We just returned from visiting my family in Texas. While we were there, we were fortunate enough to encounter several different animals out in the wild.
We went to Cullinan Park Conservancy, which is a huge area with walking trails and animals including birds, beavers, frogs, butterflies, snakes, ducks, and alligators. We visited during the morning and encountered a bunch of these great animals out in their natural habitat. The sun was high by the time we saw them so the lighting isn’t ideal, but I’m excited about the images I was able to get.
We saw a few alligators during our trek. There was a little one at the entrance sunning himself on a branch. We found a bigger one hiding at the waterline along the shore further in. Neither alligator seemed to be hunting anything. We eventually found one that was. It was small, sitting at the surface of the water staring at two ducks and their 10 chicks about 20 feet away.
This was the duck family the alligator was watching. The ducklings were flapping in the water when we arrived. By the time we noticed the alligator, so did the adult ducks. They didn’t make any sudden movements while we were there, but I suspect they were starting to move away soon.
Speaking of ducks, there was a very friendly one at the entrance that didn’t mind if people got within two feet of it. In fact, it moved toward people as they passed by, probably looking for a snack. It even walked right up to the shore where the first alligator was sunning nearby, apparently unaware or unaffected by it.
There were several birds out and about as well. I wasn’t set up to get a shot of one in flight, but I got this Black Heron (I think) hanging out in these branches and this Great Blue Heron (?) waiting for fish. I also encountered a beetle that scared the daylights out of Adam.
In addition to the animals at the park, we also found some at home. Right next door, in fact! On two different evenings we saw a family of three armadillos foraging. The first night they didn’t seem to mind me, allowing about 10 minutes to photograph them. They even wandered toward me as they dug for food. I returned a second night and they weren’t quite as accommodating, running away after 5 minutes. I’ve never seen one up close so I was very excited with what I got
I usually bring my camera on trips like this but I rarely actually use it. Usually we’re at parks or indoors where the camera doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m glad I had an opportunity to use it
Relatively Ambitious 