Predator! Just the mere mention of the word provokes images of African lions stalking a lone gazelle that has strayed from the rest of the herd, a crocodile leaping out of the waters edge to engulf a bird that has erroneously got too close at the wrong time, or even an alien creature with a spider like face hunting Arnold Schwarzenegger. What we may not imagine, though, is a 6 inch striped lizard that has managed to capture a blue dragonfly for brunch. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what we stumbled across on the Sardis Lake boardwalk.
Actually, after I looked this little creature up on Google, I found out that it is actually a 5 lined skink. What amazed me the most about this little guy was his tenacity. Here he is minding his own business, when two monstrous gigantic sized creatures (myself and Monica) barged into his world, began bustling all around him, pointing this “thing” at him and shouting “Oooh that’s a good one!” Through it all, he never let go of his meal.
For most of the shots he was just below the walking level of the boardwalk, and in the shadow of a post. I set the D7200 up for what I hoped would immortalize his hunting skills in my camera, and thankfully, we got him. In one of the pictures, while he is holding the dragonfly, he was eyeballing the white caterpillar. I wondered if he would drop what was in his mouth for the white worm, but I guess he was aware of the old adage: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Again, what a day! Yet there is still more to come from this one trip. Some close shots of a woodpecker, and what had to be one of the smallest butterflies in the entire world – and all of it just 2 hours from our house.
Leave me a comment, hit the like button, shoot me a message. I hope you enjoy nature in its rawest form: predator and prey, even though it may be on a small scale. Until next time, Enjoy Our Wonderful World!
RM Goldsmith Photography 