"On the Waterfront" - Part 4

As the seasons continue to evolve, we are nearing the end of winter here in North America. The change in seasons brings out nature's true beauty. Winter has engaged us this time around with the ferocity not seen for quite some time. Birds and animals have had to endure these merciless elements. I bid it farewell. But one thing that never changes is the diversity of bird life found near or on the water. So, as the season changes I look forward to the new visitors. On the other hand, some choose to stay around all year long here in the Mid-Atlantic. One such specie is the Great Blue Heron. They stand still for long periods of time and then suddenly, without warning, they strike. This past weekend I took a few shots of a Great Blue Heron as it engaged its prey. I'll start this new thread with a few of those photos.

If you would like to re-visit some of the other "On the Waterfront" threads, here is a link to the previous one.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1070742/

Finally, his stillness is interrupted by a movement in the water below.

And then, with a suddenness that can only be captured by the camera, he strikes, with his head fully submerged in the water.

Out of the water he emerges with a successful catch .......

With much of the water still frozen, they have limited access to their primary food. Here he stands proudly with his catch.

Nice start Linth!! I believe he has caught himself a very young Muskellunge (aka the fish of ten thousand cast's) which is a nice surprise! Nice sequence of the catch!!

Very nice sequence of the catch! The Great Blue Heron is beautiful.

Thanks for starting the new thread Linth! I look forward to seeing more of your wonderful pics.

That is what I call "fast food". Awesome series, Linth.

Great photos linthicum!

What a spectacular start to this new thread!! Those of us who have been lucky enough to see this event know how fast this heron grabs that fish. You did an incredible job capturing it on that camera . Well done!!

Thanks, everyone.

Chick Alert !!!! - One of the two Bald Eagle eggs have hatched late this afternoon, pretty much on schedule. Here is a link if you wish to see a photo. Click where it says "we have our first eaglet of 2010".

http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

It was very interesting to watch the Great Blue Heron's behavior for several minutes. He held the fish for some time and then put it back into the water and allowed it to lay there for several seconds. He kept an eye on it and eventually brought it back out of the water. I took my eye off of him to shoot some photos of Snow Geese flying overhead but when I turned around, he was gone.

Several weeks ago, I was entertained "on the waterfront" by a pair of sea gulls. I suppose you could call it the Cirque du Soleil of the bird world. I was mesmerized with their aerial antics, for several minutes, and they did it for just one spectator, me. I refer to one of them as Groucho. For those with a little age, you will know what I mean. I assume that the other gull was one of the other Marx brothers.
He sorta looked like Harpo.

It all started out on the ice "rink" when I observed Groucho playing with a corn cob. He picked it up in his beak and kept twirling it around, never allowing it to hit the ice.

He finally gets it into position to simulate a long Cuban cigar.

And, then suddenly became airborne. I actually lost track of who had the corn cob, when.

They performed aerials for several minutes ......... often dropping the corn cob and catching in mid-air before it fell back to earth.

Show off !!!

In a deep dive to catch the falling corn cob ........

And then levels off .........

And, coming back in for a landing. What a show, and for free at that ........

What a great start for your new thread Linth...fabulous shots! I guess I have a little age as I remember the Marx brothers and that sea gull sure looks like Groucho and his cigar!! Love that series... would love to have witnessed that show!

Those are really nice shots of the gulls antics! They can be very entertaining!

Wowee, Linth, you're outdoing yourself. What wonderful photos. The flight shots of Groucho (nope, never heard of him - I must be too young. LOL) are fantastic.

Wow!!! Charlie, you continue with an excellent series here!
Loved the Groucho group!

Nice Capture's Linth! Would have loved to have seen that for sure. lol

Wish I could deny knowing who Groucho was, but I can't. I was laughing though all your photos with the corn cob. What an enjoyable time you must have had. Great pictures Linth!! More!!!

Mother Goose selected her nest site on Tuesday. I was lucky enough to watch her check it out with Father Goose standing by. That's him to the left. He's been there ever since. The others are "sidewalk supervisors". These are obviously feral geese. Too bad they cause so much damage. Still, it will be interesting to watch her progress. I think the incubation period is around 3 weeks. Am I correct?

Neat shot Bob!!

From this site: http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds/canada-goose.htm

The female typically lays a clutch of 5 to 7 white eggs (though the number can range anywhere from 2 to 12) while the male guards the nesting area. Laying the eggs is not a simple task. Each egg takes a little over a day to lay.

The eggs typically take about a month to incubate.

I can tell you from personal experience that if you accidentally wander into a nesting male's territory while looking for a good spot to lie your picnic blanket down, he'll come after you hissing with wings spread -- they look a lot bigger and move a fair bit faster when they're upset about something *grin*.

This message was edited Feb 27, 2010 2:21 PM

This message was edited Feb 27, 2010 2:21 PM

Thank you all .......... but, what's the secret word ? Anyway, enough Groucho but he was one funny "bird" !

The next series of photos was taken on Saturday. I looked out over the water and thought I saw something bobbing up and down. It was a female Long-tailed Duck. Shortly thereafter the male joined her. And, they were the only ducks in sight. I captured a series of photos that I really like. It was neat how the waves constantly altered the image.

The Long-tailed Duck used to be called "Oldsquaw" before they changed it. I'll start with the male.

Here they are together .... and, you can see how he got his name.

Another of the pair .......

They are a diving duck and it is documented that they can dive as far as 200 ft (60m) below the surface. They spend a lot of time underwater.

They really stick close to each other .......

Another "togetherness" image ......

Last one ....... They are the only two that I have seen this winter.

Great shots of the beautiful Long-tailed Ducks!

Nice shots Linth! Never seen one before thanks. Thank goodness for the long tail as Ive just seen/read that their plumage's are quite different summer/winter.

While driving around at Blackwater, I observed an adult Bald Eagle sitting close to a highly traveled road, so I couldn't safely stop. After turning around and coming back, he was gone. However, I turned into a parking lot and started looking around. Off in the distance, I thought I saw something sitting on a Wood Duck box. I couldn't tell what it was with the naked eye. Here is what I saw through my 500mm lens (uncropped).

Shortly, I saw something else enter the scene. I actually thought it was a Gull or Hawk until I looked at my photos because a Gull was harassing the eagle. But, it turned out to be another Bald Eagle.

The eagle is letting the other one know to "buzz off".

I saw quite a few eagles but unable to get any real close-up photos. Some others said that they saw a juvenile Golden Eagle that day but I am always a little suspicious of their identification. Here is the eagle giving one final message to anything trying to steal his prey.