Louisiana Swamp Tour, Part 2

Beautiful weather made our tour around Lake Martin even more enjoyable.  Temperatures were in the mid 70's with a consistent gentle breeze in the air.  It was a perfect day for being outdoors.  

Our tour guide, Mason, shared his knowledge of the lake and its plant and animal life.  He was very informative and kept conversation interesting with an occasional tale, local lore and rumors about the area.  Tourists were allowed plenty of time to take photographs and I took advantage of every opportunity possible.  

A determined turtle balanced himself atop a protruding log to soak in some sunlight.

A variety of plant life inhabits the swamp.

Duckweed causes the green, slimy appearance on the water's surface in some areas.

This young gator is about 2 feet long.

Many hatchlings fall prey to predators around them such as snakes, raccoons, otters and larger gators.

One of the "big boys", this adult male is about 14 feet long.

Being close to him made me a little nervous, but excited at the same time.

Another large gator swam nearby.

Some of the gators went under water as we passed through.  Others ignored us.

Huge duck blind?  I don't have a clue.

A couple enjoys fishing in Lake Martin.  Largemouth bass, crappie, bream and more are caught here.

I still don't have a clue...

My eyes scanned the tree tops and fallen logs for wildlife...

like these birds- Double-crested Cormorants.

Another Double-crested Cormorant and an unidentified small bird share a protruding branch.

I think I'd like to try a kayak ride.  It looks enjoyable.

An Osprey peered down from her nest.

She looked around a little while-

then made a flight loop and returned to her nest.

Tour boats can become stuck around logs and bogged in all the mushy vegetation. We had no problems.

Another gator slowly glides by.

This one is probably 8 to 9 feet long.

Alligators are cold-blooded and regulate their body temperature with their surroundings- sun or shade.

I hope you enjoyed Part 2 of our Louisiana Swamp Tour.  Since I have a few more photos to share, I'm going to post a Part 3.  I took over 300 photographs during our 2 hour swamp tour- that's nuts I know, but I like to have many to choose from.  Thank goodness for digital cameras!  

Look for Part 3 of our tour within a couple of days.  Click here to return to Part 1.  I'm going to share today's post with Eileen for Saturday's Critters.  Have a great afternoon!

Porch Critters

Good afternoon everyone!  It's a great Saturday for me- I'm off work! Yipeeee! I did do some sweaty yard work this morning- pulling and digging up weeds from my flower beds, but after a nice shower, I'm taking it easy for a little while.  My oldest grandsons are visiting this weekend and my husband cooked a fantastic meal, so I'm a clean, fat and happy grandma right now ;)

I hope your weekend is going well.  Today I'm sharing a few critters that hang around my back porch- 

Southeastern Five-lined Skink- I used to think these were called Salamanders, but I'm not sure why

Cute little frog- not sure of his biological name, just a green frog to me

I love tiny frogs!

This lizard surely appears to be at peace in his surroundings- zzzzzzzzzzzz

An itsy-bitsy spider dangling from the tin roof

Closer view of the itsy-bitsy spider- can anyone identify it? 

A carpenter bee bore a perfect round hole in one of my porch beams.  

I knew nothing about carpenter bees until I saw them drilling holes in my porch beams. During some research, I learned the difference between bumble bees and carpenter bees- most importantly, one will destroy your home while the other one watches.  We plan to seal the holes and put a finish on the porch wood soon (we just built the porch about 6 to 7 months ago).  

Thank you for visiting!

Linking with our friendly hostess Eileen at Saturday's Critters

Carolina Wrens Preparing Their Nest

It was interesting to observe these Carolina Wrens gather nesting materials.

They made several trips back and forth from the brush pile to the bird house.

It seems odd, however, that they brought materials to 

each of the three birdhouses in the set.  

As early as January, a pair of  Eastern Bluebirds were checking out the birdhouses, 

but I haven't seen them since.  If you look closely, you can see the male bluebird

inspecting the entrance to one of them...

I have a bluebird house, but I've yet to put it up.  That is now at the top of 

my to-do list, that is, when the ground dries more.  We've had rain nearly

every day this month thus far.

I'm looking forward to watching the wrens with their soon-to-come offspring.

Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to capture a few good shots of them.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I want those of you who regularly visit 

and comment on my blog to know that I really appreciate you. :)

Linked up with Eileen on Saturday's Critters-

thanks for hosting this great meme, Eileen!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Friday was a beautiful, sunny day- much different than the chilly, wet day before.  It was the kind of day that draws me outdoors with my coffee in one hand and my camera in the other.   The birds seemed pleased with the sunshine as well- they flocked around the feeders, foraged through leaves and pine straw on the ground and sang gaily from the tree tops.  I couldn't resist watching them...

A large crowd of Chipping Sparrows and a few Goldfinches 

hung out together in puddles of bird seed...

while others were happy at the feeders.

After their appetite was temporarily satisfied, some took a few moments to bathe in 

the gentle sunlight...as I was doing.

This little one needed a short nap...

A few Pine Siskins decided to visit...

(this is the first time I've ever seen Pine Siskins)

At the edge of the woods, a Carolina Wren and Northern Cardinal

picked through their favorite seeds.

A Carolina Chickadee hopped along the concrete bench 

under a favorite tree.

A Tufted Titmouse is slowly hopping toward the feeder

This is the first Downy Woodpecker I've seen since we moved here.

(I THINK this is a Downy- please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Yet another first- a Purple Finch!  There were actually several of them

in my back yard yesterday- my first time ever seeing this species of finch.  They're gorgeous!

I wish you all a Happy Weekend!  

Thank you, as always, for visiting my blog and leaving comments!!!

Linked with Eileen at Saturday's Critters