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Wildlife of the Harris Chain

Take a wildlife tour through the swamps and marshes surrounding the Harris Chain of Lakes.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
The swamps and marshes surrounding the Harris Chain of Lakes feed incredible amounts of wildlife, from migrating birds to resident fowl and animals. Great blue herons can be seen throughout the region, hunting the shallows for small fish.
Snowy egrets also prowl the shallows of the bayous and lakes.
Anhinga, which also are known as snakebirds and water turkey, sun on snags all over the region.
Anhinga often spread their wings to absorb solar enerty to supplement low betabolic heat production and offset their high rates of heat loss.
Cattle egret join the feeding frenzies.
Tricolored heron are very active in the area …
… often making short flying lunges at small fish.
But sometimes these heron settle for more immobile prey like snails.
Of course, the hallmark of any swamp is the American alligator. And they grow to huge proportions in Central Florida.
All manner of small birds, such as boat-tailed grackle, are found in the swamps and marshes surrounding the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Alligators often laze along the banks to warm their cold, reptilian blood.
Another great blue heron, moving a stick around or something.
A great heron pokes around the vegetation along the shoreline, but didn’t get too close to the apex predator of these waterlogged lands.
Alligators will often open their mouths while sunning. This is a way of cooling down, much as dogs pant.
Raptors also hunt in the swamps. Here a red-shouldered hawk sits on a snag where it can watch for any movements that could be potential meals.
And then there are osprey, which are master fishermen. This osprey was feeding on a large bream.
Not far away was this osprey, which was feeding on a carp.

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