Alligators at Huntington Beach

Beneath Still Waters

An alligator tail sticking out of the water at Huntington Beach State Park

Primeval

I love the way an alligator will be almost completely submerged, but sometimes the tip of their tail arches up out of the water, the angled ridges echoing back to an earlier time of terrible lizards and reptilian monsters. But more than that, it resonates with a primeval fear of the dangers that lurk beneath.

The soft, muted colors together with the stillness of the water enhances the image in some respects but detracts from the primeval feel since it makes the image a little too serene, but this is still one of my favorite alligator images and a theme I hope to explore more in the future.

An alligator lies mostly submerged in a freshwater marsh at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

An alligator lies submerged with only its head out of water at Huntington Beach State Park

Long Distance Goodbye

It’s taken me a year to edit this alligator picture, taken last summer in Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina, and it’s also time to bid both the park and the alligators a long distance goodbye.

I used to visit Huntington Beach when in South Carolina to see my mom, drawn to the park by the chance to see alligators. Now that she has moved to Texas, I won’t be visiting the park anymore — it’s not exactly an easy drive from Oregon — but if you’re in the area I highly recommend a visit. Arrive when the gates open if possible, my favorite moments (and favorite pictures) usually occurred in the first hours of the day.

Other Gators

Crab Legs

A large alligator raises its head out of the water to better position the crab it has captured, giving a good view of the large teeth that run the entire length of its mouth. The crab wasn't killed by this phalanx of teeth but by the gator's powerful jaws. Although from the crab's perspective, six and one half dozen the other. This gator was one of several that were having a crab breakfast near sunrise. Within an hour or so, all of the gators had fed and disappeared to places unseen.

An alligator captures a crab at Huntington Beach State Park

An alligator swallows a crab at Huntington Beach State Park

An alligator with its jaws open wide to let off heat at Huntington Beach State Park

Closed For Swimming

Huntington Beach is a popular place to swim in South Carolina, but you’re restricted to swimming in the ocean and not the freshwater areas. It’s not too hard to figure out why …

Environmental portrait of an alligator in a freshwater marsh at Huntington Beach State Park

Almost Still Waters

I love environmental portraits like this, although I don’t think they work as well at web resolutions compared to the full-size versions I see at home. I especially like it when the background is filled with large areas of solid color, such as the blues that permeate this picture. The alligator’s distinctive head makes it easy to identify what lurks just below the surface, but the picture also shows how seemingly quiet waters may not be as quiet as you think.

American alligator at sunrise in Huntington Beach State Park

Golden Eyes

The hours after sunrise and before sunset are often referred to as the golden hours, but what interested me during this sunrise were golden eyes. The gator was slowly circling — I’m assuming its legs reached the bottom and it was using them to gently pivot itself — moving no faster than might a piece of driftwood drifting in the water. I waited until it turned its head just enough that its golden eyes were lit by the golden light.

An environmental portrait of an alligator among the algae mats at Huntington Beach State Park

Swim At Your Own Risk

Swimming at Huntington Beach is limited to the ocean beaches, but it’s just as well — you’d drop several rungs on the food chain the moment you stepped into the marsh. I love environmental portraits, even though they don’t work as well on the web because of the small image sizes. I’m especially fond of this alligator portrait, as it shows the gator the way you often see them at the park, in their iceberg pose: only their heads above water, with the rest of their massive bodies lurking out of sight below the surface.

What Lurks Beneath

I love photos of mostly submerged gators. I took this one in South Carolina shortly before heading to the airport to return to Oregon. The sun was just coming up and a gentle breeze had lightly stirred up the water, creating the small ripples that disappear as they hit the large bulk of the alligator hidden below the waterline.

An alligator lies among the algae mats at Huntington Beach State Park

Wide Snout

One thing that distinguishes alligators from crocodiles is the alligator’s wide snout, as can be seen in this alligator that waits patiently for movement in the marsh. It’s remarkable how they can sit still for such a long time and then launch their massive bodies in an instant. A feat best enjoyed from a distance ;)

An alligator lunges after a crab at Huntington Beach State Park

Motion

Most of the time I watched these alligators, they were fairly inert, either lying still and mostly submerged, or perhaps swimming slowly to look for food a short distance away. Even catching a crab could usually be accomplished with a quick flick of the head. But if the crab was slightly out of reach (or a larger gator wanted the spot), a gator would move in a hurry. And I mean hurry. You might think such a large creature would need a while to build up speed, but a quick flip of the tail was all it took for an immediate launch.

An alligator, snowy egret, and great egret at Huntington Beach State Park

Three’s a Crowd

A snowy egret, a wood stork, and a young alligator all hunt in the same space in the freshwater marsh. There was also a great egret, another wood stork, and several young alligators just off camera. It’s no wonder the crabs were so nervous. It’s also fun to see how three creatures who evolved in different ways can each be a successful predator in this environment. You can also get a feel for how small the snowy egret is relative to the larger birds like the wood stork, great blue heron, or great egret.

One of my favorite pictures from this visit to Huntington Beach.

An alligator next to a reflection of a egret nearby

Close Quarters

There’s a small sandbar in the freshwater marsh where a handful of gators often sun themselves, and during this visit a small flock of great and snowy egrets joined in and gorged themselves on shrimp.

The gators showed no aggression towards the birds, and it was fun to watch such different size egrets work around the alligators as they scored shrimp after shrimp after shrimp. This gator had slipped into the water to cool off, so I waited until the egret walked past and its reflection filled in the negative space of the submerged body.

I think the egret in the picture is a snowy but I’m not certain, that’s what I get for waiting five months to edit the picture.

An alligator at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

Just Out Of Reach

I used a telephoto lens for this picture close to the shoreline of the marsh, which is a good thing, as an alligator can move very quickly over short distances. I’ve never seen the alligators be aggressive towards humans at Huntington Beach, but it only takes once …

	Closed For Swimming Huntington Beach is a popular place to swim in South Carolina, but you’re restricted to swimming in the ocean and not the freshwater areas. It’s not too hard to figure out why …
	Almost Still Waters I love environmental portraits like this, although I don’t think they work as well at web resolutions compared to the full-size versions I see at home. I especially like it when the background is filled with large areas of solid color, such as the blues that permeate this picture. The alligator’s distinctive head makes it easy to identify what lurks just below the surface, but the picture also shows how seemingly quiet waters may not be as quiet as you think.
	Golden Eyes The hours after sunrise and before sunset are often referred to as the golden hours, but what interested me during this sunrise were golden eyes. The gator was slowly circling — I’m assuming its legs reached the bottom and it was using them to gently pivot itself — moving no faster than might a piece of driftwood drifting in the water. I waited until it turned its head just enough that its golden eyes were lit by the golden light.
	Swim At Your Own Risk Swimming at Huntington Beach is limited to the ocean beaches, but it’s just as well — you’d drop several rungs on the food chain the moment you stepped into the marsh. I love environmental portraits, even though they don’t work as well on the web because of the small image sizes. I’m especially fond of this alligator portrait, as it shows the gator the way you often see them at the park, in their iceberg pose: only their heads above water, with the rest of their massive bodies lurking out of sight below the surface.
	What Lurks Beneath I love photos of mostly submerged gators. I took this one in South Carolina shortly before heading to the airport to return to Oregon. The sun was just coming up and a gentle breeze had lightly stirred up the water, creating the small ripples that disappear as they hit the large bulk of the alligator hidden below the waterline.