persimmon tree planted in our backyard.

I mostly see does and fawns, but this morning at 6:30 AM on my way to morning prayer, I managed to spot a young buck still in velvet chowing down at the better landscaped yard up the street. I'm sure when my neighbor awakes they too will make trip to Lowes in frustration to purchase some repellent!

​Athens, Georgia

A 2015 Okefenokee Journal excerpt:

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 29977854 - Brown Watersnake; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 11, 2015. ©williamwisephoto.com

In the early 1990s as a young unmarried man, I was usually out in the rural areas and swamps of Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas flipping pieces of tin and digging through piles of debris hoping to find snakes. Reptiles became a lasting interest, and much of what drew me to the Okefenokee Swamp in first place. Twenty years later I found myself back in the Okefenokee with my daughter. Thankfully she shares her dad’s love of snakes and is always hopeful for a reptile find as well!

On our 2015 trip, we weren’t disappointed as we quickly came across a Brown Watersnake along the swamp boardwalk in the Stephen C Foster State Park. I’m not sure how we spotted this perfectly camouflaged dark, black and brown snake laying in the dark water choked with brown leaf litter. There are several species of Nerodia found in the Okefenokee. I usually recognize N. taxispilota by the squarish blotches that run in equal spacing down its back, cady-corner with the patches that run alternatingly down each side.

Nature Journal entry, July 27, 2017...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 65491843 - White-eyed Vireo; Walton County, Georgia. July 27, 2017.

Thursday, 8:05 AM – While taking a walk up to the duckweed bog behind my office to check in on a family of Green Herons, I was repeatedly scolded by a scruffed up little yellow bird. Each time a neared a group of small pines, this White Eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) would alight nearby, flitting around and emit a buzz-like chirping, obviously directed at me. I gather her nest was nearby and she simply didn't approve of my presence!

The White-eyed Vireo is a small and secretive bird of shrubby areas of the eastern and southern United States. It is more noticeable for its explosive song than its looks.
​ - Walton County, Georgia

• Sunny, high 91°; heat index 98°
• Sunrise 6:31 AM; Sunset 8:47 PM
• Day length: 13 hours, 56 minutes

Nature Journal July 28, 2016...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 30557395 - Common Snapping Turtle; Walton County, Georgia. July 28, 2016. ©williamwisephoto.com

I had been hunting for a big snapping turtle to use during upcoming classroom presentations. So this was my lucky day! ​This morning before work, right in the middle of the gravel road between the two ponds was a fairly big one! His carapace was 9.5 inches front to back. I carried him back to my truck, which was no small task. Have you ever held up a 5.5 pound snapper while he consistently tried to kick, bite and scratch his way out of your hands??? The kids are going to love this one!

A few days later he came to the classroom and, man, what a hit! This feisty guy made an impression on the kids. ​Although he remained his grumpy self and didn’t show it outwardly, I’m sure he was quite happy the next morning to be released back into the pond near where he was found.

Nature Journal July 29, 2013...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 28818974 - Turkey Vulture; Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. July 29, 2013. ©williamwisephoto.com

It isn't often that you can photograph a soaring vulture from overhead! As we peered over the edge of the gorge in Talullah Gorge State Park in Georgia, a few Turkey Vultures were circling below our feet, just above the canyon floor. The gorge is approximately 2 miles long and almost 1,000 feet deep. Hiking trails around the gorge rim provide spectacular views. If you are physically fit enough, a hike down the hundreds of stairs into the gorge leads to a suspension bridge across the river. (https://gastateparks.org/TallulahGorge)

Photographer: William Wise - Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. July 29, 2013. ©williamwisephoto.com

Okefenokee Journal, October 23, 2020...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 64375795 - American Alligator with transverse rows of epidermal scutes lining back and tail; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. October 23, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

Friday, 10:58 AM - "​Paddling upstream against a slow but constant current, the canoe run gets darker and darker. Although it is only nearing noon and night is far off, the senses are lured into believing that dusk has arrived. Little sunlight penetrates the thick vegetation. Barred Owls, typically creatures of the night, are calling aloud. Like skeletons draped in aged rags, the overhanging Cypress limbs become more and more covered with Spanish Moss until practically nothing of the host tree is visible, and it further blocks out the beams of sunlight struggling to shine through. You glide along the river in silence. Then something big and rough brushes the bottom of the kayak. No shape or figure can be seen in the tannin blackwaters. Is it just the rough bark of a submerged branch? Or the boney hide of a large alligator? "

• Middle Fork Suwannee River; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia.
• Friday, October 23, 2020
• Sunrise 7:04 AM, sunset 5:27 PM
• Day length: 10 hours 20 minutes (-1 hr 8 min)
• Temperature - high 84; low 65

Nature Journal July 30, 2022...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 141551931 - Osprey; Wasatch County, Utah. July 30, 2022.

During our family vacation to Utah, we took the short trip on the historic Heber Valley Railroad. As we passed through Deer Creek Reservoir, I pretty much hung out the window with my camera! Shooting wildlife that was waaaaaaay off in the distance, and from a moving train, didn't produce the greatest results as far as photography goes. But there were several species and lifers by the water that I didn't observe the previous few days up in Park City.

​Shooting from the Historic Heber Valley Railroad.

• Partly sunny, with a steady temperature around 87.
• Sunrise 6:21 am; Sunset 8:43 pm
• Daylight Hours: 14 hours, 22 minutes (-1m 57s)
• Moon: 3.5% Waxing Crescent