Saturday, August 14, 2010

Circle of Life

That's what they called it in The Lion King and that's what we call it when we see "nature in action" while birding.  We witnessed many herons and egrets picking fish and eels out of the shrunken pond at the lighthouse.  It was really easy for them to pick a meal and really natural for us to watch.  We noticed a group of Egrets standing in a circle with all bills pointed toward the center.  Then we focused on the center of the circle to find one Egret in an unnatural position at the water's surface.  But it is unsettling to see the bird laying there helpless, knowing that it will not survive. Snapping Turtles gotta eat too I guess. I don't know why it bothers me more to see that than when the birds are eating something.

At Forsythe, we had really great views of Gull-billed Terns.  These terns are not very common and always a treat to see. I was fortunate enough to snap a photo of one flying over with a meal in its bill.  Can you figure out what he dined on?


Then there was the tragedy of a big fish kill along the Delaware Bay.  I snapped this shot of the fish along the beach in The Villas.  We still don't know what killed them all.


This is all part of watching and nature.  Sometimes we overlook it and sometimes it stays with us. 

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