For the past few mornings, there has been a visitor in the gardens. A male skink has been trying to set his dominance over the other male skinks that live in the area. This newcomer has decided that he should be ruler. The upstart is boisterous, arrogant and is a big showoff. Two mornings ago, this rapscallion decided to physically attack the older ruler of "Skinkland". Mark witnessed the ambush and called my attention to it. The newcomer was trying to overpower the older, weaker skink and was doing a pretty good job of it. In fact, the younger, stronger skink had a "death grip" on the head of the old King. It was not a pretty sight but I grabbed the camera to see if I could document this moment in the "wild". Needless to say, when I stuck the camera close to the lizard fight, it gave the old lizard the opportunity it needed to cut loose and escape. Our old ruler ran under the house, all the while, being chased by the rogue. I figured the melee was over and soon forgot about the skinks.
This morning, however, I noticed that the Old King had taken refuge in the hollow trunk of an oak tree near the house. He had come out of a small fissure in a tree root and was trying to soak up a bit of sunshine. The poor fellow looked a mite worse for wear after the battle. He appeared weakened and almost saddened. I suppose he had to relinquish his crown to the young whippersnapper and that did not set well. His plight touched me as I could commiserate with the fact of getting old. Life is sometimes not fair to lizard kings nor old ladies.
The Old King and I sat in quiet respectfulness for a good while. Neither of us made the attempt to try to understand why things happen but we just shared a bit of peace. After a bit, I reassured the Old King that he was still needed and offered him friendship. I hope he has complete peace in his new dwelling spot. I am not sure the New King will rule nearly so fairly as the Old King had. The garden spot is changing.
It seems as if a couple of interlopers has invaded the osprey territory. For the past week or so, there has been a lot of dramatic aerial shows above the Little Bayou House. The "home" pair have already been together for three years. Now, two young males have moved in to try and woo the female. The older male that has been here for a number of years is in the battle of his life! Being more adept because of age, he would be able to dismiss a single interloper but having two to deal with at the same time is something else again. The dominant male never gets a rest. When he and his ladylove awake in the morning, they immediately head to the water to fish. She sits in the dead pine calling to him while he tries to find the finest fish available to bring to her. This is part of their courtship each year. While he is out over the water, the other two younger males are doing display flights in front of the female. So far, she has not been amused and has even gone so far as to help her mate evict the two.
A couple of days ago, I was erecting yet another fence for grapevines when I heard the screaming overhead. Looking up, there were five ospreys just above the pine tops. The resident couple, a younger female and the two interlopers. One of the young males was relentless in trying to woo the resident female. This did not set well and both older birds attacked. Needless to say, the interloper was sent on his way to find another home. This left one problem for the osprey pair to attend. After a brief rest, the pair flew at the other interloper but he took refuge just down the shoreline and refused to leave. His attention had now turned to the new female.
This morning, the aerial attacks were in full force again. The piercing screams continued throughout the day and I noticed that the "deported" male was back again. The older pair seemed to be sure that they were not going to be split as they were adding to their nest but the "new couple" was still a bit iffy. The battles were between the two young males over the young female. Hopefully, the birds will work out their problems and get this nesting stuff underway. It appears that we may have yet another nesting pair in the area and a couple of broods of little ospreys in a few months!
Herons are funny birds. They have no problem with nesting in huge colonies called heronries where there may be hundreds of mating couples nesting but let it come to food and they are fiercely territorial. Let a heron find a good feeding spot and no one had better fly in to take advantage of his luck. A heron is not willing to share his bounty even when his "cup is overflowing".
Early this morning, the trip to the pier proved interesting, to say the least. With Hurricane Michael brewing out in the Gulf, our tide was a lot higher than normal. With water lapping at the top of the pier boards, it seemed like a good fishing day. After bait was caught, I had a visitor. My old friend, Moe, came flying in to beg for breakfast. This is the heron that I started feeding several months ago. The youngster would come thrice daily to get his belly full of menhaden, mullet or little croakers. He came for a few months then disappeared. This morning, he must have been hungry as he came back to where he always got a sure meal. I obliged and caught the bird an entire net full of menhaden. He happily dined on the feast laid out before him. Once his appetite was sated, he flew to a pier post to preen. All was well and happy until...the interloper came.
Another young heron came by to grab a bite of leftovers and that did not set well with Moe. He was not in the mood to share his leftovers with anyone! At first, the squabble was nothing more than a few squawks, the puffing up of feathers and the flapping of wings with the birds perched on posts about 20 feet apart. The interloper was insistent on grabbing a bite. Things quickly turned ugly. Moe left his perch to fly in behind the other bird. Pow! Moe hit the interloper with a mighty whack! Both birds battled midair until Moe overpowered the smaller bird and sent him reeling into the water. There the battle continued until the interloper flew to the opposite end of the pier. The fight did not end there. Moe followed the bird and hit him again. Finally, Moe chased the interloper to the other side of the Bayou. Moe had won...sort of...while they were fighting, a seagull made quick work of the menhaden!
Earlier today as I was out using the grinder on some wrought iron pieces, I heard that "squeaky wheel" call again...a lot of squeaky wheel calling for that matter. Turning off the grinder, I saw that three Bald Eagles were directly overhead. That was a tad unusual...three? Then I understood. This was a battle for territory. A battle for mating and nesting rights was being fought. The screeching continued as one poor bird was being pummeled. Again and again, the eagle was being attacked by one of the other birds. The third eagle simply circled the two and screamed. The female probably thought the males were acting a tad ridiculous with all of their squabbling but the males were relentless. This battle was not going to end well. One of the male eagles would have to leave the area.
After a bit, two eagles flew off to a spot where I knew an aerie was being built. I assumed the original pair were still together. They have been nesting just east of the house for the past ten years or so. I was just about to restart my grinder when a sad scream came from the west. Oh, my goodness! The other eagle was still here. I made my way around to the lane and spied the eagle on a low limb. He was distraught and browbeaten but seemed to not be hurt. My heart went out to the bird and I tried to console him. I knew he could not understand the words but perhaps he understood the love and respect I have for him regardless of the fact that he had lost the battle.
Life will go on for all of the eagles involved in today's tussle. Since eagles usually mate for life, the pair nesting just east of the house will hang around for years to come. The unlucky male that lost his battle today will find a mate and a new territory. Most likely, it will not be far from here since he was born and raised in the area and there is a good food source here. The rise in the numbers of eagles is a good indicator that things are going well and the Bayou is healthy.
