Bird Photography

I find birds interesting and have taken thousands of bird photos, most in the past several years. I recently decided to enter a photography contest focused on birds: the Bird Photographer of the Year contest. The contest allows you to enter 25 photos into one of 8 categories including: Best Portrait, Birds in the Environment, […]

Feeding The Silver King

The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), nicknamed the silver king, is one of the world’s great saltwater sport fish due to its large size and spectacular fighting ability. Tarpon can reach over 8 feet and 350 pounds. When hooked, they have a penchant for leaping from the water. Tarpon inhabit warm coastal Atlantic waters from the […]

Life and Death on the Florida Prairie

Florida and prairie are two words not typically associated with each other. Yet, just outside Gainesville, in north central Florida is a 21,000 acre prairie where wild horses and bison roam. This prairie is unlike those of the U.S. central plains in that much of it is flooded and it is home to abundant alligators. […]

It’s an alligator eat alligator world

As a wildlife photographer, every once in a while you come across something and think ‘wow, few people have probably seen this before’. Yesterday, on the boardwalk of La Chua trail in Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park (just outside Gainesville, Florida), I came across such a scene. A truly massive alligator had half of a […]

Ratsnake Hunting Behavior

Ratsnakes are large snakes (over 6 feet as adults) found in the eastern United States. The Virginia Herpetological Society reports that they are the most commonly seen snake in Virginia. This is the case because they move around a lot and are often found near human habitation (such as barns and old buildings) where their […]

Alligators and turtles

Alligators and turtles are both heavily armored reptiles. In December of 2023, I witnessed an interesting interaction between an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and a Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox). The setting was Depot Park in the city of Gainesville, Florida. In this urban park there are a series of retention ponds. Paved trails, which […]

Incredible wildlife amongst ruins of an abandoned zoo

Key Biscayne is a small barrier island less than 5 miles from downtown Miami. About half the island consists of a park (Crandon Park), which itself contains a golf course, a world-class tennis facility that formerly held the Miami Open, beautiful white sand beaches, and an abandoned zoo which is now a botanic garden. While […]

Encounters with snapping turtles

Snapping turtles – big, powerful and with long claws, snake-like neck, and beak-like jaws – are an impressive sight to behold. The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is abundant in freshwaters across most of the United States. With a shell length up to 20 inches and weight of 35 pounds, they are the largest turtle […]

Caterpillars mimicking snakes

A few weeks ago, in the Everglades, I came upon an interesting caterpillar. It had a spotted pattern, with the spot closest to the head looking remarkably similar to a vertebrate eye. I managed to get a few photos from different angles and even a video showing its rocking back-and-forth crawling movement. The encounter got […]

Alligators and Crocodiles in South Florida

A google search for ‘difference between alligator and crocodile’ returns 30 million search results. Physical differences include alligators having round U-shaped snouts and crocodiles pointed V-shaped snouts, alligators being dark green or black and crocodiles generally lighter green or grey in coloration, and alligators having only the upper teeth visible when the mouth is closed […]