Egrets & Crabs & Snakes, Oh My!

I had already pretty much written this whole weekend off due to the passing tropical storm, but I was pleasantly surprised to wake up Saturday morning to blue skies. I drove all over town hunting down things that needed their pictures taken and my last stop was sunset at South Lido Beach. Sunset was a bust, but I got a few interesting animal shots for my trouble.

This handsome fellow is a Reddish Egret. They aren't the most common of egrets, and I didn't even know they existed until I wound up with a photo of one, and it didn't look like the egret I thought it was when I photographed it. You can see the reddish color of the neck feathers, which are also rather shaggy, the pink base and dark tip on the bill, and even the blue legs that tell you what species this is. There were two of these fellows feeding in a tidal pool this evening. I don't know how to tell the sexes apart, so they may have been a pair.

This crab claw was washed up on the beach, possibly a limb lost by a victim of the on-going red tide in the area. The beach was also littered in dead fish, some of them up to two feet long. But none of them were as photogenic as this colorful little carapace.

This little sneaky snake was pretty lucky I came along when I did. As I pulled into my parking spot, I spotted a great blue heron picking at something in a puddle. Before I could tell what it was, another car scared off the heron, so I walked over and found this guy who had narrowly escaped becoming supper. He was a little shocked from the experience, lacking the energy to even run away when I tried to pick him up. He made a couple of half-hearted attempts to bite me, but he mostly just curled up around my fingers and enjoyed the sensation of still being alive after having been pecked at by a giant bird.

I took over 800 pictures today, so I'll be posting stuff throughout the week from my adventures. Stay tuned for more fun!!!