Savannah Wildlife!

One of the things that I enjoy most about the southern coast is the wildlife, as seen in my Sapelo posts.  The warm climate is conducive to a wide variety of species and it is always fun to see what I can find.  I think the best locations for finding wildlife aren't always places I have my camera readily available but I've gotten a few snapshots over the years!

But first...and I DO count this as wildlife...are a couple of pictures of the pups.  I've been playing more with my camera and Photoshop and took a couple that were at least popular on Facebook!  Haha!  Here!

The old man, Barghest

 

Corvus looking intense-my most popular social media picture

Watching and learning from big bro

Trying to play with the big dogs but just getting hit with sticks!

So Nyx, the new puppy, is fitting in really well.  As she comes into her own she is becoming much more full of herself-exactly what I expect in a husky!  And feisty.  You know how most puppies will back down/submit to an older dog that corrects it?  Yeah...not this girl.  Corvus will try to put her in her place but she comes right back with a full on (for real) snarl-she's not messing around!  That's okay, I love the challenge of butthead dogs!  And all of mine are butthead dogs! 

Oh, and apparently she likes Morgan Spurlock.  We were watching one of his documentaries and she stared at the television for an abnormal amount of time.  At statistics.  Hmmm.

Okay, on to the purpose of this post-Savannah wildlife.  So many of these are simply quick, poorly set-up snapshots.  However, I thought it would be fun to show some of what can be seen down there.

So first and foremost...

...gators!  They are everywhere on the coast and often in large numbers.  For example, how many can you count in the canal pictured below (click for larger image)?

I think I ended up counting at least 15, though some are further back and harder to see (but I know they're there).  Granted, this was taken in a canal that serves as part of the water authority's treatment facility and therefore "safer" for animals to gather.  But still...

Alligators and I have a history...it's a combination of fascination and fear.  When I was four I had a very close call with an alligator while riding in a paddle boat on a lake in Orlando, FL.  For years I couldn't ride in a paddle boat anywhere (whether habitable by alligators or not-aka Pennsylvania) or even stand near dark water without launching into a full out panic.  As I was a fairly emotionless child this seemingly sudden, unexplained fear threw everyone off (I never shared what happened until I was much older).  Each time all I could picture was trailing my hand along, making little splashes in the water and then...seconds after I pulled my hand out, the large shape gliding by just under the surface of the water.  At first I thought it was a clump of water plants-until it passed us in the boat.  Then, after seeing it swimming in the lake later, we knew.  I would be lying if I said that I still didn't get a little skittish in boats that sit close to the water.  

But now I view them with respectful intrigue.  I love spotting them in the wild.  

So...what's next?

I feel weird posting pictures of dead things but, at the same time, that's often the only way to see them.  The dead jellyfish from Sapelo were actually kind of pretty.  This isn't but it will kick off the pics I have of salt water animals.

This is great because it's a shark.  Sharks are awesome no matter what.  Obviously it's a baby and was found on a beach by the UGA Marine Science Center (*gasp* one of my favorite places-I love UGA's marine biology centers all over the coast!).  I think we decided it was an Atlantic Sharpnose.

Underwater!

So finally, some marsh dwellers.  While most of these are birds there are a couple of other cool encounters as well!

So this is the best shot I could get of one of these though I see them all the time there.  It's a Painted Bunting, which spends the summers on the coast.  If you haven't seen one-look them up.  They are so amazing!

The above two pictures are of a Green Heron, also really pretty birds.  They are actually quite common but typically extremely shy and hard to spot.

These are a pair of ibis-es (?).  Not as pretty as some of the other birds but ones you don't see all the time.  Below is an osprey nest with at least one juvenile in it.

A stork!  Again, a bird you don't see everyday.  I will refrain from entertaining any kind of "it's a sign" comments.  Just sayin'. 

So one of my highlights when we're in Savannah is visiting Ft. Pulaski (pics of the actual fort to follow) because it's on an island at the mouth of the Savannah River-lots of wildlife.  Alligators live in the moat and it is home to many bird and animal species.  However, this last time I encountered something very different.  While walking around the outside of the fort I spotted this:

So this is a coyote.  People freak out when they see things like coyotes in the day but they aren't exclusively nocturnal animals.  They are, however, usually pretty elusive and don't make themselves super accessible to the large number of people that are typically found at a US Historical Site.  But there it was.  And it was focused.  On what?  Well...

This guy was stalking a deer across the marsh, in the middle of the day, right next to a crowded tourist attraction.  Needless to say, the scene caught the attention of a sizable crowd and the coyote's lunch was foiled.  See how put out he looks above?  Turns out coyotes are quite common not only on the island but on the beach in the dunes as well. 

Now this could be a bit more disturbing in the middle of the day-especially since it was heading our way (any South Park fans out there?  It's coming right for us!).  Anyway...I've seen owls flying around the marsh in broad daylight too so I wasn't too concerned. 

So there we have it!  Fun!  Coming up will be some of the better photography of the trip-cemeteries, cargo ships on the river, Savannah scenes, night shots...