Not so patiently waiting!

Even though there was a slight rain misting down upon the Bayou, I needed to escape the confines of the Little Bayou House.   Mark and I headed to the pier with the idea of catching a few catfish to bait the crab traps.  Once there, he threw the net and caught plenty of menhaden plus a few mullet.  Those few were enough to fire the idea of him heading out in the boat for a fishing trip.  I stayed behind on the pier.  After fishing for a while and catching enough catfish and Ladyfish for the traps, I started tossing the menhaden to the young Herring Gull.  It was enjoyable just watching that bird dive down after the minnows!  It is a well known fact around here that the gulls would all have a lot more to eat if they did not start their raucous calling.  Once that squawking starts, every gull in the area converges around the pier.  Well, Mr. Gull, that is enough of that!  Once I quit tossing the dead menhaden, the majority of the gulls decided I was boring and left.  Only the young Herring Gull stayed on his perch atop the pier post.

After a bit, I noticed a slight movement behind me.  Aha!  My good friend, Little Green Heron, wanted supper as well! Knowing better than to toss any in the water, I slid the heron a handful across the planks of the pier.  The little squirt came running!  Just before the heron could snatch one of the menhaden, the gull made a dive for the minnow!  Oh, this is not good!  The two of them squabbled over the minnows.  The screeching and squawking drew the interest of a Snowy Egret!  Now I had three different birds attacking my handouts!

I reached in the bucket.  Another handful of minnows was tossed across the planking.  This startled the birds enough that they skittered back a bit.  Now, a bit uneasy, they paced.  Back and forth, each trying to stay just ahead of the others.  Finally, the Green Heron darted after one minnow that was flipping near the edge of the pier.   When that bird grabbed a minnow, the other two immediately started chasing after it.  This chase was sort of ridiculous since as they were pecking after the minnow in the heron's beak, all of the other minnows were being stomped upon and were being knocked back into the water!  Silly birds!

This fiasco kept on for about twenty minutes.  Always the same...the minnows were tossed, birds paced, one would snatch a mouthful, others chased.  I was amused by their antics!   Soon my supply of minnows ran out and the rains fell harder.  The crab traps were baited and I headed back up the hill. I am quite sure that my three friends will be back in the morning!  Their greediness will cause squabbles again but they will be fed simply because this brightens my day!

Timing is Everything!

Sometimes in photography, a shot is missed by mere seconds.  Either the picture is missed due to inattention and you are too late or you are too anxious and snap the photograph too soon.  In that case, some fantastic action is missed while waiting for the camera.  Perhaps if I would upgrade to a newer model camera this would not be a problem but I insist on sticking with something familiar!  Mark and I hunted for some time to find the exact same model as my old one (even though it is no longer made!).  He did purchase the new camera for me and I am like a kid in a candy shop!  I am one happy camper with my new..albeit outdated..camera!

Today, being still a tad ill, Michael walked with me to the pier.  I sat while he caught minnows to feed my bird friends and also baited up the crab traps.  While I was being lazy, I snapped picture after picture of the pelicans and seagulls!  There was a myriad of the water-loving birds diving around the pier. What interested me most was a large, greyish bird that was sitting on my brother's pier post.  From the distance, I could not distinguish the type of bird!  I was quite sure that it was a gull of some sort but with its overall dark colors, it did not strike a cord in the old "bird reference" part of my brain.  The solution?  Take numerous pictures and then check the bird books.  After returning to the Little Bayou House, I believe that my mystery bird is none other than a juvenile Herring Gull.  This would explain its beefiness!  This was one chunky bird compared to the terns!

Another picture proved rather interesting!  The timing was perfect..not that I really had a lot to do with it!  Among the fifty or so Brown Pelicans that were diving for menhaden were a slew of assorted gulls and terns.  I was fully trying to take pictures of the pelicans as they were diving and then rising from the water in takeoff.   It was a pleasant surprise to see that I captured three birds in the picture!  All were almost in unison like some choreographed water ballet!  What a picture! Albeit quite by accident! As an added plus, the dreariness of the day made the picture almost in black and white!  Again..quite by accident!

It felt good to be out a bit today.  We stayed on the pier until a rain shower chased us inside and, so, my picture taking came to a close but not without at least a few interesting shots of the Bayou!  Yep, I sure love living here!