Birds Fishing

Well, the covid monster finally caught up to my hubby and I.  Although I got off with mild cold symptoms, hubby wasn't quite as lucky.  After a week, and he's still fighting a nagging cough.  Oh well, at least we finally got that over with - and we'll have immunity for a little while.

"Gotcha!"

A few weeks ago, I took a morning walk around our local duck pond.  Of course, I always bring my camera, because you never know what critters will be there.  This time, I got lucky and spotted a cormorant that had just caught a big catfish.

"Let's take this fishie for a ride"

The cormorant was fun to watch.  He tossed the fish into the air, catching it with his beak.  Then he drug the fish through the water again and again.

Fish toss

The whole process took about 5 minutes.  Not sure what purpose the frequent dunkings served.  Maybe it provided lubrication to slide down the bird's throat?

Will he fit in my mouth?

The first time the cormorant tried to eat the fish, it appeared to lodge in it's throat.  It didn't look like that big catfish would fit.

Down the hatch

But somehow that bird got it in the right position, and before I knew what happened, he had gulped that fish down.

Tummy now full, it's time to fly away

Lunch now over, the cormorant flapped his wings and took off to another area of the park.

Pie-billed grebe with a crawfish

Just the other day I returned to the park to try out a new lens I'd purchased.  I had barely walked up to the pond when I spotted a pie-billed grebe with a crawdad in it's mouth.  As with the cormorant, I couldn't believe the grebe would be able to swallow something that big.  But after a few sessions of dragging it through the water, he did!

This grebe caught a tiny catfish

After making a circuit around the pond, I returned to the same spot, and there was another grebe (or maybe the same one?) with a tiny catfish.  Oh boy, more photo fun!

Proud of his catch

Between a trip home to see family in late January and being sick I haven't had much time for hiking.  But after next week's ski trip I hope to remedy that.  Stay tuned, I'll be posting more outdoorsy stuff real soon!