LIVE ACTION AT HARNS MARSH

 

  We stopped at Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres on our way to the Everglades Canals last week.

 

 

 

We were watching a few Limpkins who were looking for  — and finding — apple snails.   These snails are pretty much the only thing these birds eat.  The shallow water made for easy pickings.   Then Bill pointed out a couple of white heads across the pond from where the Limpkins were feeding.

 

 

 

This bad picture is here on purpose to show how far away we were from the birds.     I'm grateful for binoculars and zoom lenses – you witness  all kinds of wildlife adventures with them.

 

 

 

(This is not the same pair of eagles in the nest near where we live — we were in a different area.)  

 

The Eagles were taking turns eating their prey and standing guard.  And then suddenly they seemed to go into high alert.  I scanned my camera in the direction they had turned…

 

 

… and saw  this pair of rascals that looked as if they were  planning something nefarious.  And I was right.  In another minute they sidled over toward the eagle's prey.

 

 

 

 

And then this happened.

 

The lower panel shows  one of the  Black Vultures  flying away after snagging a small piece of the prey.    The Eagles made a lot of noise and almost seemed to stomp  their feet as they hopped and flew chasing away  the intruders.

 

 

The two vultures flew back to a grassy area where there was a whole family gathering.   Maybe to report that it was slim pickings out there.

 

 

And the two Eagles went back to their meal.      It's kind of odd that we think of Bald  Eagles as majestic and  Vultures as vaguely creepy.  They are both birds of prey.  But the Eagle, besides eating 'road kill'  will actually catch and kill live prey, while the Vulture eats only things that are already dead.    (Benjamin Franklin wasn't happy that the Eagle was chosen as our national symbol — he thought they had a  “bad moral character”.)    I think both the Eagle and the Vulture are just doing what they're supposed to be doing — and both are interesting to watch.

 

 

 

And meanwhile, not too far away from all the action, this guy was just basking in the sun.    (Zoom lens, remember.)   Unlike most of us, alligators don't need to eat every day.  He had probably already had a meal earlier that week and wasn't hungry yet.

 

 LINKING this week to:  NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD Wednesday; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; THANKFUL Thursday; Saturday CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 

Thank you to all of the hosts.