We spent a sunny fall day driving the gravel roads through Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Just inland from the Outer Banks, this refuge is mostly dense pocosin swamp and quiet dirt roads running alongside dark drainage canals. It doesn't take much looking to spot wildlife out here if you take your time.
We spotted black bears moving all around the refuge, each posing in it’s own way.
A barred owl sat low in a tree right off the road, watching us as we watched them. In the distant pond, we caught an alligator sunning near the bank.
Hawks circled over the open marsh, and huge spider webs hung between the bushes, covered in leftover morning dew. Patches of yellow wildflowers were blooming everywhere along the edges of the ditches, adding color to the brown grasses and evergreen brush. We even managed to spot in the far off distance an illusive red wolf, sitting right in the middle of an inaccessible dirt road.
Visiting Alligator River is always about being patient and keeping your camera ready on the truck seat. It turned out to be an incredible day of wildlife photography.
Field Notes: Keep a long telephoto lens mounted and ready on the passenger seat, with your shutter speed bumped up for fast movement. When shooting dark subjects like bears against dense, shadow-heavy pocosin brush, dial in a touch of exposure compensation so the camera does not overexpose the background and blow out the subtle textures in their fur.
