White pelican does water ballet
A swan displays contortionist skillsCopyright 2009 Lydia Hinshaw
LAKELAND, FL -- It's inconvenient not to have hands, but superior flexibility is an excellent alternative.
This pelican and swan in Lake Morton reminded me of some of the things my exercise instructor keeps trying to get me to do.
Lake Morton is a wildlife photographer's dream. Birds are provided-for with officially stocked feeders, supplemented by handouts from visitors. The feathered set has no reason to wander off from this perpetual buffet, and also little fear of the humans who deliver it.
Dogs aren't nearly so popular. A dog-walker allowed her small yapper to get too close to one of resident swans, sending the naturally foul-tempered bird into a hissy-fit worthy of a certain feline who allows us to live in her house.
The avian mix doesn't always coexist peacefully. We observed a number of turf skirmishes among the duck crowd. And we saw two white pelicans storm out of the water to try to steal a fish from a great blue heron. I don't know how the pelicans intended to accomplish this mugging, as they are clown-clumsy on land, and ill equipped to pick up a fish from the ground.
The heron solved the problem by swallowing the fish immediately and the pelicans flopped back into the lake, transforming themselves into graceful synchronized swimmers.
Herons can't smirk, but I'm sure this one wanted to.
This pelican and swan in Lake Morton reminded me of some of the things my exercise instructor keeps trying to get me to do.
Lake Morton is a wildlife photographer's dream. Birds are provided-for with officially stocked feeders, supplemented by handouts from visitors. The feathered set has no reason to wander off from this perpetual buffet, and also little fear of the humans who deliver it.
Dogs aren't nearly so popular. A dog-walker allowed her small yapper to get too close to one of resident swans, sending the naturally foul-tempered bird into a hissy-fit worthy of a certain feline who allows us to live in her house.
The avian mix doesn't always coexist peacefully. We observed a number of turf skirmishes among the duck crowd. And we saw two white pelicans storm out of the water to try to steal a fish from a great blue heron. I don't know how the pelicans intended to accomplish this mugging, as they are clown-clumsy on land, and ill equipped to pick up a fish from the ground.
The heron solved the problem by swallowing the fish immediately and the pelicans flopped back into the lake, transforming themselves into graceful synchronized swimmers.
Herons can't smirk, but I'm sure this one wanted to.
No comments:
Post a Comment