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Welcome
to Brazos Bend State Park. That's me on the trail. One of the most
popular
reasons for people to visit BBSP is to see the birds. Although *I*
started
going to the park
mainly for the alligators, one cannot be there for
long
without learning to enjoy the birds. Over the years, I've captured a
few
pictures and video clips of them, and here they are.
02/25/2024
Brazos Bend State Park A beautiful day, where there
were many things to see (as usual). There's
usually some kind of drama at the park.
I captured a
bit of drama involving another crawfish...And a White Ibis (Eudocimus
albus)...and a Boattailed Grackle (Quiscalus major). I got a lucky
grouping
of photos, so here are some of them. The Ibis had just caught
the
Crawfish (I won't guess what species) when the Grackle swooped in for
meal theft--or as it is
also called, "kleptoparasitism". The Grackle missed the first
try.
The Ibis turned the other way,
but hadn't gotten far when the Grackle returned (I'm only assuming it
was the same Grackle).
The Grackle made a very close pass alongside
the Ibis, and the Ibis quickly turned away.
When
the Ibis finished its turn, the Grackle regrouped and tried again. This
was all happening quickly. When it was live, it appeared that the Ibis
used its wings to shield
its prey, or to beat away the Grackle, but it might have just been
spreading its wings to take off.
The Ibis took off, with the
Grackle in close pursuit.
When
the Ibis landed on a branch, maybe to reposition the crawfish, the
Grackle could catch up. It tried again by coming up from
below,
twisting in the air to grab at the
food.
The Ibis eluded the grab, and the
Grackle descended.
The Grackle gave up and I left while the Ibis was still in
the tree, tossing and chewing the crawfish.
01/21/2024
It was cold again at BBSP. When I checked the
temperature at the
Forty Acre Parking Lot, it was 39.2°F, almost the same as the previous
weekend. But the air on this
day was very damp. This damp air, when moving, can draw the heat right
out of me. It's always colder down near
the Observation Tower, mostly
because of the wind blowing off of
Pilant Lake. The morning was overcast, and the air was hazy--which is
further indication of hold cold it would feel. Within a few minutes
I
caught a glimpse of what looked like an Eagle over 40Acre Lake, so I
watched it circle West, then moved over Pilant Lake before
moving
West. I'm pretty sure it was a
juvenile Bald Eagle! The two images below are just different
cropped versions of the same photograph.
5
minutes later, I remembered to examine the top of the tallest tree on
the far Northwest treeline. I've seen a Bald Eagle out there several
times over the past weeks. The
Eagle was out there this morning!
The 3 images below show how far away it was. Another temperature
reading from that area showed 39.3°F. But this time there was the
wind off of Pilant Lake.
Last weekend, I'd watched dark
Ibises (most likely White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) foraging on the floating plants
in Pilant Slough. They seemed to be picking at, and
trying to eat various round plant objects--maybe parts of the
Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia
crassipes) floating everywhere. Today, I saw one of them
with the kind of thing
I
normally see them catch. It was a frog, and from the markings I could
see (large, oval spots on the back), probably a Southern Leopard Frog
(Lithobates sphenocephalus).
The
following images demonstrate something that still surprises some folks
when I call attention to it. Wading birds are not equipped to break
down animal prey into
smaller parts. Whatever they eat, they
swallow whole. This could lead to quite a struggle if the prey is large
compared to the size of the bird's head. In this case, the frog
wasn't
very mobile (probably because of the cold) and didn't pose much of a
problem for the Ibis. There is video, but I probably won't upload it.
The light on this day was
difficult to work with--especially
for a non-photographer like me. I tried shooting the last 4 images at
high shutter setting and adjusted ISO. They came out REALLY dark,
so
I enhanced them as well as I could. (flash!?!? I
don't even
try to use one.) I walked to Elm Lake, and then North to New
Horseshoe lake. It's not evident from this article,
but there were
many amazing birds active all around while I walked, even with the
cold. I took a few more temperature readings at New Horseshoe
lake, then tuned back.
Heading
back on the East Loop of the 40Acre Lake trail, I saw these ducks when
I looked towards the T-pier. They were Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
swimming with
a pair of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris).
I'm terrible at identifying ducks, and have to look up their names
almost every time. After that, it was time to go get warm!!
On 01/14/2024
I went to BBSP. I almost didn't because of forecasted rain and
a
cold front. But, I decided to go anyway, spend a couple hours outside,
then
work in the Nature Center. When I checked the temperature at
the
Forty Acre Parking Lot, it was 40°F. It's always colder down
near
the Observation Tower, mostly
because of the wind blowing off of
Pilant Lake. The morning was bright and clear, and White-Faced and
White Ibises were foraging on the floating plant mass near the
Southeast corner of the tower. I'm pretty sure they were White-Faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) but I have a hard time telling
them apart from Glossy Ibis (Plegadis
falcinellus)--as
do
many other folks. Some of
these photos show that they had red eyes--which is one way to tell they
were White-Faced.
In any case, the low morning
sunlight enhanced the wonderful metallic green/bronze of their
feathers. A few White Ibises (Eudocimus albus)
were foraging with them. At
other
times, I've seen the Ibises pulling prey out of this mat, but have had
a hard time identifying what organisms were being caught. When I
watched closed on this day,
the Ibises seemed to be picking up plant buds or plant root bulbs. A
couple of the pictures above show this. This video clip shows many
examples of this in slow motion.
07/03/2022 If
it seems depressing to see the water levels dropping...well, it was.
But these birds were also foraging in and around Pilant Lake on July
3rd, and that
was fine; so I'm including the images
here. There are some
short video clips that show their activities also, which can be
seen here. When the mudflats formed from the shallow water,
we
had many Black-necked Stilts come in, and
some nested at the the lake. This is an adult with chicks.
This
was the beginning of the drought I describe on
this page.
From BBSP on 06/05/2022
and 07/03/2022 The water level
drop in Pilant Lake has affected all kinds of things. On 6/05, this
Little Blue Heron was foraging for
small
prey. Meanwhile, various birds foraged around it, including
some
Common Gallinules. I've seen various birds forage near Gallinules (and
their chicks) without alarming the Gallinules.
Today, the
Gallinules weren't so indifferent, and they chased the Heron away. For
a second, the Heron seemed a bit surprised at the challenge from the
Gallinules. The video is here(mp4).
I
noticed the chicks walking on the mud, but they were too far away to
photograph. I've been curious about watching Gallinules using their
long toes to distribute their weight over various
substrates. On
7/03, I was able to get a close look at Gallinule walking on the mud in
Pilant Lake. The video of this one walking, and the others
chasing the Little Blue Heron are in a video
and the video is here(mp4). The
images below (and above) are frames from the video.
The
video shows how resilient the mud surface was, as it flexed and sprung
back as the bird
walked on it. There were some footprints
left, but only faint ones, that probably would fade. Then, the
Gallinule stepped into softer mud, and it ran off, using the same
technique it would
use to run on water--flapping wings and running.
That time it left impressions, but the mud was too soft for them to
last. The arrows in the images point to the footprints.
02/27/2022.
Later, I saw these beautiful Green-Winged Teal
at Creekfield Lake at 2:41pm.
Green Winged Teal
2:41pm
Green
Winged Teal 2:41pm
10/31/2021 I
had a busy day, because a lot was going on by the Observation Tower
that day. For now, I also have this mystery to share.
9:00am I
was near the Observation Tower, facing North, and talking to a visitor.
Sudden commotion to my right caught my attention. From the corner of my
eye, it seemed like a typical "disagreement"
between gallinules
and/or coots. If you haven't visited the park,
then try to imagine being surrounded by the sounds of various
birds calling and splashing all around you. Not every day
at BBSP is
like
that, but today, the birds were active. After a while, one stops
turning to investigate every little commotion--because they are
everywhere. This time, there was some gallinule calls, and splashing.
When
I turned full attention towards it, I was able to see just the ending.
I had the impression of something large at the surface (of course, I
thought "gator"), but then the event was over.
When
the water became still, all that remained was a single Common gallinule
(Gallinula chloropus). It was obvious that the bird had been
attacked by something. It did not float as gallinules usually
do.
It was in the deeper water, centered between the tower and the
island. It began swimming towards the tower.
But
it remained mostly submerged, and so did not move properly-using its
wings to "breast-stroke" slowly through the water instead of
paddling on the surface. I scanned the water around it. If an
alligator
had attacked the bird, I expected at least to see one surface
nearby. No alligator appeared near the gallinule.
It was
also strange that whatever had attacked the gallinule did not return
to
attack the bird while it moved slowly towards us. My only
other
guess is a large fish-perhaps a gar-had attacked it.
Although it wasn't floating or swimming properly, the gallinule didn't
act
stressed or frantic. I shot video while the gallinule was swimming to
show its condition. That video is here.
In
any case, the gallinule eventually made it to the branches of a small
snag under the Oak Tree. It rested there, and I moved off to another
part of the trail--but where I could still watch the branches.
I
walked over to check a few times, and the gallinule had climbed
partially onto a branch--but it never stood up. I'd hoped it would
recover, dry off, preen, and swim away. It didn't do any of
that.
I stayed away from it, and didn't mention it to visitors, hoping to
avoid stressing the gallinule. If someone noticed gallinule and asked
about it, then I explained what had happened. I never took any
pictures
of the gallinule among the branches--mostly because among the branches
it was pretty hard to see. After some hours, I
checked on
the gallinule one last time, and saw it floating upside down.
It had apparently died.
07/25/2021 and 08/01/2021 Sometime
in May, 2021, there was a vegetation-control spray over
Pilant
Lake. This was done to clear the center of Pilant Lake.
The target
was probably Giant Cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliacea (aka Southern Wild
Rice) (Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Water Hyacinth
Eichhornia crassipes)
among others. It was successful, and
the center of the lake cleared nicely. Over the following weeks, dead
plants formed mats of decaying matter. Superficially, they
looked
like mud flats. Apparently some birds also thought
so, because BBSP was visited by many species that we usually
only
see during times of low water. Black-necked Stilts
(Himantopus
mexicanus) were among the visitors. I'm always happy to see
their
colors--very dark black contrasted against a brilliant white. And then
there are those amazing long pink
legs--very thin, and almost as
long at the stilt's entire body! At least three families of
stilts nested at the park--but pretty far away. Quite a few folks using
cameras with better
reach than mine spent hours trying to
capture images of those families. On July 25, some of the
Stilts
were a bit closer, so I tried to capture some images and
video. I
caught
just one clip that showed a couple of the young birds
trying out their wings. The next week (8/1/21) I was able to watch one
foraging much closer to me, at the Spillway Bridge.
The spillway there is drainage for high water in Pilant
Lake. I also shot a bit of
video , which shows the young ones hopping, and the forage on
the spillway.
Black-necked
Stilt w/young 7/25/2021
Black-necked Stilt
7/25/2021
Black-necked Stilt walked
closer 7/25/2021
Black-necked
Stilt at Spillway 8/1/2021 Black-necked Stilt at
Spillway 8/1/2021 Black-necked Stilt at
Spillway 8/1/2021
05/02/2021 Even with more "spare time"
it's taking me days to work on new material so I can post it. Part of
the reason is that I get more
new material before I've completed
editing of the previous new material--because I have more of that
"spare time" to go get the new material. Oh, darn. LOL
So, here's how my morning went at Brazos Bend State Park on 05/02/21.
I'd been standing near an
alligator for a while, a visitor had pointed out a snake (on another
page), and about
the time I was looking at the snake, I looked across to the
island,
and noticed a pair of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna
autumnalis) on the bird nesting box-I call them "bird boxes" there.
I was able to catch a quick video of one
entering the box.
I've done it before, but I'll probably never tire of seeing
this
exercise. The diameter of the entry hole in the box is about the
same as the thickness of a
Whistling Duck, and it doesn't have anything
to stand on in front of it. But, the ducks use them, and this
video which is slowed 16 times shows their technique. The image below
is
a screenshot from this video clip. NOTE 5/18/21:
I have photographed and shot video of this species many times. While
reviewing my web pages today I've discovered that I
have
not ever posted any here--on any of my pages. I'll have to
check
again, and post some more. If this is true,then enjoy this first
posting video clip showing the bird box entry.
03/07/2021 I
started as a Volunteer ranger/interpretive guide at Brazos Bend State
Park in 2001. Starting then, I went to BBSP at least once a week--EVERY
week; although
there were some periods where I had to go "on hiatus"
due to occasional medical procedures. In a single day, I could
interpret for over 100 people...or 10. I feel fair average of
contacts
would be 50 per week. 50 folks per week x 51 (weeks
in a year) would be 2550 folks per year. 2550 x
19years
is.... a LOT of people (48,450 --but maybe take off about 6 months'
worth
because of the medical stuff (that's about 1200 less)).
That still adds up to a lot of folks that I've experienced
the
park with. It was great fun, and the park is a great place.
And
then
our viral visitor appeared. And I stopped going to BBSP in
March of 2020. There were many factors involved with
this--all of
us know the adjustments that were made. I missed the park.
I can't
remember exactly, but I did go out to BBSP a few times during 2020.
I also went out a few times in 2021. I decided I should go
once
more while there was still some controls in place
so I volunteered
on March 7. During the 6 hours I was there I spoke with 100
people while wearing a mask and maintaining distance. It was
great as usual! There is always a lot
to see at BBSP, but I
think it will be a while before I go out there again. If you
live
in Texas, you can probably figure out why after March 10.
What
did I see today? Well, here we go.
There
was a mother Coypu(aka Nutria-Myocastor coypus) with at least
2 babies
on a little mat that they made from Giant Cutgrass. They were at least
50 yards away, so I couldn't
see too much. I passed them again on
my way back to my car, and pointed them out to a number of visitors
then. One of the babies went off to forage by itself, and I
noticed
the Ibis
behind it, so I tried to get some pictures with them both
included. They were quite far apart, so it was hard to get them both in
focus. That is not a White Ibis, but either a Glossy
Ibis(Plegadis
falcinellus), or a White-faced Ibis(Plegadis chihi). I've
seen
people who can identify birds a lot better than I can arguing over
identification of one of these. I know
it's one or the
other. I can't really pick out the eye color, but the legs are more
gray than pink or red. From what I can find, Grey legs would
make
it be Glossy Ibis. The last 3 images
are frames from a video clip.
Ibis is at least 20 feet
away from coypu. Three moments as the Ibis
paused. Each
view is a bit different.
Just the Ibis Grey legs, not red or pink.
Just pay attention to the sign, okay?
update 05/23/2020
(material
filmed 10/20/2019)
Like
almost everyone these days, I've been staying inside. I have
stopped driving around outside
for...recreational purposes.
BBSP
is just too far away, AND, entrance protocol to the park has changed
dramatically (even for volunteers). So...I haven't been going there.
So
I'm catching up on old material.
Wood
Storks (Mycteria americana) move through East Texas at the the end of
the summer. Sometimes they gather in Brazos Bend State Park. In 2019, I
was lucky enough
to be there when the storks came by. I heard that
there were many more there the day before, but at least I saw these.
They were roosted in trees in Elm Lake, and I'd just
gotten there
when the remaining Wood Storks took off. I got just a few pictures, and
some short video clips--and then they were gone; off to the West..
The
video is here.
07/01/2018 This
is a pair of Common Gallinule (sometimes called Moorhens) with chicks.
The young chicks look interesting with their claw like,
undeveloped wings.
The image below is a frame grab from this video clip.
Notice the really, really long toes, which help them move over plants
and mud without sinking.
COMMON GALLINULE
CHICK
06/17/2018 Birds
(and other predators) have to hone instinctive hunting behavior to
develop skill. Until they attain that skill, the young animal
can miss, or fall down. Here is a young Cattle Egret hunting
dragonflies. The two images are frame grabs from this video clip.
SWAYING TO FOCUS ON A DRAGONFLY
OOPS!
A MISS...AND A TRIP
11/08/2015
I was at the West end of the Spillway Bridge at Brazos Bend State Park.
I'd been watching some alligators there when I noticed a Snowy Egret
fly to a tree across from
me and apparently try to land on a branch. It
seemed to be struggling, and then I saw a large dragonfly (Probably a
Green Darner) fly out of its beak. I thought that was
interesting,
because I thought that the Egret had actually flown after the
dragonfly. So I started watching and filming the Egret when it
returned and landed a bit closer. The Egret was still about
15 yards
from me, so I couldn't tell exactly what it was doing. But, I watched
it as it watched the dragonflies that passed by. A few times,
I
could see the Egret poised for a strike at
a dragonfly, only to see it
relax as the dragonfly moved out of ranged. Finally, it grabbed a
dragonfly, and I caught it on film. The first image below is a frame
grab from the one of the
clips. The second image--the animated
gif, is made from the clip. I've edited the clips together, and that
video clip can be seen here.
------------ 
-----------
Snowy
Egrets have bright yellow feet, which they use to flush prey out from
cover as the bird is wading. The Egret steps forward, and as it puts
its foot down, it gives a quick shaking
motion. But, as shown today,
they will pick food out of the air, or pluck it from cover (that also
happens in the
clip linked above .).
April 12 and 26 and May
3, 2015 (These are photos I
shot
in 2015, but I'm posting them today, 10/18/2019.) These are various
shots of the
very pretty bird species, the Purple Gallinule
(Porphyrula martinica).
January 19 and
26 2014 (This is
material I
filmed in 2014, but I'm posting it today, 7/29/2015.)
Groups of Wilson's
Snipe (Gallinago delicata) have been foraging in Pilant Lake
near
the Observation Tower. I don't see them there often...but
that
could be partly because of their"cryptic" coloration-their colors allow
them to blend in with their surroundings.
They are usually
shy, but on these two weekends, the Snipe foraged closer to the
trail. The Snipe use their long, thin bills as a
probe-they
plunge it into the mud to look for prey.
They move so quickly,
they resemble sewing machines as they walk along. I tried
shooting some digital zoom shots...and then shot some video at
high-speed, about 120
frames per second. While
I was watching the Snipe on the 19th, I noticed that two of them seemed
to be displaying at each other. I shot video of most of one
"confrontation".
The exchange between the birds lasted about 5 minutes, and then they
seemed to relax when they moved far enough apart.
Various
reference sources group the Snipe with "sandpipers". Wilson's Snipe was
defined as a species separate from the Common Snipe in 2003
(at
least according to Wikipedia), so items published on or before that
time may not have this species defined. My Sibley's Field Guide to
Birds of Eastern America
has them, on page 165. The light-colored stripes on its back
help identify this bird as a Snipe.
Snipe scratching its head,
video here
(mp4).
Video
of 2 Snipe facing-off
is here
(mp4).
Finally,
video of a Snipe
finding and "playing tug-of-war" with an earthworm is
here
(mp4).
And
some photos are below.
--
-
--
--
-
December 22, 2013 (added 11/21/2015) Wading
Birds hunt in many ways, and catch and eat all kinds of prey. Snowy
Egrets are no exception, but they have a unique tool-their bright,
yellow feet! Although Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) will ambush prey,
or chase it, they also walk slowly in shallow water with odd, vibrating
steps. They are shifting their bright feet through the
mud and material under the surface and flushing out
prey--which they can snap
up. This video
clip (MP4) shows a Snowy Egret hunting with this method. I
filmed
clips at normal speed (30 fps)
and at high
speed (120 fps--for slow motion playback at 30fps) and edited them
together. The image below is a frame grab from one of the
clips.
December 26, 2010 The
three
images below are frame captures from video clips I shot that morning,
and which I edited into this movie
clip (25 mb).
The
morning of Sunday, December 26, 2010, had temperatures low enough for a
skin of ice to be on low, shaded water, and frost shaped by
the
shade of the rails on the Spillway Bridge.
Although the sun came out, the air didn't get much above 45 degrees.
The day was cold--at least by
Brazos Bend State Park standards. I was out on the trails
anyway, looking for Eagles
and Otters. I couldn't find either one.
While I was at 40 Acre Lake, I noticed a Crow hovering near the surface
of the water next to one of the islands. Then, I saw a Great Egret
doing the same
thing. It would hover close to the surface of the water,
and sometimes stab down with its beak. Occasionally I thought I saw
something splash under the surface. I assumed that the Egret was
harassing Pied-Billed Grebes if they surfaced with prey. I've seen
this before, and figured that's what was going on. I decided to try to
film this activity. First, I tried to follow a Grebes as they
dove and
surfaced--but it's difficult to see where they are going to surface.
So,
I decided to watch and film the Egret instead. I shot a few high speed
clips of the Egret taking off, hovering,
and stabbing the water. After
reviewing these, I couldn't tell if the Egret was stealing from a Grebe
or not. I never noticed a Grebe surface from where the Egret grabbed a
fish.I edited together
some of these clips, so I could watch this
magnificent Great Egret hovering and flying in the early afternoon sun.
I hope you enjoy it as well. A couple things really caught my
attention. First,
the shadow of the Egret's head and neck as it shows
on the wings. Then, the effort of the Egret as the wing beats keep it
airborne at such low speeds.
--
-
-
01/01/2010
Although it's rare,
sometimes it gets cold
enough for ice to form on the lakes at BBSP. This was one of
those times. I got just one short clip of these Moorhens walking on
a frozen spot on one of the lakes. The image below is a frame
grab from the clip. The clip can be
seen here
(wmv 12.0 mb).
11/30/2008
As
a last experiment, I took some photos and video clips of some White
Ibis
foraging. I was able to shoot some video of a White Ibis taking off. I
shot the video at 420 frames per
second. When I reviewed that clip, I was
amazed. The Ibis' wings unfolded and went straight UP to meet over the
Ibis' back. Then with just ONE downward flap, the Ibis becomes
airborne.
The
images below are some frames pulled from the clip. The clip
can be
seen here
(wmv
4.0 mb).
-
-
WINGS
GO STRAIGHT UP!
WINGS
PUSH
DOWN
IN THE AIR!
12/03/2006--As
I hurried back to lead my hike, I saw a group of White Ibis in some
trees,
and this one posed for me. I just liked the picture, which you can see
below.
-------------
---------------------------
---
------------------------NICE
IBIS!-------------------------------------------------
-------NICE
IBIS CLOSER!
08/06/2006--BBSP
finally got some rainfall about 4 weeks ago. There was enough water in
Pilant Lake to allow some filling of 40 Acre Lake by opening the
floodgate
between them.
When the water levels equalized, the gate was closed, and
a diesel-fueled water pump was set up to continue filling the lake. The
first image below (FILL THAT LAKE!) shows the pump in
action.
The
two images below show the improved appearance of
the lake. Compare
them with the two images from 06/18/06 further down on this page.
---
---
----
FILL THAT
LAKE!
BETWEEN HOOT'S BENCH AND OBSERVATION
TOWER
NEAR THE OBSERVATION TOWER
That's
some improvement, right?
This
changed over 4 weekends.
Many
of the animals that live in the lake were taking advantage of the
water,
and the food that was growing. In an odd turn of events, the primary
water
level rise (from opening the floodgate)
caused many of the larger fish
remaining in what was left of 40 Acre Lake to die. General opinion is
that
there was an oxygen depletion (perhaps caused by silting). Only the
larger
fish were
affected, as there were many, many small fish remaining.
On
the
morning of August 6, I stood on the 40 Acre Lake fishing pier, and
watched
a group of Great Egrets catching fish. They were
soon joined by a
number
of alligators. I thought it interesting that although an
alligator occasionally
swam towards an Egret, it didn't seem to be interested in catching the
bird. Instead, the
alligator seemed to be watching the area around
the Egret--perhaps looking for fish the Egret had dropped, or for fish
that it learned would be near a hunting bird. On the other hand,
sometimes
(less frequently than the first case) an Egret would go near an
alligator,
and they would both be facing the same spot in the water. Perhaps the
Egret
was watching for fish disturbed or
distracted by the alligator's
passage.
The series of images below are single frames from some
short
video clips. The first
clip 4519 KB (OOPS...), starts with an Egret trying to
un-spear a
fish...which
it drops. Then it seems to be looking straight at me (I was at least 20
yards away) like it's MY fault that it dropped breakfast. Then the
camera
pulls back and pans across to show
the group of Egrets (and one Great
Blue
Heron). The splashing sound in the clip is from alligators pouncing.
---
-
-
-
OOPS, AND SLOW PAN ACROSS
PARDON ME,
EXCUSE ME
HEY!, CATCHING
ANYTHING?
HOW A PRO DOES IT
VIDEO
CLIP 4519 KB
VIDEO
CLIP 14,621 KB
VIDEO
CLIP 4027 KB
VIDEO
CLIP 9035 KB
The next
clip 14,621 KB (PARDON ME...) shows a larger alligator as it
swims
through the group of Egrets. Notice how each Egret steps aside very
delicately
as the alligator approaches--except
for one, which makes a short hop of
a few feet. It landed in the path of the alligator though, so still has
to step aside. By the end of the clip, the alligator has gone near two
other alligators. One of
these, then another, pounces, but without
apparent
success. The next
clip 4027 KB
(CATCHING ANYTHING?) is a closer view of two alligators passing. One
does
a sideways snatch after the
passing, while the other one passes some
Egrets.
The
final
Egret clip 9035 KB (HOW A PRO...) shows a successful catch
and swallow.
Notice how the Egret repositions the slippery fish before
tossing it
that
final time and swallowing the fish. I think the number of
Egrets,
and Alligators hunting; and the large number of fish are good
indications
that the lake will have a good population
of fish before long.
-
-
5/28/2006
6/04/2006
5\28\06
clip 5800 kb wmv 6\04\06
clip pt1 2800 kb wmv 6\04\06
clip pt2 3400 kb wmv
-
-
-
6/04/2006
6/18/06 with
alligator
6/18/06 past alligator-
6\18\06
clip pt1 4400kb wmv 6\18\06
clip pt2 6200 kb wmv
In
the
clips from 6/18/06 above, I noticed the alligator only after I'd been
watching
the Stilts through the camera for a while. The parent Stilts, however,
appear to be very aware of the alligator.
The Stilts are very
protective, and I like how the two parents walked--in the last
clip--along with the
young one between them.
Below,
I have some pictures and more pictures from photographs
(those above
are
frames from video clips) . The first one shows the two adult
Black-Necked
Stilts with the young one, and the alligator behind them, taken on
6/18/06.
The remaining 4 show the
young Stilt with the parents walking around on
what used to be the bottom of 40 Acre Lake.
-----------------------------
--
--
--
JUST KEEP GOING,
YOUNG'UN
PARENT AND
YOUNG
CLOSEUP OF
YOUNG
-
--
THE PARENT
STILT
ADULT AND CHILD WALKING
Those
Stilts
were walking on mud that alligators were swimming
over just a few
months ago. The alligator with the Stilts above was forced to push its
way through that muck. This must tire
the alligators, plus it makes
foraging
difficult.
May
15,
2004; I took this
picture of the Purple Gallinule
just because they have such brilliant colors (see Purple Gallinule,
below).
-------------------------------
PURPLE GALLINULE
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