In my hundreds of hours of watching birds in the southeast, I’ve never seen an alligator eat a wading bird. They obviously do at some point, but I’ve never had the macabre pleasure of witnessing it. If you’re looking at a heron or egret in Everglades National Park, there’s likely an alligator in your field of vision at the same time. They’re often standing in close proximity.

Local TV stations have been carrying ads for the new IMAX movie, National Parks Adventure for several weeks now. So when it opened in Salt Lake on Saturday, I was right there in line for tickets.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, an art exhibit at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., will showcase some of the plant species and communities found throughout the more than 400 national parks.

You're invited to join Robert Chaplin, a fine art and nature photographer, on a birding outing in Shark Valley at Everglades National Park on Tuesday.