My my my, what a morning of remarkable things at the beaver dam. Dedicated nature fans will already know that we have night herons that roost in the pine tree at Granger’s wharf, but we’ve never seen them up even as far as the train trestle. Jon says that right now they aren’t roosting because they’ve all paired off to nest. This morning I was startled to find this fellow fly onto the primary dam and settle in for a nice long fishing spell. Night herons are monogamous like beavers, and the best bet is that he’s filling his crop to take back to his brood.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when Linda and I saw what transpired. Night herons don’t spear their fish, they wait with their bills open until something good comes along. Apparently while he was holding the barn door open one of the horses tried to make a run for it! Let that be a reminder that sometimes when you’re waiting for something better to come along, you run the risk of losing what you have. As Stephen Sondheim quipped, “you may know what you want but to get what you need, better to keep what you have…”I know I post alot of video but you HAVE TO WATCH this one. It is very unusual footage and has already been picked up by the Cornell Urban bird site!
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=FujhMABOLH4]
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Three kits and dad visible this morning, and for all you hard core beaver fans, here’s something I snapped while two kits wrestled at the bridge. Sigh, I guess we’re going to have to officially call them yearlings now. Should there be a ceremony?
