We had a nice, leisurely day at Gatorland last Saturday.

Sus is an avid birdwatcher so she especially enjoyed seeing the rookery. We watched egrets build nests and saw an egg in one nest and an adult feeding a hatchling in another one! We also saw four spoonbills nesting. The late sun over the lagoon made for good photography.

Gatorland is offering a Florida resident special through February, so the park was crowded, but crowds were thinnest either early in the day or late. In fact, the park stayed open past closing and a lot of the crowds had gone. We did not feel the crowds hampered our visit except when we did not see as well for the Gator Jumparoo show, but that was not a loss.

Until September or so, you can see four giant white leucistic alligators. They are rare, with blue eyes. They are not albinos.

The nature trail was very lovely in the late afternoon light. We saw many giant leather ferns with 8-foot fronds!

We recommend Gatorland and made a photo album of the day’s highlights.