It does not take a whole lot to amuse or interest me. The most mundane occurrence can pique an interest and while away a good hour or so. Late this morning, the event that took precedence over planting grape vines was a huge flock of pelicans that came to visit the Bayou. While there is nothing unusual about pelicans and bayous, these just happen to be white pelicans. White pelicans are visitors here. They are not permanent residents like their cousins, the brown pelicans. White ones are a reason to quit work, head to the pier and take a few photographs.
This mornings' scoop of pelicans was larger than the normal four or five of years past. Twenty four birds came! This was cause for elation! As I was trying to take as many pictures as I could, I began to notice other birds gathering. Dozens of cormorants soon joined the pelicans. The mix of black cormorants and white pelicans made me giggle...it was all there in black and white.
I am not sure what triggered the memory but Pop always used that term to describe something that was quite simple. "It was all laid out in black and white." I always took it to mean that it was as simple as reading something. It was a done deed if it was written in black ink on white paper. My pelicans and cormorants were nothing of the sort but the term still seemed to be adequate.
My photo shoot came to an abrupt end when I remembered the grape vine roots that were laid bare in the beaming sun. Oops, better get those things in the ground! Goodbye, birds! Hopefully, you will hang around for a while!
Ever since I was a wee tot, I heard about the gorgeous, elegant swans that could be seen places far from the Bayou. I was shown pictures of the birds and was fully enamored by their beauty. To a kid more accustomed to seeing chickens and turkeys, swans and peacocks seemed to be birds that could only be found at palaces! To this day, I think both are gorgeous and rightly deserve all of the awe that I felt for them. Still, as I grew to adulthood, I came to realize that other birds were equally beautiful. As for that matter, each bird (and critter) is just as lovely in its own right.
While on the pier, I watch the shorebirds as they scavenge the mudflats for a morsel to have as breakfast. It occurred to me that, while swans are beautiful, they have nothing on my egrets. The snow-white plumes, the long slender legs and the bright yellow feet all add to the magnificence of these birds. The Snowy Egret is one of the more graceful of the shorebirds. It wades along in the shallows and uses those bright yellow feet to stir up the muddy bottom. This causes tiny shrimp to scatter in confusion and gives the bird a chance to feast.
Yesterday, I watched as the Snowy Egret put on quite the show. Even though it bathed in the muddy Bayou waters, its plumes sparkled. After a bit, the egret gracefully stepped up on a gnarled log to prod the rotted wood for hidden crustaceans. There was not a speck of mud to be seen on the bird! Yep, who needs swans when Snowy Egrets are just as fine! Beauty is where you look for it....even in the muddy waters of the Bayou.
A lovely pair of friends visited the pier...a dark one and a white one. Since I am not absolutely sure about the identity of the dark one, it is possible that it is a dark phase of the lighter one. The bill shape makes me think these are Reddish Egrets. These birds can have a morph stage where one is dark while the other is snowy white. I am thinking this is what is happening here but with the lighting, it is hard to identify the birds. Also, with only being able to see the back of the darker of the two, I am at a huge disadvantage! Same type of bird but two different stages? Who knows but, still, they seem to be best friends.
Back a few years ago, a similar pair visited the pier and hung around for quite some time. I could never get near enough to the birds to identify them either. Whether this is the same pair, once again, I cannot be certain. I do know that both pairs have been rather skittish about my presence. This is unusual as the other egrets and herons have no qualms about even eating from my hand. Perhaps these birds are migratory and are not true denizens of the Bayou. This would explain their uneasiness toward humans.
Each time I have photographed the pairs of birds, I get tickled. Both are always standing on one leg! I know this is a common practice among egrets and herons but it seems strange when seeing two remarkably different birds in the same pose. Had the birds both been facing the same direction, it would have almost been like the darker one was the shadow of the white one. Or, perhaps, I am just easily amused. Regardless, I am glad the birds came for a visit!
Usually in wintertime when one mentions white, the thoughts turn to snow. That does not happen so often this far south. White can mean a totally different thing on the Bayou. Instantaneously, my thoughts turn to pelicans! During the colder months, we are visited quite frequently by the beautiful White Pelicans. Their snowy feathers seem to shine most brilliantly during the sunny days but even during the cold, gray days of winter, the white sparkles against the dark waters. Those, the Great Egrets and the Little Snowy Egrets all intrigue me. It never ceases to amaze me how these birds stay so clean while out and about the Bayou. They traipse about the mudflats, stand tall in the marsh or swim in the muddy waters yet their plumage is always dazzling white. How? How can they do this while I become quite muddy just thinking about that mire!
I do a lot of critter watching and have noticed that these are not the only visitors to the Bayou that manage to stay clean even during the muddiest seasons. I watched as a red fox trotted along the marsh edge. The tip of his fluffy tail stood out like a white flag but never muddied. The ospreys, ducks, grebes stay clean. The rabbits', nutrias' and otters' fur never mats. As matter of fact, the only two critters that I have ever seen grimy with mud are Ms. Ez when she fell off the pier and any raccoon that digs for clams.
There has to be some secret of fur/feather cleaning of which I am not aware. I sure wish I did know! This secret would make laundry day a breeze! Imagine! Just imagine!
