This female alligator has been around this lake for quite a while now, but yesterday was the first ever sighting with babies! There are 2 on her back, all happily sunning themselves. Now these babies look to be yearlings (about a foot long or so). There are likely more of them around, but they would be hard to see from my vantage point.
In general, a female alligator will lay up to 100 eggs in a nest close to the water. Less than 20% of those will live to be a year old - predators include herons, raccoons, and even other alligators. A little over half of those will live to be "sub-adults" (about 4 ft long). Mama gator looks to be around 12 + ft long.
Other news is that the Great Blue Herons we were watching in the spring have been nesting again.
The female is on the right, sitting on what I presume to be the new nest. It seems to be in the same location as the previous nest, but lower in the tree and essentially out of sight. Even when she is gone, the nest and any eggs are just not visible . Any hatchlings will need to grow a bit before I'll be able to observe the feeding.
I saw some of the mating rituals between these two, but didn't capture it this year. Here is an example from the past - these are the same 2 herons.
I didn't expect they would be nesting again this year, but it appears we may have new hatchlings before the New Year!
Rich -- love your gator posts! Thank you. Amazing photos+