I posted yesterday about the fun I have photographing from a floating blind. I have photographed with my blind here in the Great Trinity Forest at a little pond called the “Secret Bird Pond“, near the Trinity River Audubon Center.
I have had some unforgettable experiences photographing from my floating blind, in part because most birds and animals simply ignore me (and my ego is ok with that). My theory is that the blind just looks like a big, benign floating object, not a predator walking along the shore or a hawk or owl swooping in from above.
One evening at the Secret Bird Pond, I was in my floating blind looking for photo opportunities. It was a slow day and I was ready to call it quits when I saw a curious shape along the shore. I maneuvered closer and through the overhanging foliage I finally could see that it was a beaver, resting on the shore.
After awhile it slid into the water and was joined by another I had not seen before. The adult and smaller juvenile affectionately cuddled in the water. (I suppose I am “anthropomorphizing”, since I don’t know if they were actually “cuddling” in the human sense, but it sure looked that way to me).
They swam around me, with there little one hopping on the adult’s back for a ride, and even dives beneath the surface. It seemed like the adult was trying to teach the little one how to dive, though that would be a guess.
It was an intimate moment I was privileged to witness, and it happened only because I was out there in my floating blind, looking and waiting for a special moment.
They never did notice me, and eventually swam away from where I was and were gone, leaving me with a smile on my face (and a few nice pics, too). Do you have a favorite pic? Let me know.
Wow! That can really make a great day out of a dull one!!