By April, the bottom mud was exposed in the shallow pond
near our Fish Bay house. During months without rain there is no freshwater
runoff to capture from the hill behind us, while a seasonal drop in the Fish
Bay water level cuts off the flow of salt water through the inlet.
Small fish come into the pond along with the flow from the
bay, and get trapped as the water starts drying up. The easy fishing attracted
egrets and herons and other wetland birds – and one morning there was some
unusual squawking and a flurry of wings so I went down to investigate. A couple
of great egrets seemed to be quarreling over fishing rights.
This pond’s not big enough for both of us.”
Then a third great egret dropped in.
Maybe I got a little bit too close to the action.
Meanwhile other smaller birds were busy snarfing up the
fish.
A green heron
A spotted sandpiper
A clapper rail
An adult little blue heron
And a juvenile little blue heron – their feathers are white
for the first year.
The juvenile little blue heron got chased off by the adult.
But was tolerated by one of the great egrets
But was tolerated by one of the great egrets
A busy and exciting time in the pond
