common_nature | Tiny and Tall (Reply)

In my last post I had pics of battling hummingbirds. Another thing they start doing is staking out the feeder and ambushing their competitors. This is a good opportunity for us to get some photos of them hanging out in the plant pots as normally they're in and out pretty quickly.

From the tiny to the very tall -- hard to believe two such enormously different creatures are both birds.

We had some very hot days this summer, and noticed that the birds were feeling it. We could see the heron panting. The next day it spent some time in the following pose:

I've mentioned before that our local ducks like to gather on a "driveway" down to the lake which is otherwise bordered by a wall. We call it "duckie beach." One day someone decided to set up near said beach and the ducks were clearly not happy about someone invading their turf. They were all standing in the water's edge, apparently waiting to see if the fisherman was going to move. Since he didn't they eventually swam and then flew away.

Although we didn't get pictures, another day a group of crows was hanging around on the beach with the ducks on the lake wall opposite it. Apparently they decided to reassert their rights to the space and a flotilla headed over. I thought the crows might stand their ground but as the ducks closed in, they all flew off.

Clearly this is THE prime spot for a bunch of animals ;)