Spring Ahead

March 4-March 10, 2025

Spring is (too) slowly making its way into Beaufort.

One of the first signs of spring here? Pollen. It’s everywhere: on cars, in the water, and even on alligators.

Another sign of spring? Romance!

The great egrets in Cypress Wetlands are beginning their mating and nesting routines. The males have started fanning their plumage and showing off for the ladies.

They’re grabbing twigs and vines for their nests, too.

Spring seems like a great time to hang out and socialize, especially after the short, cold winter days.

Ibis gather daily to dig in the mud. They’re not nesting yet – they’re just socializing in flocks of 20 or more. As the mud warms up, more little critters surface for them to eat.

Little blue herons are gorgeously hued. There’s one tree they seem to have claimed as theirs, so it will be interesting to see if that’s where they nest.

I don’t know when baby gators hatch, since I have seen them throughout the year. This mama is watching her babies and hopefully protecting them from the hungry, hungry herons. (I didn’t even notice these four until I looked at my photos – her teeth were what I was checking out.)

Spring’s warmer temps also heat up the water in the wetlands. Last month, most of the gators were stationary, soaking up the sun on the shore. Now they’re swimming all over – and gathering pollen along the way.

Last week I noticed how many snakes were out (basically because they were being eaten). This week I actually saw a banded water snake who wasn’t being eaten! The warmer weather brought it out to find some food.

Red-winged blackbirds are back and singing their spring songs.

Bullfrogs are adding their songs, too. They’re not always easy to spot, especially with all of the duckweed that’s the same color as they are.

I’ve been enjoying catching the sunrise on my way to take a shower but with time change, it will probably be another month before I walk to the shower in daylight.

On Lailia, spring means getting more maintenance completed. John hooked up all of the Xantrex wiring and it works! We need to tackle cleaning the fabric cockpit enclosures, polishing the stainless, and refinishing the teak. Those are jobs for warm days.