182/366 | Crab. It's What's for Lunch
Most Sunday evenings we watch a news segment by Dave McNamara called Heart of Louisiana. Unique areas of our state are showcased and I make a note of the ones I am interested in visiting. One of those highlights was of a boardwalk on Lake Pontchartrain in Metairie, Louisiana. The boardwalk, 1000 feet in length, runs along Bucktown Harbor, with walk-outs, educational signage, and bird blinds placed strategically along the way.
On a whim I decided to go check it out this morning. The very first sighting was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron fluffed out in all his glory. Farther down, another one was in a shallow area of water to the east of the boardwalk. I managed to get down low, extend my telephoto and poke it through the thin horizontal cables which were flexible. These are the interactions I observed:
- Heron caught crab
- Crab not eaten immediately, but tossed around for several minutes
- Crab fell into water (oops!), but was instantly retrieved
- Heron finally ate the crab
- Bird went to land and vomited up the crab and re-ate it
- Heron went back into water fluffing his feathers out, then sat in the water for several minutes (to cool off I'd imagine)
With the help of a family who was also into nature, I saw large blue crabs, schools of fish, various other birds, and an alligator gar. The water was pretty clear for Louisiana. For a 1/4 tank of gas and top-notch entertainment from the Heron, I had an exceptional day! But whew doggies, it is HOT!
400mm | f/8 | ISO 640 | 1/1600 sec