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*

Fantasy Celebrity Interview

Today I'm very excited to bring you my first ever celebrity interview!

I'm a little nervous, as this is something I've never done before.  So, let's just get started.

My guest is Mr. Great Blue Heron.  I'm a big fan of his, and I've been anxiously awaiting his arrival!  He made his appearance on Sunday afternoon, but I thought I'd give him sometime to settle in before the interview.   He seems to be ready...

Hello, sir, may I call you Mr. Heron?

Well, ma'am,  I'd prefer you just call me Hank.

Hank?  Hank Heron!!!  Oh, I'm sorry, I apologize for my outburst... I've known you since you were a young heron and didn't realize it was you!

That's quite alright, ma'am, we all pretty much look alike.

Here's a photo of you and your brother and sister just before you fledged from the nest, Hank... do you remember that?

Sure, I was the last one to go... and I'm still a homebody.  That's why I'm the first one back!  I missed the old place over the winter.

(If you'd like to read about Hank's 'childhood' you can click here).

Well, Hank, I am wondering about that.  I think the folks would like to know where you spent the winter and if you are sorry you came back?  I mean, the weather here has been pretty cold the last couple of days.

The weather is cold, but the fishing is good.  That's what I really care about.  I can take the wintry weather as long as I have plenty to eat. 

And down it goes!

Though sometimes it takes me awhile to get it all the way down!

As for where I've been, my family and I spend our winters in a marsh in the low country near Charleston, South Carolina.  They have sweetgrass there that smells so good, and lots of fish and frogs to eat.  Herons like us live all up and down the coast and in Florida.  Pretty much anywhere there's good fishing!

Hank, I did notice you had a bit of a Southern drawl, and of course, calling me "ma'am", too... that's very polite! 

(Hank just smiled and didn't say anything).


Hank, I have to admit that I'm such a big fan of yours that I've been watching for you.  I knew you'd probably arrive soon, and you came on the exact same date as last year... March 22nd.  

Oh, did I?  Well, I don't know anything the date, I just thought it was time.  But that first night, I wondered if I'd made a mistake.  It was pretty cold out there on the ice with the snow whipping around in the wind!

I suppose you were glad when the sun came up?

Yes, ma'am that's for sure!  And that's probably why the rest of the clan hasn't arrived yet.  They remember that bad storm right after we all came back last year. (click here to read about it).

Hank, I asked readers to figure out how many of your family they could find in a photo in that blog post... maybe it would be fun to see if they can find YOU in the next photo.

Okay, sure... can you see me?

No, then how about a little closer?

If you still can't find me, how about if I turn my head?

Hey, that was fun.  

Another question, Hank.  Do you have any ambitions? How about your short-term and long-term goals?

Short term is easy.  This will be my third summer, so I'm old enough now to find a nice girl and raise a family.  Maybe use the old nest.

That's the nest in the upper circle, and Hank is in the lower circle.

Long-term goal, hmmm, well-- I've heard the longest-lived heron was 23 years old!  It would be really something to beat that record.  Our average life span is around 15 years.  

I wish you well with both those goals, Hank!

By the way, I know you need to get back to fishing, but I'm wondering if you are lonely waiting for more herons to return to our swamp?

Not really, ma'am.  I guess I'm kind of a loner (that's why I wouldn't mind nesting here instead of in a colony like most herons).  

That would be great, Hank!  I would love for you to raise a family here.  

Yes, it's a very nice place.  With the exception of a crow who occasionally likes to sneak up behind me, I like it alot.

 He seems to want to be my friend, but I don't think we have anything in common.

I appreciate your time, Hank.  I'm sure you would like to get back to work.

It's been a pleasure, ma'am.  And you can take photos of me anytime.  

Thank you, Hank!  I'll do that.  I hope you find a wonderful girl and that you continue to catch a lot of fish!

Thank you.  Bye y'all!

 Well, that was exciting, wasn't it?  I was a little worried that communication would be difficult, but Hank put me at ease and we understood each other well.  Even with his southern drawl!

Down at Water Level

We are blessed to have a beaver swamp across the road from our house.  Looking out our front windows, we can see the water and watch for wildlife.  Right from our living room, we have seen many birds - herons, ducks, and other water birds of various kinds, and in recent years, even an occasional bald eagle.  Besides birds, we have watched beavers, muskrats, and the more rare river otters. 

Looking down from our vantage point is often a good thing, like being able to see the white markings on the back of this northern harrier as he happened to be going by.

 It is wonderful to be able to look down on sights like that, but I also love to get right down on the water when I get a chance.  Last Saturday afternoon was one of those times.... so, come along with me in the kayak. 

 It was a glorious autumn day, and actually not one of the nicest ones we've had (it's been a wonderful fall here!).  The leaves were probably a little past prime since many had come off the trees in a recent rain storm.  Still... beautiful!

In the kayak, you can glide along almost silently except for the occasional paddle noise, to see who else is out in the swamp.

 This juvenile great blue heron was hungry and looking for lunch.

 I watched him for quite awhile and he finally took a stab!  If he came up with something, it was too small for me to see.  He flew to a different spot in the swamp and I went on to watch a pair of mallards before turning my kayak around.  

Heading back in the opposite direction, I saw the young heron again.  The pose in the next photo is not a real common one for a heron.  When you read about them, you often see the term "majestic" or "stately" - well, not exactly, in this photo at least!

 I searched a bit to see what the reason for this pose is, and of course, no one knows for sure (except the herons!) but it is probably for drying damp wings or warming in the sun.

Not the amphomorphic reason I read into it which was that this teenage heron was "rolling his eyes" at me.  And then, in this next photo, he sticks out his tongue!

Though he didn't make a sound, in the next photo, he seems to be ready to.  If you'd like to read more about great blue herons, click here for a very interesting page about them.  Or to listen to recording of the sounds they make, click here.

You can see how he'd be able to swallow a fairly large fish whole!

 Well, time to move on... for both the heron and us.

His wingspan of up to 6' looks really huge from down on this level!

As I slowly paddle toward the other end of the swamp, I see another heron (an adult) sitting on a hemlock branch.  There are also two kingfishers chasing each other around.  They don't seem too concerned about me, probably partly because I'm in the kayak but maybe more so because neither of them want to share the swamp with another kingfisher.

 They are extremely hard to photograph because they don't let me come close and because they are fast!  I watched them dive into the water a couple of times but there was no way I was going to be fast enough to catch that in a still photograph!  It is really cool to see them hover over the water, high up, for a few seconds before they plunge into the water for their prey!

Moving on to the far end of the swamp, here's another shot of a kingfisher on a dead limb in front of one of my favorite trees.  It's probably not brighter than the other trees in its' fall colors, but being alone in front of the darker hemlocks makes it seem so.

 In my next post, I'm planning to continue on with our kayaking afternoon and show you some more of the beautiful trees!