I gotta tell you, this retirement gig is awesome!!! Pretty much any day I want I can get out and watch the world wake up! The ducks and herons come by on their way to deal with their own busy lives, and I get to document this stuff. The lion’s share of the images never make it to the light of day, but that’s my fault and a story for another time.
This morning was very foggy at Brick Pond. I had set up in a new spot, about 30 or 40 yards in front of the new blind. The water level is so low that you can walk out into what used to be two feet of water! This gets me closer to the beaver lodge, which is where most of the birds end up at during some point in the day. That’s because the lodge still has water around it with fish in it, something the herons seem to enjoy.
It didn’t take long for the GBH’s to show up. And with the water level being so low it didn’t take long for them to start catching fish.
Doesn’t get any fresher than this!!!! Click to enlarge.
But these Great Blue Herons seem to be a bit on the sadistic side. This guy above spent 15 minutes picking this fish up, dropping it, and then spearing it again with his bill. Then he would dip the fish into the water to clean it off and start the process all over again! I wouldn’t want to be a fish around here. There’s no future in it!
Back at it!
And of course the Green Heron tried to get in on it but he was wayyyyyy out of his league!
And the Kingfishers aren’t any better. When they catch a fish they bash it against the branch they are perched on until the poor fish pretty much falls apart!
Yes, he is ready for his close-up!!!!
The wood ducks stopped by for a quick shower and some preening. It’s really hard to spot these guys with all the brush that has grown up at the pond. But they were fun to watch!
After bath time is over, they of course need to dry off. So they rub their little heads along their wings and that seems to be good enough for them!
The classic GBH pose….
So that is my tale of woe. No great images so Nat Geo won’t be calling. But I got to spend a beautiful morning with my friends. What could be better than that???