Who Remembers Who?

   The last time that the Grand Princess, Mary Ruth, visited the Bayou, she named two of the pelicans, "Gus and Cinderella".  The names stuck and the two have always been called by those names.  Since her current visit began, Mary Ruth has been asking to see her pelican friends but the rains prevented long visits to the pier.  Finally, as if on cue, a lone pelican flew to the pier and paddled around in the water.  It came close to where Mary Ruth was standing and put on quite the show before taking flight to the other side of the Bayou.  Now I am not saying that this was definitely one of the pair but it sure seems mighty odd that the pelican seemed intent on getting the little girl's attention.  Perhaps it is actually one of "her" birds and it recalls the handouts she so generously gave.  Perhaps not.  Still, it seems like a happy thought and it tickled the little tot to no end.

  It is funny how we do not give critters credit for having feelings.  After spending a good deal of time merely watching the critters of the Bayou, it seems to me that they have the ability to feel and care.  There have been too many instances to prove the fact that they do recall certain faces.  The pelican may (or may not) have remembered the sweet, little girl but the happy squeal that resulted from the bird's visit is evidence that Mary Ruth remembered and has fond memories of the bird and Bayou.

Gus and Cinderella....Those Silly Birds!

  Gus and Cinderella are our pair of resident brown pelicans.  They stay year round next to our pier or my brothers.  The birds are smart.  They know that free food is for the taking here.  When we clean fish, all of the scraps are given to these birds.  Don't get me wrong...at the moment, there are dozens of brown pelicans on the piers but these, two, are special.  They were named by my little granddaughter during one visit to the Bayou.  She had heard me calling one pelican "Gus" and declared the other to be Cinderella.  Before this naming, all pelicans were Gus.  There were no Cinderellas, Penelopes, Brunos or any other named birds.  They were all Gus....male or female.

  Yesterday, dozens of the pelicans were sitting on my brother's pier.  Each pier post had its own bird and the edges of the pier, itself, were lined with resting birds.  This is normal.  What is not normal is the two pelicans that were swinging on a rope.  My brother has several large boats tied off to his pier.  The ropes are strung from boat to post.  This crisscrossing of ropes made for an inviting pastime for a couple of pelicans....maybe Gus and Cinderella.  The birds would fly in, land on the rope and swing back and forth in the stiff north breeze.  Then, since their feet are not exactly designed for perching, the birds would lose their grip and start to fall.  The rope kept swinging causing the birds to have to take flight again.  The balancing act did not dissuade the birds from trying.  Both pelicans would fly a large circle around the pier and attempt the swinging perch again.  Gus and Cinderella were having far too much fun to let a wee thing like webbed feet get in the way of their playtime!

  Pelicans are some of the most comical birds around the Bayou.  Besides their crazy antics on the swinging ropes. I become amused at their waddling gait, their begging for food with their huge, gaping bills and their awkward splashdowns.  But, at the same time, they are some of the most efficient flyers being able to soar just inches above the water and they have great fishing techniques.  It is no wonder that I love these big old birds!  Just keep swinging, Gus and Cinderella!  Just keep swinging!

Breakfast Time for Gus and Cinderella

  My little granddaughter rarely gets to visit the Bayou but when she is here, she finds all sorts of things to do.  Like her old mawmaw, I think she enjoys being on the pier or in the greenhouse the best.  In the greenhouse, she tells me that she is going to "hunt for spiders".  Why?  I have no idea but it seems like a grand thing to do so...we do.  We hunt for spiders.  On the pier, she happily feeds the pelicans.  Our bait bucket is endlessly needing refilling but it matters not.  If the little girl wants to throw fish to the birds, so be it.  She can have any fish we have!  She even went so far as to name two of the pelicans...Gus and Cinderella.

  Even though Mary Ruth is not on the Bayou, the pelicans still come begging for handouts.  Each morning as soon as Mark and I head to the pier, the two pelicans come flying to the pier posts.  They know that breakfast will be served within a few minutes.  If we catch small mullet or menhaden, the fish are given whole but if we catch something "eatin' size", we clean the fish and toss the remnants to the birds.  Gus and Cinderella do not seem to mind.  They eat their fill then fly back to the posts to preen.  The pelicans are getting fat and happy!

  This morning, both pelicans awaited us.  We were a bit late getting to the pier again this morning so the pelicans were a tad antsy.  They wanted their breakfast.  Mark threw the net and caught about a dozen nice sized mullet.  These were cleaned for our elderly friends and the entrails tossed to the birds.  Cinderella decided to stay on the post nearest me.  Ok, so a few photographs were in order.  With each picture I took, Cinderella posed.  She turned her head this way and that.  She preened her feathers.  She wiggled her tail.  At times, she even seemed to smile for the camera.  Not once did she attempt to flee.  I think Mary Ruth has tamed these birds!  I know they await her return to the Bayou.