Early morning visitors

  Early this morning, Mark and I braved yet another rainy day to head to the pier.  We always go down and check the crab traps even though the water in the Bayou and Bay is not salty enough for many crabs to be active.  All of the rain has flooded creeks and rivers which in turn have poured in to the bayous and Bay.  Our fishing and crabbing have come to a halt.....too bad the rain hasn't.  Still, we check the traps in hopes that a few crabs might have wandered in for a bite.  None have...none will at least for a while.  

  Our hike was not in vain, though, as we did have a couple of visitors. Mark was the first to spot a small gator near the marsh.  At first, we questioned whether we were "seeing things" or if it really was an alligator.  The "bump" was so very still that we were not sure. I decided to photograph the unknown object just to identify it.  As soon as I did, I knew we were definitely in the presence of a gator...a small one but still a gator.  This is the second alligator of this season which thrills me to no end!  My marsh must be healthy to support this many gators and where there are little ones, there has to be larger ones.  This one was a bit larger than the wee babe that I found a few days ago.  It seemed to be three to four feet in length judging by the size of its head.  

  The second visitor was not as exciting as the gator but, in its own right, a beauty. This was a young cormorant that has not left for parts unknown.  The cormorants come here to while away the cold winter months and then head north to breed.  This was a juvenile and was still in its dusty brown plumage.  We found it a tad strange that the bird seemed to want to visit with us.  Once we neared the end of the pier, the young cormorant came flying in as if to greet us.  It did not dive under like most of the adult birds but rather stayed near the pier and eyed us curiously.  I did my best to warn the bird that the nearby alligator would not be a wise choice as a friend even though I am quite sure that the gator would be more than happy to "invite the bird to dinner".  Fly away, Little Cormorant, fly away quickly!

  Regardless that some folks would see a lot of the wildlife I encounter as nuisance critters, there are very few that I do not find interesting to some point. Each and every one has some purpose.  Sometimes we just have to look beyond the obvious to find the good point.