Watching and Waiting

I do indeed watch the critters of the Bayou.  Perhaps I watch them a bit too much but I am impressed by their skill and patience.  I am equally impressed by their individual quirkiness!  One of my favorite birds is the Great Egret.  This bird has a great deal of character or at least the ones around here do.   Not long ago, I saw a Great Egret near my brother's pier. One section of his pier is a floating pier.  It is low-lying which makes it a great spot for the egret to fish.  The bird will stand on the planks and wait for a mullet to venture too close.  All he has to do is scoop up the mullet.  At times, the Great Egret will pace up and down the length of the pier.  It eyes are always scanning the water in hopes of a meal.  Occasionally, the bird will flap its wings and do sort of a funny little dance.  I have no idea what this dance is for since the bird is usually alone.  Perhaps the critter is just plumb happy about being alive.

The morning I was on the pier watching the Great Egret, it did not do any "Happy Dance".  It just hunted and paced the pier.  In a way, the bird seemed to be a bit nervous.  I wondered if it had seen the alligator and was being wary of what might jump out of the water.  There was a bit of a fog covering the marsh which did lend a slight feeling of eeriness to the morning.  Maybe the bird was just skittish about not having a clear view.   I watched for a while as he paced and paced.  Finally, it went back to feeding.

Later I was talking to my brother and he told me how the alligator actually jumped up to the higher part of his pier to snatch a heron.  That bird had eaten well and was taking a snooze.  The gator slipped ever closer until it was right under the sleeping bird.  With a sudden burst of speed, the gator snatched to bird from the pier.  Poor bird!  This might explain the skittish nature of the Egret, though.  It might have seen the alligator in the water or it might have seen the gator snatch the other bird.  Once the Great Egret caught its fill, it moved to the top of the dead pine tree.  It had a much better vantage point from that position and was quite safe from the gator!