Periscoping Bird!

  Down on the east side of the hill. a path meanders next to the marsh edge.  This is where the old dog, Mr. PJ, and I hike every morning so he can take care of business and I can observe the shallows of the Bayou.  During the winter months, this part of the Bayou is mostly mudflats with just a small trickle of water  that teems with minnows and small mullet.  Periodically, the tide will come in enough for some larger fish to venture in to dine upon the smaller ones but, most of the time, the minnows only need to watch for attacks from above.

  This morning, I could hear an occasional soft splash as if something was hunting those minnows.  I pondered which of our shorebirds was getting breakfast.  As the old dog wandered close to the marsh, the bird was startled enough to stop hunting and peer over the marsh at the possible predator on shore.  A beautiful great egret kept a close watch on the old dog but Mr. PJ had no interest in the bird.

  It amused me to see the egret stretch high above the marsh tips to see who was trampling around on the path.  Its long neck gave it a clear view above the almost four foot tall grass,  I imagined that it was a lot like using a periscope!  The bird probably sensed that it had no worries because it soon went back to scooping up the minnows.  At the moment, a full belly was more important that dog watching.