Scavengers of the Bay

  I guess the old adage "desperate times call for desperate measures" rings true a good bit, here on the Bayou.  With the north winds of winter hitting the Bay, the tide is often far out from the shoreline.  This creates a problem for many of the shorebirds as the fish all move to deeper water.  Waders such as egrets and herons scavenge the tide pools while others such as pelicans and gulls usually just move with the fish. However, sometimes the gulls are just too lazy to go hunt for their food.  Gull are notorious thieves and will steal fish right from a pelicans bill or fight over some tidbit dropped by another bird.  They are not picky eaters and will gulp down anything that resembles a meal.  This morning's hike to the pier proved that bit about their selection of a meal.  It was not a pretty sight.

  As the old dog and I watched the few birds that remained on the mudflats, one lone seagull caught my eye.  This bird was not doing the normal diving that gulls are prone to do.  Instead, it was wading which is a rather unusual tactic for a gull.  I pondered what was attracting the gull to wade in knee-deep water when suddenly the bird darted for something under the water.  With its head still beneath the surface, the gull tugged for all its worth on something.  Then, up came the head, the bird gasped for breath and went back to work on its meal.  It was a bob and drag ordeal for several minutes before the bird managed to break free its quarry.   The bird was one happy camper with its....long dead fish.  Obviously, someone had recently cleaned fish and dropped the scrap remains overboard.  This is a practice of most local folks as the fish remains draw other fish, crabs and, obviously, birds.  The gull had been tugging on the long skin of one side of a pretty nice sized fish.  The remains of the fish were half buried in the sloppy mud and it was quite the strenuous ordeal for the gull to extricate the skin.  A good ten minute battle with the dead fish gave the gull its breakfast albeit a rotten one.  Like I said...gulls are not picky eaters.

The Thief!

   I have a soft heart when it comes to our critter friends that live about the Bayou.  If one is hurt, I try to remedy that.  If one looks a tad hungry, I feed it.  It just comes naturally to those of us who adore wildlife and wish to help keep them healthy and happy. For the past few weeks, I have been feeding the injured heron on a regular basis.  It comes flying in whenever it sees me on the pier.  I feel that this bird knows me and does not fear me.  That makes it far easier to care for the bird.  But I do not only feed this bird.  Egrets, herons, gulls, rails, pelicans, ducks, geese..you name it, I have probably at least tried to coax it near enough to be fed.  

  Here lately, a stately egret has been begging for handouts along with the heron.  This bird is not hurt but still thinks it should share in the wealth. This causes me to have to throw the net a few more times to catch enough for two hungry mouths but I do not complain.  I do, however, have a "bone to pick" with a seagull!  That rascal is never happy.  Whenever the other birds are feeding, they usually are good about only snatching the fish that I throw to them.  It is almost like they share.  Not that seagull!  That varmint will swoop down and snatch fish right out of the beaks of the other birds!  

  Seagulls are known to be thieves.  They are brave enough to snatch tidbits not only from human hands but from animals that are known as predators.  A gull is sometimes brazen enough to steal a tidbit from an alligator.  That takes nerves of steel or a great lack of intelligence.  The one gull that comes to badger the poor egret gets its share of the mullet that I toss on the pier.  It swoops in, grabs the piece of fish and hurries off before the egret is even aware of what is happening.  I have to be careful that it is not the only one that dines in the evening.  Share and share alike, Gull!  

Sometimes you've just got to wait!

There were two visitors to the pier.  Each waiting for me to throw the net and catch a few shrimp or menhaden.  These guys wanted supper and I was expected to serve it up nice and fresh.  One visitor was a patient gull while the other was an impatient heron.  The gull sat up on the pier post.  From that vantage point, he could watch my every move.  When I would pull in the net laden with menhaden, the gull would let out a loud shriek.  It was as if he was laying claim to each and every minnow or that he was boasting to the other gulls nearby.  Yet, he sat on the post and did not fly down to scoop up any.

The heron, on the other hand, was impatient.  He was having no part of that pole sitting and wanted to be right in the midst of things.  He was practically underfoot each time I threw the net.  His scurrying about the pier tickled me.  If the heron saw that I had the net in hand, he would come running up the pier.  When I actually threw the net, his excitement was almost overwhelming.  He would almost dance around me willynilly!  No sooner was the net back in hand than this bird would be frantically picking at the minnows.  

This kept on and on with each bird doing its own thing.  The gull stayed on top of the post while the heron ran hither and yon.  Soon, the heron grew tired and perhaps full.  He flew off to the marsh satisfied for the night.  The gull now had the pier to himself.  He softly flew down from his perch and eyed me carefully.  Was I going to feed him, too?  Sure, I tossed him a few minnows.  I am not one that would ignore any of my Bayou friends!  The gull stayed long enough to fill his belly then he was off to parts unknown.  

Goodbye, my friends, see you tomorrow!  Breakfast will be served bright and early!