Tricks of the trade..learning to survive.

This time of year is a time of learning for many of the critters on the Bayou.  Being born in the spring, raised during the summer, many are learning survival skills in the fall.  I see juvenile raccoons learning to scavenge the compost pile, young otters learning to raid my crab traps and teenage egrets and herons developing fishing skills!  All this is to prepare them for the harshness of winter when the food supply will diminish.  Winter is the "make or break" time for wildlife.  If they can survive their first winter alone, life should become much easier for them in the coming years.

As I was on the pier baiting the crab traps, I noticed several such youngsters out and about.  One particularly caught my eye.  The late evening sun saw a lone Brown Pelican trying to catch his supper.  I marveled at his splotchy markings.  He was still wearing his juvenile feathers..the ones that allow him some protection in the wild.  His body was lean as it had not filled out to full form.  His wings, though strong and fully developed, were not as agile as his adult friends.  He stretched his wings to their fullest and shook his head.  Even though he is young, I could tell he was going to grow into quite a bird!  This will be one huge critter by next summer!

  

 The young Brown Pelican had not mastered the art of the perfect dive and seemed to be having difficulty catching the mullet.  Again and again, he would smack the water and come up empty billed.  His gullet poured water but held no fish.  I so wanted to help him by tossing him a fish but my net was coming up empty as well.  No fish were to be caught..the poor pelican would go hungry tonight, it seemed.  The Brown Pelican normally is an expert fisherman and can catch its fill with just a few dives but not tonight!  After ten or fifteen dives, this young lad headed off to other parts of the Bay. The old saying of "practice makes perfect" came to mind and hopefully, his searching will prove profitable. Hopefully, he will  have supper.