FLYday - Great Blue Heron Food Battle

Great Blue Herons, Ardea herodias engaged in food battle. The heron on the left is biting the legs of the fleeing heron on the right!

Phippsburg, Maine

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

For more wading birds, see this link: http://www.robinrobinsonmaine.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=13998997&AlbumKey=FQwq63

FLYday - Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias in flight, Phippsburg Maine

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.  

To see more photos of birds in flight in Maine, click HERE.

To see more photos of wading birds in Maine, click HERE.

FLYday - Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron in flight Phippsburg, Maine

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

Food Flop - Great Blue Herons Feeding

"Ya know, Randy - you embarrass the whole birding community when you do that."

 

"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Recently, I posted about Great Blue Herons getting really touchy with each other while feeding. These are the same herons, one of them actually committing a feeding. I say 'committing,' because this looks like a crime of ungainliness, a felony of spasticity for sure. I had guessed that they were juveniles. Besides their feathering, this behavior is one of the things that made me think they were young. The one on the right, Randy was standing, then suddenly lurched forward falling on his face. Give the guy credit, at least he didn't just fall from the sky. I have never seen herons do this. They usually stand poised to strike and will remain in that fixed position for quite a while before striking the water with a deft, spearing move. There was nothing smooth about Randy's technique, he looked ridiculous! I guess everybody has to start somewhere when they are learning to do something new. Few beasts nor men are born as prodigies. Most of us have to do a thing over and over before we can dependably execute the move.
     I also have written recently, and more than a few times, about some of the not so patient nor benevolent folks in the birding world. To be honest and fair, though, I have too also say that there are some really great people in birding, too. I have had the pleasure and good fortune to meet numerous of them. And, I met them by way of the Internet. The Internet is an entity which also gets a bad rap, as if it has a soul and a face and is somehow evil. Like the birding 'community,' the Internet is what you make it, good, bad or otherwise. Had it not been for birding, the Internet and birders who use the Internet, I would not have met these very cool people, nor learned nearly as much as I have. All of these people know more about birding than I'll ever be lucky enough to forget. They are experts with a capital 'E.' They have, in fact, walked out on mudflats and mountain tops with me, to see what we could see and to teach me. They treated me with courtesy, positive regard and made me feel that I had something to bring to birding. They have been very giving and patient. In short, they've watched me thrash around like a juvenile heron learning to catch my first fish without laughing or giving up on me. Now, if only I had legs as long as a heron and would stop falling down on the birds while I work on my identifications, the world would be a just and better place.

Thank you, Mike and Paul, Mark and John, Jo and every one who has held my hand and helped me up.

"Rickie, Go Home!" Great Blue Heron Battle

"Go home, Rickie!"

"I'm tellin' Mom you were hangin' out on the railroad tracks!"

     Birders use lots of abbreviations for bird names, especially when posting lists of birds to the Internet. It's just too much typing to spell them all out completely. Somewhere, there is a list of 'approved,' or acceptable abbreviations. Medicine has this, too. That way, even when those in the know are using slang, everyone will know what is being referred to. After all, when your state of affairs is being documented in a hospital record, you may one day want your lawyer to be able to interpret the content. And, if your nurse or physician came from some other state besides delirium,  apathy or the one you live in, it's good that all your health care providers are on the same page. Your life could depend on it.

     Some birders use obscure abbreviations when flaunting their egos. They like to use abbreviations and slang because it sets them apart from other, less experienced birders. It's a way of establishing and maintaining a pecking order, if you will. There can be quite a bit of snobbery and competitiveness in birding. Birding brings even some of the weakest egos bubbling to the surface of the identification soup. One would think in a scientific hobby as organic as watching birds that everybody would be nice and want to bring the new kids, the "Rickies," up and along. Sadly, not so. There are plenty of birders out there who seem to live to prove someone else wrong or even out to be a liar! Many of them would not be seen on a mudflat with the likes of me. I'm a real "Rickie."
     If you think you've seen something rare, you had better be prepared to back up your sighting with a few hundred photos and it wouldn't hurt to throw in some DNA evidence, either. Your integrity as a birder could depend on it. I know a birder who was basically called a liar for saying he saw a rare bird here. He's an extremely knowledgeable birder and very decent guy. I have no reason to question his integrity, either. Sadly, he no longer participates in Maine's list serve because of this event. It's pretty tawdry when a gang of tweed and bow tie wearing pedants with binoculars can't all get along. Thank you, Rodney King.
     In fairness though, more often than not birders use abbreviations and slang simply because it's easier. After all, most of us are old enough - geezers in fact, that we've got some palsy setting in. Our typing just ain't what it used to be. So, a Black-capped chickadee would be a BCchick, a Common golden-eye, a ComGoldey, an American robin, an Amrob, etc. Great Blue herons are GBHs. In the case of these photos though, that could mean "Go back home, Rickie!"
     I stopped by the Magnificent Acre at Winnegance. These GBHs were on the mud flats at low tide. I don't know enough to say whether they were juveniles or adults. I can say they were Great Blue herons, but that's about it. To me, they looked like squabbling brothers beginning a long migration to Florida. Several times while they were feeding, one would get too close to the other, then these semi-aerial battles broke out. The wing spans were magnificent, but there was a lot of gracelss floundering of those long legs. Sometimes they actually kicked up mud slop.  I could just imagine two boys, an older and younger brother, "Go home Rickie! I'm telling mom you've been hanging out on the railroad tracks again!" The big brother and the little brother are stuck with each other, each begrudging the company of the other. But survival of the species depends on them being together. They learn effective predation defences and better fishing techinques from one another's examples. If only they would learn to play nice, like the humans who are infatuated with watching them.

"Get outta here, Rickie! I'm gonna knock your block off!"

You May Call Me 'Cleopatra -Queen Of The Mud Flats!' - Glossy Ibis & Co.

Yesterday, while on my way to Weed For Dollars, I stopped at the marsh by Lobster Cove on Rt 216 in Phippsburg. It's a place I always check out for water fowl and that's where I got the shots of the weasle/mink/fisher CAT/dog/porpoise, whatever. It's a very busy little spot for wildlife, no matter what one calls it. Three years ago, I had seen two Glossy Ibises there hanging around with a couple of Snowy egrets. Even though I looked every time I went by, I had not seen them again since. Until TODAY! The muddy tidal inlet smelling of clams may not be the Nile, but I am definitely Cleopatra! I was treated by not only the Ibis, but it was with seven Snowies and this Great Blue Heron. They were on the east side of the marsh, a little too far away to get great photographs. I could get good shots, but not GREAT shots of them. Like Cleopatra wrapped up in a rug and sneaked into Julius Ceasar's bedroom, I sneaked down the embankment. I stopped behind a lone boulder. I stood there a while, then moved to the far side of the boulder and stopped again. I headed across the marsh with a stop-start wide zig zagging approach. Eventually, I was able to move all the way across the marsh until I was stopped by the channel. Like any queen, it's a good thing I dont actually have a boss. This whole affair took me an hour, so I would have been really late for work. But, I did get within 100 feet of the birds. They were fishing in a pool that was isolated on an outgoing tide. Little fish were trapped there which made the fishing easy for the waders. They were so engrossed in the 'fish in the barrel' that they didn't mind me at all. In these photos are Snowy egrets, a Great Blue Heron and a Glossy Ibis. Of the three, the Ibis is the least often seen here. Glossy Ibis are about 23" tall. You can see their relative size easily in these photos with the other waders. They winter along the Gulf Coast and Central and South America and breed here. They are found all along the east coast of the United States from Maine to Texas. They nest and roost in trees with other waders so it stands to reason that they would dine together, too. This was not the Sacred White Ibis of Cleopatra's Egypt, but it is my ibis and I am the Queen of The Mud Flats here!

"That's really gauche when you scratch in public like that! Gross!"

This shows the sizes of the three waders. For a birder, it could only have been better if there was a Great egret or maybe a Roseate spoonbill in there, too! To the ancient Egyptians, the ibis was the patron saint of writers. That's one more reason this ibis is my ibis.

"Okay, which one of you invited him? I KNOW I didn't!"

And Another Thing - Tufted Titmouse, Great Blue Heron & Early Saxifrage

When it turns to spring in Maine, it feels as if everything is happening all at once. We went from winter doldrums when the movement of a house fly was big news to suddenly, every bird on the planet seems to be here, every weed is popping out of the ground, and every flower blooming. It's intoxicating if you are an outdoors kind of person. Lawnmowers whine in the distance and the whiskey barrel smell of fresh mulch wafts through the air super-stimulating every one of my senses. It gives me that feeling of eating too much frosting on cake and having my molars sing. I'm not a person good at pacing myself, either. I have to take it all in and I'm afraid I'll miss something if I don't get out the door with the camera. To get some of this out of my system, I'm going to post a spring mini series called "And Another Thing." Nothing says love like sharing an addiction.

Tufted Titmice are one of the sweetest little birds. They have a call that sounds much like a Northern Cardinal's whistle. It's  a big call for such a small bird at about 5 inches. My grandfather was a college professor. He always corrected me if I said "Titmouses." I knew that the plural was actually Titmice, but knowing  he would correct me, I said it incorrectly every time. I don't believe it ever occurred to him that maybe I really did know the difference.

 The Great Blue Herons are back in abundance. They are ungainly in the air and cast a big, slow shadow like a cargo plane. This is the season of the big birds in the air as well as the little ones.

Wildflowers are popping out. I had to look this one up. It's called Early Saxifrage. The botanical name is Saxifraga Virginiensis. The flowers stems stand about 5 inches tall. It's a diminutive plant that does a big job over time. Called 'Stonebreakers,' saxifrages seed in the cracks of boulders and over time, crack them open in a process called bioerosion. In fact, these flowers were right on the edge of the ocean on granite ledges near Alliquippa.

Payload In A Pond - Painted Turtles, Tapoles and Great Blue Heron

Look at the sexy claws on this guy! 

These are Eastern Painted Turtles. They are common in the southern part of Maine. They like to hang out, or 'bask' in the sun in ponds with still water. These were in Bath at the Oak Grove Cemetery pond. I had gone there hoping to find the Wood ducks. I didn't find them, but there were dozens of Painted Turtles. Generally, turtles are shy and will plop back into the water the minute they become aware of a predator. I pulled the car to the side of the road, left it running and then crept out around it, using it like a big rock. I was able to sneak up on them. These turtles spend the winter bumating (hibernating) in the mud at the bottom of the pond. It seems early for them to be out, but the water temperature in the pond is up to 60 degrees already. That's what it has to be for them to start feeding. They are omnivorous and eat plant material as well as crustaceans, small fish and tad poles. The pond is also teeming with the tads. The turtles would be mating already, though I didn't witness that. When they are a courtin', the boy and girl float and go nose to nose. The boy strokes the girl's cheeks with his enormous claws with a trembling, shivery movement as he does it. If she's into him, he grabs her shell and pulls her to him, face to face. I'll leave the rest up to you. In a couple of weeks the moms will lay eggs in sand around around the margins of the pond. The tadpoles will have developed into frogs, too. The whole place will be just a jumpin'! Herons like tadpoles and turtle babies, too. I'm expecting to see them stalking around poking into the water for these morsels. Raccoons also are a major predator of the turtles and tadpoles. Raccoons and skunks will both dig up the eggs for a rich, runny snack. This postage stamp of a pond supports a tremendous diversity of wildlife.

The tadpoles were big. This one was about 2 inches, so I'm guessing they are Bullfrog babies. I'll be checking.

This Great Blue Heron ("GBH") has all of his breeding plumage on display. He was shaking off water after poking his face in the water. Whatever he had hoped to skewer he missed.

For more information on turtles in Maine, check the Maine Herpetological Society 
web site. Sounds kind of Gothic, doesn't it? And, thanks to Wikipedia.

Heron Haggle

Today, I went to a top secret hidden location to get photographs of a King Fisher. I had seen it the day before landing on a flag pole where I could sit hidden and wait for it. Sit and wait I did, nestled between a Rosa rugosa hedge and junipers. Junipers give me an an instant rash and it was very hot there as well. The roses were prickly. Oh, did I mention the mosquitoes? We've had a mega hatch recently and they are monstrous in numbers and bites. But, I could not swat or flap nor move to the shade. I got a sun burn on one shoulder, in fact. For all of that, the King Fisher only appeared once and fleetingly. So, I didn't get any pictures of it. I'll try again in a day or two. In the mean time, there was a Great Blue Heron feeding on the mud flats. I wasn't very interested in it as I see them often. It also wasn't close enough to get the kind of shots I would want even with my obscene lens. I had given up and was about to leave when I saw a second GBH swoop in. Wow, was it nasty! The second one soared in and bit the first one which tried to get away, but wasn't fast enough. It was able to lift off from the water and fly away, but what a scene! I'm guessing that their wing spans are about five feet tip to tip. That's a lot of wings and legs. They look ricketty and fragile, but they aren't. They were loud, too sounding great, squawking 'ccccraaaaaaaaaaaaaacks!'

BATHROBE BIRDING

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Big Lebowski starring Jeff Bridges. "Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a Los Angeles millionaire, is actually a time wasting slacker, a bum that never gets out of his bathrobe. I often think of myself as "the Big Lebowski." If a person shows up at my house unannounced, no matter what the time of day, I'm apt to be in my bathrobe. The seriousness of my intent can only be discerned by whether or not I'm wearing reading glasses, but not by my wardrobe. I've always got my camera by my side, too. So, I was able to get all of these shots without hardly getting out of my chair, never mind getting dressed. Now, I think that makes me very rich. Don't you? Of course, when that eagle blew in, I was on the phone with a friend and had to abruptly hang up. "OH CRAP!" I yelled and threw down the phone. Later, totally engrossed in the day's bounty of photographs, I neglected to call that friend back. I had left him wondering if perhaps I'd had a sudden heart attack or merely had fallen off my deck. Another reason I feel like a very wealthy person is because my friends usually love me enough to forgive my annoying self absorption.

Bald Eagle landing on rocks in surf












Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Great Blue Heron on rocks in front of house