Alligator Day on Loop Road

I took a ride on Loop Road this week on the Big Cypress portion of the
Everglades National Wildlife Refuge. I saw loads of Great Blue Herons but
not a lot of other birds, but there were Alligators galore.

Here is a sample.

Nice shots! I was out on Loop Road a couple of months ago and only saw two gators in the whole stretch. I don't know how the road was when you went, but when I was there, the road was partly flooded due to the high water table and the potholes went on forever. Fortunately, we had gone in my truck, unlike the poor guy we saw that tried to make the trip in his car. The inside of his windshield was all fogged up from the amount of water that had gotten into his car. Not a good idea on his part! Loop Road is a great place to see wildlife, crystal clear water, colorful plants and lots of cypress. I plan on going back soon, time permitting.

Without exaggeration I saw at least 300 alligators on my trip through the entire loop.
Funny thing was, an elderly midwestern man and his wife came behind me as I was shooting, their
car going pretty fast for being on that torn up road.
He yelled out at me, "What are you shooting?" I told him I was shooting some alligators
and he said, "We haven't seen one yet"
He sped off at about 25 MPH and I never saw a brake light.

Oh, I know you're not exaggerating. On many occasions throughout the years, I've seen hundreds of gators on one 90-minute trip while traveling to and from Miami and Marco on Tamiami Trail. I just haven't been fortunate enough to have that experience on Loop Road. It'll happen one day, I guess. By the way, those elderly folks were NUTS going that fast on that road!!!

I can't pick a favorite. Very nice series!

Nice shots indeed. Looks like you do a lot of travel around the State of Florida, and do not just confine yourself to Indian River County. Love your photography.........

Good series for this beautiful animal, compliments

Thanks for all the great comments!

Ira I travel all over the south Florida. I try to work my schedule
so I can detour in certain places or get up early and get some
shooting done.

I am truly loving it, the more you do the more you realize how much
you don't know.

again thanks a lot.

GG