Bad Hair Day...

If I keep writing about the wildlife on the Bayou, most of you folks are going to begin to think that all I do is stay on the pier.  Not so!  Occasionally, I wander the marsh edge!  Seriously, I do spend a lot of time on the pier and near the water.  I try to start my day watching the sunrise. I figure if I begin my day peacefully, things will not be as stressful.   Then as soon as chores are finished, I head down the board path to the pier to watch the sun set again.  I let all the busyness of the day disappear with the sun as it slides down in the western horizon.  It is just where I like to be.  So..bear with me as I prattle about the birds of the Bayou once again.  But first..just so you do not think all I do is play with the birds..I did catch our supper!  This nice six pound redfish took my bait and gave me a nice fight!  Needless to say, I won!  Supper will be fish!

Every trek to the pier brings a visit from a number of birds all expecting a handout.  They know that the food is forthcoming so as soon as they see me, they all come flying.  There are two Green Herons in the bunch.  These two squabble quite a bit over the menhaden buffet that I set for them each day.  Although there might be a hundred or so minnows flip-flopping around on the pier, the two herons will invariably start their spat and usually wind up missing most of their free meal.  The Snowy Egret and the gulls scoop up the free food right in the midst of the heron melee. Today, however, only one showed up to eat.  This bird lingered close to me and even followed Ms. Ez, the dog, around on the pier.  It was almost like it missed its buddy/nemesis.

After a bit, the Green Heron settled in on one of the pier posts and stayed put for the rest of my time on the pier.  It would not move.  This made me wonder...had something caught the other heron?  It was just about two weeks ago that the alligator snatched the young Blue Heron from my brother's pier and I wondered if the other Green Heron had met a similar fate.  This one was sure not taking any chances!  It was sitting high up on the post!

I took advantage of its perch and was able to get a number of pictures.  The wind was blowing just enough to ruffle the feathers on its crown to make it appear to have a messy hairdo!  The bird would change its pose with most every picture I took.  It was almost as if it was trying to get the "best pose" possible!  I can just imagine it saying "Wait..the wind messed my feathers!"  "How is this?"  "Does this pose make me look fat?"  So...like the good photographer, I took dozens of pictures.  Personally, I like the messy hair look on this bird!