Some of the rarest and most unforgettable moments of my photography career came within the first few weeks of buying my first mirrorless camera. It was April 2018. After missing countless incredible moments while volunteering with environmental organizations, I finally decided it was time to start capturing them. I picked up a Sony a6500 mirrorless crop sensor camera paired with a 55-210mm lens, giving me an effective focal length of 82.5mm to 315mm.
To get started, I headed to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. I figured it was the perfect place to practice wildlife photography since I could get relatively close to the animals while taking advantage of my lens’s reach. One of the biggest challenges I faced early on was learning how to approach wildlife without scaring them off.
In Florida, water levels play a huge role in where birds and alligators choose to hunt. Around April, as water levels drop at Corkscrew, only two lettuce lakes often remain. These ponds become packed with thousands of trapped fish, easy prey for opportunistic alligators and wading birds that gather for a feeding frenzy. Large alligators will even come up to the boardwalk and gape if the weather and conditions are right.
On one particular visit, I witnessed something I’d never seen before. A group of roseate spoonbills; those striking pink birds with spoon-shaped bills were pinching the tails of young alligators, likely one to two years old (Florida gators typically grow 12 to 24 inches in those early years). Each time a spoonbill pinched a tail, the startled gator would dart through the muck, kicking up crustaceans in the process. The spoonbills would then sweep in and feast, saving themselves the effort of digging through the thick swamp.
Roseate Spoonbills Pinching Alligators Tails - Video
https://youtu.be/ich4qUQdkjI
One of the smallest baby alligators got upset after a spoonbill repeatedly pinched it's tail, and the alligator whipped around and snapped at the spoonbill. Luckily, the spoonbill was much faster than the alligator and simply popped up into the air with a quick flap of it's rosy wings.
I captured that moment in a photo I titled “Tail Pinch,” taken at 82.5mm and later cropped about 20% in post. Ironically, if I had been using my Nikon D850 with a 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, I never would have gotten that shot. Sometimes, the gear you least expect delivers the perfect frame.
Little did I know just how rare those moments would be. In 2019, I didn’t witness another feeding frenzy. In 2020, COVID hit and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was closed. And now, in 2025, I still haven’t had another chance to photograph or film that unique interaction between two ancient species.
Maybe one day, with the skills I’ve developed, I’ll finally get that shot I’ve been chasing.
Check out the video below to hear about my Origin Story.
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