(c) 2010 Lydia Hinshaw
Will wait for food
Closeup of one patient birdTIERRA VERDE, FL -- As is our custom, Prince Charming and I spent Christmas camping at Fort De Soto, at the south end of St. Petersburg. As usual, it was an interesting trip.
I always find birds willing to pose for me at Fort De Soto and this year's star was a yellow-crowned night heron. This funny-looking fellow waited patiently by a favorite fishing spot, just in case a fisherman should fumble a shrimp or other small sea creature.
Over five days, he shadowed fisherman in an area we passed by multiple times. He was not frightened of humans, as long as they were not accompanied by dogs. If a dog-walker wandered past, the heron would suddenly remember an urgent appointment elsewhere.
Beggar birds are common in Florida. Wherever there are fishermen, there are feathered friends loitering in hopes of a handout. Pelicans, seagulls, egrets often make this a way of life.
I had never seen a yellow-crowned night heron in this role, but I was glad to have the chance to get some good pictures.
Otherwise, the trip had its moments, good and bad.
Christmas Eve was freezing; Christmas Day nearly perfect. Sunday, the day after Christmas, we woke up to 50-degree temperatures accessorized by a steady, 25 mph wind that squashed our rectangular screen-house into a triangle and made all outdoor activities unpleasant. And then there was the boil-water alert, starting Friday afternoon, after a water main broke somewhere in St. Pete.
Sunday morning we checked the weather forecast for home and learned a freeze was predicted for Sunday night.
We packed up and came home a day earlier than planned, to cover up plants and to get warm ourselves.
I always find birds willing to pose for me at Fort De Soto and this year's star was a yellow-crowned night heron. This funny-looking fellow waited patiently by a favorite fishing spot, just in case a fisherman should fumble a shrimp or other small sea creature.
Over five days, he shadowed fisherman in an area we passed by multiple times. He was not frightened of humans, as long as they were not accompanied by dogs. If a dog-walker wandered past, the heron would suddenly remember an urgent appointment elsewhere.
Beggar birds are common in Florida. Wherever there are fishermen, there are feathered friends loitering in hopes of a handout. Pelicans, seagulls, egrets often make this a way of life.
I had never seen a yellow-crowned night heron in this role, but I was glad to have the chance to get some good pictures.
Otherwise, the trip had its moments, good and bad.
Christmas Eve was freezing; Christmas Day nearly perfect. Sunday, the day after Christmas, we woke up to 50-degree temperatures accessorized by a steady, 25 mph wind that squashed our rectangular screen-house into a triangle and made all outdoor activities unpleasant. And then there was the boil-water alert, starting Friday afternoon, after a water main broke somewhere in St. Pete.
Sunday morning we checked the weather forecast for home and learned a freeze was predicted for Sunday night.
We packed up and came home a day earlier than planned, to cover up plants and to get warm ourselves.
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