I was late getting out on Monday! Late for me. Sun-up had already occurred. And driving to the islands with the bright morning sun in my eyes was a challenge for a while. The sun was at a position in the sky that even the visor on the car's windshield didn't help, I got on the right lane of the freeway and slowed down during the rush hour traffic and made it over the JFK Causeway where finally, the sun was on my right, and I could see well enough. The island highway was not deserted as I had hoped, but all drivers were pretty well "sane". I had a chance to pull off onto the shoulder about half way from Corpus to Port A and check the nesting platform of the rare falcon. One was there, and through my viewfinder, it looked like it may have had nesting material in its mouth! I will make sure I check up on it periodically. Hopefully, another successful breeding year for the couple,
I made it to Port A [Port Arnasas] and stopped at my first wildlife refuge. I walked the distance, hoping that a little exercise would loosen the tight, pulled, muscle in my neck from the weekend before. It didn't, but walking didn't make it worse either, so I got some fresh air. It felt great.
While at the refuge, one of the resident alligators was actually MOVING around in the shallow area, close to the observation tower. I grabbed my camera, pushed the recorder and followed its movement for a little over a minute. I couldn't help but think that the Stilt [the black and white bird] nearby was either tempting its fate, or teasing. Not knowing just how swift those alligators could move.
I share the video...