Photo-a-Day Challenge
The Eagle Has Landed!
A feathered week
Once again I was fortunate to get photos of the Great Egret (above) that frequents the manmade pond across the boulevard. He’s been fishing there every day since early November.
One of our walking paths takes Syau and me by a protected woodland with no trespassing signs that keep humans from harming the natural habitat. If a tree falls there, it remains as it fell. On Monday, this hawk was on the perimeter of the woodland, no more than 6 feet from us, aware of but unworried about our presence. He seemed to know he was in a legally protected spot. It’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to a hawk in nature. I had an urge to reach over and pet him!!
I often get photos of Little Blue Herons but never have I gotten a shot that so clearly shows their purple-maroon neck feathers. Sometimes, the light is just right and this was one of those times.
I featured these Hooded Mergansers in a December Photo-a-Day piece. At that time, they were in a small pond at the start of the boulevard that runs by our house. Now, they’ve relocated to the big pond across from us.
Mergansers are diving ducks, as is evident from the photo above! They disappear and reappear several yards away, which can make photographing them a challenge. Many times, I see one in my viewfinder and take a shot, only to have a photo of water.
Wednesday was warm. I had the patio doors open to the porch as I sat in the living room with my laptop. Suddenly, I heard a cacophony of bird chatter. I looked out to the lake and saw all the Whistlers in the water. That’s unusual. Unlike other ducks, Black-bellied Whistlers spend most of their time on land. Ours usually only go to the water when frightened.
Near the far shore, three Muscovy ducks were anxiously circling around and around each other, in a tight ring. Again, unusual behavior.
Then, I saw a large bird dive-bombing the ducks. At first, I thought it was a very large hawk, but hawks were making most of the noise I heard — a mixture of Red-Shoulder Hawk kee-aahs, Crow caws, and Whistler screeches. Hawks are silent hunters and I’ve never seen them bother ducks in the water.
It’s important to note that Whistlers and Muscovy ducks are not diving ducks. Muscovies will submerge their heads below the water surface but their backs and butts remain above. Whistlers don’t submerge at all, other than their heads for bathing purposes.
Fortunately, my camera was on the table beside me. I grabbed it and ran to the lake where the large bird was circling around and around moments before he dive-bombed the exposed ducks again. I screamed and he pulled up short, sailing across the lake, reaching higher and higher heights.
In pursuit of the unknown bird were two hawks, working in tandem, and behind them were three crows. Again, the larger bird, with the hawks and crows scrambling around him, aimed for the ducks but pulled up inches from one Whistler. He flew to the other side of the lake and landed on a limb.
When I zoomed in with my camera, I realized I was looking at a bald eagle! I got four shots before the hawks and crows annoyed him enough that he gracefully soared off into the sky. I’ve only seen a bald eagle in nature once — in Mount Dora where a mating couple has a nest very high in a tree. I haven’t heard of anyone seeing a bald eagle on or anywhere near our lake.
It was fascinating to see crows and hawks, who are enemies, working together to chase away a bigger and fiercer foe. Our area is probably too busy for the eagle to move into the neighborhood, and I haven’t seen him since.
Wednesday I was very thankful that Photo-a-Day is on Weeds & Wildflowers now and I don’t have to worry about word and photo counts. It was quite a bird day!
I publish lots of photos of Great Egrets, so what’s so special about the one above? The Egret is at the entrance to the shopping center that houses our grocery store. Only five feet from this Egret is Highway 441, a busy 4-lane major thoroughfare in my city. When I say that Great Egrets are everywhere around here, I mean it! As I pulled into the parking lot entryway, he was only a few feet from my car and so intent on his hunt (a lizard, perhaps), that he was oblivious to me, my car, and my camera.
We have a new young female Muscovy Duck who’s become a regular at our ducky dining table. I named her Lady Di. Muscovies typically make a breathy haaa-haaa sound that’s somewhat like a throaty hiss. But not Lady Di — she chirps. I haven’t heard another Muscovy make the sound she does.
Dan Pfeifer wrote about participating in The Great Backyard Bird Count here:
He inspired me to be part of the count this year. I downloaded the app and spent my first 15-minute shift looking for birds in my backyard. It was drizzling so I observed from my dry porch. In that 15-minute span, I counted at least 15 Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks and one Muscovy Duck on our lakeshore, one Great Egret that flew by, one Snowy Egret that was across the lake, one crow I heard in my neighbor’s yard, one Carolina Wren on a bush, and the two Cormorants above who were quite content sitting in the rain on a fallen branch in the lake.
The Great Backyard Bird Count goes from February 18th through the 21st, and participants are supposed to spend at least 15 minutes each day recording the birds they see or hear, either while stationary, as I was due to the rain, or while hiking/walking.
On Saturday, I did my bird count while walking Syau and recorded 1 Song Sparrow, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, 2 Carolina Wrens, 4 American Crows, 1 Turkey Vulture, 1 Muscovy Duck, 18 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and 2 Red-Shouldered Hawks, including the one above sitting on a street sign.
I took an early evening walk on Saturday and found a large flock of American White Ibises at a neighborhood lake. Typically, they’re rushing about, heads down, constantly looking for food. Rarely am I able to get close to one. This guy was an exception. He stood very still, his cool blue eye staring straight at me.
I do believe this is my first Photo-a-Day with all bird pictures! I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
© Dennett 2022
In July 2020, I started the Photo-a-Day Challenge on Snapshots to help combat the virus blues. I take photos every day and choose one (maybe, two) to represent the day. Then, add a one-or-two-word descriptor and some narrative. A simple way to observe and preserve.
However, the Snapshot Editors have decided to replace the Photo-a-Day Challenge with a monthly one, so Weeds & Wildflowers is now the official home of this challenge. If you want to participate and are not a writer for W&W, leave a response below and I’ll add you.
Please note that Weeds & Wildflowers does not have the same word and photo limits that Snapshots has.
Want to join the fun? It’s all about noticing and appreciating your environment and sharing it with us, as these photographers and story-tellers have:
Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Anne Bonfert / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita / Susan Alison / LensAfield / Barbara Radisavljevic / Diana Lotti / Barbara Dalton / Kim Zuch / K. Barrett / Sandra Barrett / Shruthi Sundaram / Gustavo Mendez / Olive Wilson / Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms)
(If you participated in the Photo-A-Day Challenge and your name isn’t listed above, please let me know.)
Thanks!