(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Daily Bucket - An Egret's meal or the fate of a frog. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-07-20
The temperature reached 95 degrees and the humidity was 76% (translates to 107 heat index). The clouds were forming a “thunder head” and the air was as thick as runny grits on a breakfast plate. Hay seed and I had just finished replacing the rafter tails and roof decking on our project. We “boxed up our tools” for the weekend.
A look at the client’s home. All the clean, fresh wood is Western Cedar. The door and white roof rafters (with new decking for the metal roof) has been replaced. The large section of plywood covers the opening for the huge window (coming later).
This was the house in May.
He headed for home (a cooler climate) and a shower, I decided a few minutes at the University Field Research Station (two miles away from the job site) might have some interesting items to photograph. More after the page break and mission statement.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
I had a prepared note for the local birders that enjoy the Field Station’s ponds. I want to join their outings when I can and left my info at the “sign in” desk. As I was walking back to the truck, a Great Egret landed beside the demonstration pond near the office. Below is the film I was able to get when I got back to the truck.
The stride of an Egret on a mission
A sneeze and shake and it was on to hunting.
You can see from the video that the fringe of the pond is high and too wet to mow. It is the perfect spot for frogs, dragonflies, lizards, snakes and all sorts of food for an Egret.
Beginning the hunt.
Most of us have seen larger birds forage successfully. I wanted to show the “stop action” of that process. I thought about creating a Friday sequence diary, but I see talented people have shared their work already. Let this video be a teaser for more sequence content coming tomorrow.
The sky thickened, clouds dropped onto the tree tops and the “bottom fell out” soon after I took my last video. I headed home. I was excited that I got some good film and wanted to edit for a quick diary. However, I was distracted by the old Ginger man that met me at the door.
He was soon in the embrace befitting his demigod status.
Rascal (aka Buddy) burrowed into the crook of my elbow.
Our final destination.
My Bug of the Day is known by all of us and we hope we don’t cross paths with one that is hungry. The Black Horse Fly (Tabanus atratus) is huge. This one is over an inch long and weighed the same as a penny. These voracious feeders (females only) use a proboscis that is shaped like a rasp (imagine a Cat’s tongue) to eviscerate the skin and cause a solid blood flow. The males only consume nectar and seek females during their life times.
This is an Open Thread. Please fill the space with your current observation or experiences.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/20/2181368/-Daily-Bucket-An-Egret-s-meal-or-the-fate-of-a-frog
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
