Stay Back!. Wildlife photograph by Timothy Smith, finalist in the Shoot The Frame Wildlife photography award, March 2020

Finalist Wildlife · March 2020

Stay Back!

I was driving through a state park in SW Florida, which is well known for its huge population of alligators, as well as an abundance of sought after birds and other wildlife. I saw in the pond about 50 yards to my right that the low water level had concentrated the fish and drawn in two large alligators and a number of bird species. As the birds flapped around the small area of maybe a quarter acre, they approached the alligators quite closely. After snapping quite a few pictures featuring the roseate spoonbills, I looked back at my results, and this shot emerged as my favorite. An amateur naturalist friend of mine who is a lifetime resident to this area told me that the spoonbill was trying to intimidate the gator to not come any closer to its group. He said if the gator keeps coming, the spoonbill may also find itself wrestling with a decision. I don't know if that is truly the case, but it is fun to think so in light of the resulting photo.