If you've never been to Gatorland in Orlando, FL, put it on your must-see list. It has an old Florida roadside attraction quality to it (afterall, it opened in 1949), but it's a special place if you love Florida birds and the North American alligator.
My favorite part of Gatorland is their rookery, which has become part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. It surrounds a marsh filled with over 100 alligators, who serve as natural protectors by eating snakes, raccoons, and other predators hunting birds and their eggs. Of course, alligators also feed on birds and their eggs, so it's kind of a twist that the very creatures who save birds also savor them. But Mother Nature ensures everything works out for the best.
It's nesting season right now, and birds are busy building homes and laying eggs. Cattle egrets zip past, the workers of the marsh. Wood Storks glide overhead, also on the move for nesting materials. In quiet moments, you can hear the crack of branches as Double Crested Cormorants choose just the right one. White egrets float like angels. Anhingas fly quickly, but awkwardly, like they're being chased, or have too much to do, but not enough time. Blue Herons bully everyone who lands in the marsh.
Some chicks have arrived, too, looking like mini-Einsteins with stick-up hair that hasn't yet grown out into feathers. Baby Tricolored herons view their world with wide-eyed expressions, and don't have the sense to be frightened of people. You can hear the sounds of white egret chicks long before you see them. It's as though they're revving motors, their bodies swaying in time. There are Wood Stork chicks of all ages. The "toddlers" look like they're wearing hoodies, with white fluff up to their foreheads. Teen Wood Storks retain some fluff, but you can see the outlines of what will become adult bald heads. Cormorant chicks have black eyes and yellow bills, unlike the adults' aqua-colored eyes and orange bills, and I think they should win the award for Bird Most Annoying To Its Parent. While I saw many chicks demanding food that day, the Cormorants were by far the most aggressive, pecking their mother's head, and forcing her mouth open with their beaks. Not even her slit-eyed expression deterred them.
As for the alligators, they're late in the baby department this year, because of the long winter. They're finally in the midst of their mating ritual now, though, and it's something to behold. When you're in a marsh filled with alligators, and you think you hear trucks rumbling by, you're wrong. It's the sound of an alligator bellowing. This involves the gator lifting its body out of the water, puffing itself up, and letting out ... a bellow. There's no other way to describe it. One alligator set off a chain reaction, with other alligators bellowing, some on their own, and others in groups. Then, as quickly as it started, the noise stopped, and there wasn't another display for the rest of the day. That moment alone was worth the 2 hour drive and entrance fee.
My trips to Gatorland have all been different. The same birds and alligators may be there, but each and every one has the potential to be magical, and none has ever disappointed.
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