Heron vs. Osprey - "Inside Out" Style

Have you seen "Inside Out" the new Disney Pixar movie?  My husband and I saw it recently, and while I was mulling over how to write about the Heron vs. Osprey incident that took place in our swamp yesterday, "Inside Out" was still in the back of my mind.  If you haven't seen the movie, it is a comical look inside a young girl's brain; focusing on her emotions of joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust.  In the credits at the end, glimpses inside a dog and a cat's brains are shown, too. (Which was one of the best parts of the movie by the way, and the movie was very good!).  

I suppose that is what got me thinking about what we might see if we could look into the brains of  the following 'characters'.  

First, let me introduce them to you, in order of their appearance.  There was an osprey-- a large hawk with long legs and strong talons which it uses to catch fish.  There was comic relief in the form of a red-winged blackbird.  The final character was a great-blue heron.  Oh, and me... watching the whole thing-- and I can, for sure, tell you what the 'little voices' inside my head were saying! 

Me:  Wow, what a gorgeous bird, I'm so glad to see it! 

Me:  Well, this is nice but not very exciting.  I'll watch a little longer anyway.

Osprey: I feel I should turn around.  My neck is starting to hurt.

Me:  Okay, that's better, at least he moved.

 Osprey:  I know that lady is watching me, but I don't care.

RWBL: Sneak attack!  Hee heee....

Osprey:  Did I just feel something?  Oh well, no bother.

RWBL: What?  What just happened, did I really just bounce off an osprey?

Me:  I need to change my camera settings for action shots.  Maybe the blackbird will be back.

(Settings changed... just in the nick of time!)

Heron:  This is my swamp!  My tree! And MY FISHING SPOT!

Osprey:  But, but, ummm... but, I wasn't doing anything!

Heron:  Doesn't matter, I want you to GO!

Me: Oh my!  That heron is almost hovering like a hummingbird!  This is crazy!

Osprey:  I think it's time to get out of here.

Heron: Yes, GO!

Me: I can't believe I just saw that! 

Heron: Pssht!  I showed that osprey what's what.

But wait....

Osprey:  That perch is worth another try.  Wonder if the heron was really serious?

Heron: You betcha!

 Once again, peace (and the 'King' Heron) reigned over the swamp.

Heron:  Satisfaction, a job well done... time to get back to fishing.

Me: I can't believe I saw that, and I hope the photos turn out! 

The whole episode took slightly over 6 minutes, with a couple of those minutes consumed by the heron just sitting on top of the tree. 

I apologize to the serious ornithologists out there who may be offended by my anthropomorphic commentary.  But, if anyone from Pixar sees this and wants to purchase the rights to the story, I think it could be made into a great 'short'!  

*wink wink*

Nesting News

It's been awhile since I've given you an update on the nesting situation here.  If you've been reading along, you may remember the bluebirds' dilemma over which box to choose.  They have several choices close by our house.  Three in the backyard, and others nearby, too.  Even though we give the birds numerous choices, they still compete for housing.

Box # 1 has been taken by the House Sparrows (also called English Sparrows).

That's the female on top of the box, and the male clinging onto the hole on the front.
They've already built a nest inside.  Here the female has something nice and soft to add:

The male looks rather noble in the next photo-- standing guard, but they are not known for their patrician disposition. They are more thought of as nasty aliens (which they are, since they were introduced to America from Europe in 1851) who take over nesting spots from our native bluebirds. 

They have already built their nest.

Nest box # 2 seemed to be the bluebirds favorite, until the tree swallows showed up.

But even which tree swallows will succeed in using it might be in question!

"Mine!"              "No, Mine!"

One pair decided briefly to investigate house # 3:

But I'm still hoping the bluebirds will use that one, and they seem to be keeping an eye on it.

even while the tree swallows are nearby.

In other locations, I have not seen the chickadees at the box they were looking over recently.  But I do know where there is a nest of another sort....

It took a trip by kayak to take a look.  Can you see where it is?

How about now?

I waited til the goose decided I was too close for comfort and swam off before scooting in quickly to get these shots:

In other nesting news, so far this year the great-blue herons have not been using the old heron nest.  But an osprey stopped by on April 19th and sat there eating a fish.

I crept up as close as I could (on land) and he didn't seem to mind.  There was still a lot of water between him and me that day.

It's fun to see the heron nest from the kayak, too... gives it a different perspective.

Too bad the heron nest isn't going to have babies in it this year, but the old tree is still good for lots of birds to perch on. I guess getting old isn't all bad!

This old tree gets to have herons, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, kingfishers, an occasional osprey and bald eagle for company.  Sometimes even a strange lady in a blue kayak!