Jordan Lake. A great egret does a MoonWalk! How often do you see a bird walking backwards? I have seen the occasional crow step backwards a couple of steps. Woodpeckers certainly back down trees. I’ll confess I had never seen a great egret backing up. I don’t know what he was chasing… ended up looking like a chunk of bark.
Jordan Lake
CategoryBreakfast Nibbles
Jordan Lake. The hispid cotton rat gets up very early in the morning to have its breakfast. Reminds me very much of a person nibbling on an ear of corn. Watch how carefully the small critter decides just what bits are the very best bites to eat.
Osprey Mid-Air Shake
Jordan Lake. When an osprey dives into the water to catch a fish it also picks up a lot of water. Water is heavy at 8lbs/gallon. Ospreys weigh from 2-4.5lbs. To shed the excess weight the osprey does a shake: from the tip of its beak through its body and off its tail… just like a wet dog does. There are 3 video shake sequences and I hope you enjoy them all.
Swivel and Go!
Jordan Lake. The eastern wood-pewee is a medium sized flycatcher. And as is true of all flycatchers their heads are always in motion – swiveling all about looking for insects to dash after, catch and gobble up. Then repeat the dash and catch!
Uncommon Visitor to Jordan Lake
On our cruise this morning all of a sudden Captain Doug said “Doc do you see that smallish long-legged bird standing on that log over there?” Goodness! It was an immature white ibis. They are common in our coastal areas but don’t often come this far inland.
Disgruntled Chipping Sparrow
Jordan Lake. Dawn this morning was nicely cool and crisp… at least to me! However, this immature chipping sparrow was definitely not happy about the drop in temperature. Most birds have a body temperature of 105 to 109°F. So this morning when the air temperature was 67°F this little bird fluffed up to trap its own body heat because it was actually feeling cold.
doc ellen's journey 