Sunday, July 30, 2017

Alligator mating call

I heard an alligator mating call and believe me it was the most bone chilling sound I ever heard.
Storks all over the trees
 It was almost, I imagine, how it sometimes sounded when disnosaurs were roaming!

We were walking in Wakodahatchee Wetlands. This is a park in  Palm  Beach County on Jog Road close to Delray Beach and it is managed by the water resources people. I had gone there with our fearless Meet Up leader, Jennifer Weise in late May or early June.

At this reserve you find a wide variety of Florida's flora and fauna. However, it is best known for the proliferation of birds and you see bird watchers with their cameras prowling as they wait patiently for the shot of a lifetime.

We went there a bit late that day so the only birds that were still around in their numbers were storks, mostly white and of every size.


They literally took over every tree from top to middle and really made a literal mess for the other birds or anything that must survive on the bottom branches and under those trees!

The only animals we saw that day were a few rabbits, a couple of iguanas and as we approached the boardwalk, we saw a lone alligator lurking among some trees.

We did not pay him much attention but after we had passed the area and gone about 100 feet, we heard a loud blood-curdling sound and lots of action in the water. I had no idea what was happening but although Jennifer said she had never heard the mating call in real life, she recognized it from what others had told her.

We went back to watch him for a while and like this photo I found on the wetland's fb page, it was as if he half rose out of the water and was just shouting or shrilly growling and splashing in the water with his huge tail, for quite some time.

Even after we walked away, he could still hear the eerie noise, though fading, thank heavens, as we got further away.

It was not the type of sound I liked hearing and for his sake, I hope he found a wife, for if he didn't, maybe he is still there creating a racket. 

Worse yet, he could have died from a heart attack for the way he was exciting up himself, he must have been putting quite a strain on his heart!

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