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The Brood by Rob Hanson on 500px

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They don’t start out life all colored in.

A short while ago, I published an image of a spectacular male Wood Duck keeping a watchful eye on his brood. There was good reason to be watchful: There were so many of them!

The female Wood Duck and her brood had taken a break from swimming the river, jumping up in a lineup along a fallen tree. There was a bit of a tussle as they scrambled up among the turtles that had been sunning there, but eventually everybody seemed to fit in and settle down.

If you look carefully toward the right side, you can see a bit of yet another young duckling. There may have been a couple of others there… I lost count after a while.

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Giddy Up! by Rob Hanson on 500px

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As has been said, “It’s turtles all the way down.”

I still submit that turtles are great subjects for photography — they don’t move around very much; they have features that are unique one from another; and the various postures they assume while sunning themselves leads to interesting compositions.

Such was the case with this pair on the Silver River in Florida. I had to spin the kayak around and work back upstream to catch this team. I caught several frames before they decided they had had enough. Actually, the big guy on the bottom had enough, and took the little one into the water with him.

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Wood. Duck. by Rob Hanson on 500px

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From his log perch on the Silver River in Florida, a male Wood Duck keeps a close eye on his mate and their brood of baby ducklings.

For my preferences, Silver River is an amazing place to photograph wildlife from our kayaks. Motorboats are allowed to travel only at idle speed. No fishing is allowed. The five mile stretch of the Silver is essentially a wildlife sanctuary, attracting all manner of creatures. In fact, if you leave the Silver River and travel the nearby Oklawaha River, with fewer restrictions, it’s like night-and-day.

April is a great time to visit. The sun is getting warmer, flowers are starting to bloom, and the local critters are busy making ever more critters.

In this scene, I took some time to float near the male Wood Duck, who seemed quite unaffected by our presence. At the time, I thought he was solitary, but as it turns out, his mate was nearby and had a brood of eight or nine ducklings. (I’ll have an image of the brood coming up soon.)

If you haven’t yet seen it, one of my images of the Rhesus macaque monkeys at Silver River was picked up by Seeker Daily, part of the Discovery Network, and featured in a short video piece. You can find that video on YouTube, titled “Is There A Monkey Island In Florida?”

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The Lineup by Rob Hanson on 500px

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Again at the Silver River in Florida.

This was taken on the back side of an island that used to be a tourist attraction. Whether the boat was used for ferrying guests, or was used as a prop for greater realism, I’m not sure, but it makes for a great haven for turtles.

I think that turtles make fascinating subjects. Even though they don’t move very much — which is good — the way they huddle together on exposed logs can make for interesting compositions.

I had any number of funny albeit puerile titles and captions in mind for this one, but Susan said, “Oh, don’t be such a boy.” So I promised I wouldn’t.

Suffice it to say, I wonder what’s inside that they’re willing to wait for so long?

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Fine Dining at Anhinga's Cafe by Rob Hanson on 500px

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Ahh, sushi… It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

Paddling toward the headwaters of the Silver River in Florida, we passed by a small, forested island that held a large colony of Anhingas, water birds that dive underwater for their catch, which is usually fish and amphibians. Rough nests were scattered across the island, most having two or more juveniles waiting for food.

Mom and dad go out to catch fish, letting them, um, settle for a while, before hacking up their catch to the young ones. As the feedings continued despite our close presence, the cacaphony of squawking juvies was almost overwhelming. With several young ones in the nest, competition for the one provider was intense.

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'Gator on a Rope by Rob Hanson on 500px

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Not your average “Soap on a Rope.”

This, it seems to me, is one prime example of a giant bull Alligator mississippiensis, otherwise known as the American alligator. All I need to know is that they have big teeth and strong tails and that my kayak hull is rather fragile when it comes right down to it.

It was a warm day in late April on the Silver River, so the beast came onshore to collect some heat from the sun. Typically, alligators stay sedentary, preferring not to go into the colder water unless they feel threatened. If they do get scared, their normal safety procedure is to scramble directly into the water and submerge. That’s fine, as long as one’s kayak is not between the ‘gator and the water.

There’s a 3 knot current in the Silver River, so once I spotted this guy, I paddled upstream a bit, grabbed the camera and began to drift (from right-to-left in this picture.) As I came directly across from my subject, I noticed the OTHER tail in the woods… “Good ford!” I said, “There’s two of ‘em!” Evidently, this little puppy had a girlfriend.

Not wanting to disturb his marital bliss any longer (they do have reptilian brains, after all, and are not capable of much discernment), I slowly paddled… backwards.

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While paddling kayaks along the Silver River near Ocala, Florida, one can see a wide range of wildlife, often in interesting combinations. Here, a Great Blue Heron, taking a break from wading, shares a bit of dry space with a turtle.

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If looks could kill.

While kayaking along the Silver River in Florida, we encountered our first group of wild monkeys, the backstory of which you can learn in Shelter from the Storm.

The monkeys weren’t hard to spot. The mother and child seen in “Shelter…” were sitting on a cypress stump near the water. Just on the other side of the large cypress tree, this alpha male was standing guard against the onslaught of other members of the troop. Just behind him, in the woods, there was a cacophony of howling and screeching as monkeys chased each other through the trees. It seemed more serious than just play. I don’t know what the problem was, but there was clearly upset in the tribe deeper in the woods.

Meanwhile, the male’s attention was drawn to a number of colorful boats approaching from the river. Threats all around.

He kept a careful watch on the mother and child. If a rambunctious member of the troop got too close, he’d climb up on a flexible downed tree, bouncing up and down while grunting his warnings. The other monkeys seemed to respect that, and kept their distance.

As did we. This guy gave me a look, so I backed… away… slowly…

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Handheld from the kayak, ISO400, f/6.3, 1/250s, 210mm

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Despite being on the road in Florida for almost two weeks, the winter weather dictated that we would get only one kayak paddle trip. Fortunately, the Silver River was loaded with wildlife of all sorts.

Passing by one of the many downed trees along the way, we spotted a primordial procession of turtles leaves the water, seeking the warmth of the sunshine. Given that we were bundled up against the cold north wind, it seemed like a good idea.

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It was early January.

We had come to the Okefenokee Swamp to shelter ourselves from the oncoming storm, the ferocity of which we couldn’t even imagine at the time… rain, high winds, bone-numbing cold. (Okay, so the state park at Okefenokee has really nice cabins, you see.)

Late in the afternoon during a break in the rain, we wandered around to see what we could find, and discovered this guy. We were surprised to see him at all, as alligators are markedly less active and visible in the cold weather. He didn’t mind at all as I snapped a few pictures. Good thing: This was taken at 55mm, a rare opportunity to get so close without being chomped.

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