Moe, the Flasher!

  A couple of years ago, I explained a weird habit of some of the larger birds here on the Bayou.  "Flashing" seems to be a favorite pastime of the herons especially.  Our young Great Blue Heron put on quite the show for us this morning as he soaked up some of the sunshine.  Don't get me wrong, Moe was not doing anything vulgar but was doing a natural thing akin to sunbathing.  "Flashing" refers to a practice of larger shorebirds as they hold their wings in a drooping fashion which allows their bellies to be exposed to the sunshine.  Their appearance during this action resembles a guy in a trench coat doing the unspeakable. This not only warms the bird during the winter months but also lets the heat kill any mites that have infested the bird.  

  Moe had come in for breakfast this morning as he usually does.  After we fed him a huge helping of menhaden, he opted to stay on the pier with us as we fished.  At one point, he faced the sun, opened his wings and "flashed".  Moe stayed in this position for nigh on an hour just enjoying the sunrise. This is one of those instinctive actions that birds seem to know how to do.  While humans have gotten to the point that most actions have to be taught, critters depend more on instinct.  Some critters are taught the basics by their parents but others never see their parents so have to learn everything on their own.  Birds are the lucky ones.  At least, the parents take care of baby birds for a few weeks teaching them how to forage.  Others are not so fortunate.  Snakes and turtles, for example, rely totally on instinct.  There are no parents present to help them on their way.

  Moe's action of flashing is instinct.  His ability to hunt for food was taught.  His practice of coming to the pier and trusting us is purely something he learned on his own.  It is that last one that means the most to me!

The "Flasher" of the Bayou!

  The Flasher of the Bayou is called this for a simple reason.  The pose it has resembles what has been referred to as a flasher all these years. For those in the dark about this, Wikipedia (and most other dictionaries) defines the term as "a person who displays his/her body in a form of indecent exposure".  Well, the Flasher of the Bayou is not a person nor is he/she doing anything indecent.  It is just a term applied to a certain habit of some of the larger birds.  The Flasher of the Bayou happens to be a Great Blue Heron.

  If you watch critters as much as I do, you often can observe unusual actions.  Most of these have a logical explanation behind them.  Take the Flasher, for instance.  The heron spreads its wings and sort of lets them droop down to its sides.  This action makes the bird resemble the action of a person wearing a large overcoat that is held open in the front.  The bird is usually facing the sun when doing this which should give a hint behind the action.  With the sun beaming down upon the breast of the bird, not only can the bird warm itself but the sunlight kills any mites that are creepy-crawling around between the feathers.  

  On the other side of my brother's pier, I noticed several Great Blue Herons performing the same ritual high in the pine trees.  The morning sun was just getting quite bright (and actually a bit toasty) when each bird opened its wings and let them sag.  It was quite comical to see the three birds doing this in unison.  Being the only one on the pier at the time, I suppose that I was being "flashed" by all three!  Oh, my....the birds of the Bayou need to start behaving themselves!  (Just so you will know, this is the actual term applied by birders to the strange behavior of the herons.)