Birds of all sizes!

   A tiny friend came back to the Bayou in today's drizzly rain.  A wee Spotted Sandpiper flew in to rest on the pier.  While out checking the garden, I noticed the little bird.  It seemed to be not feeling too well as it was practically flat on the boards.  At first, I was not even sure the blob was a bird but figured that whatever was there needed my attention.  The trek to the pier should have only taken a moment but I was waylaid before I got there.  I heard a certain screeching in the sky and looked up to see the pair of Bald Eagles.  Alrighty then!  Perhaps I could get a photograph of these fine birds.  They soared about the hillside with such grace!  They swooped in between the pines and down near the marsh. They flew in circles about each other.  Not once, however, did they get in a good range for my camera!  I had to be happy with a long-distanced photograph where it could be argued if these were eagles at all.  The exciting interruption had not dampened my intentions of checking on my little friend, though, so down the pier, I headed.

  Sure enough, the blob was, indeed, a sandpiper.  I was relieved to find that the bird was not injured but just exhausted.  This lone sandpiper must have migrated in from parts unknown and made the decision to stop for a rest.  Even when I neared the bird, it made no effort to fly away.  It only stayed a few steps ahead of me all the way to the end of the pier.  Once there, it sort of squatted and looked at me pitifully.  "Please do not hurt me." I imagined it saying.  "Ok, little friend.  You are welcome to stay as long as you like." was my answer.

  The size difference in the two types of birds today is astronomical.  The tiny sandpiper weighs in at less than two ounces while the eagle can tip the scales at a hefty fourteen pounds!  The wingspan of a sandpiper is all of about fourteen inches while the eagle is nigh on eighty inches!  I do believe that the difference in size is massive but...what the little sandpiper lacks in size, it makes up for in personality!  The little squirt is adorable and has some funny little antics that make it quite amusing to watch!  AND...they are much easier to photograph!