Monday, July 14, 2008

Squawkers



I spotted these birds running around in the pond, as I was waiting for the hot air balloons to show up.



This is the first time I've seen this bird and have no clue what it is. If you can identify it, please let me know.



As I got closer to the bank, they started running faster and squawking. One of them took off and started flying in circles above me, squawking like crazy.



At first I thought I caused all the commotion, then I noticed a baby gator swimming out from the marsh. Here you see one of the adults running in front of the gator. The other was still circling and squawking.



The gator didn't bother with the birds, he just sleeked away.



In the meantime, these two babies had run out from the marshy area, and were frolicking around, seemingly unaware of what was going on around them.



Here you can see the remains of the bird's nest with the cracked shells still visible.

12 comments:

Carletta said...

On Champs Pond!
Oh the sights and stories we hear.

Thanks for bringing nature to our lives one little story at a time.

Neva said...

I don't know too much about birds but these are nice shots....even with the gator!!!

Flying Solo said...

Great camping!
I'll be back.

Anonymous said...

O WOW! You really know what I like! I love your reflections! Wow, thanks for posting them for me George!! I love it!!

Anonymous said...

Oh Geesh...WOW! Awesome reflexions of the sky. Love'em, George!!

magiceye said...

lovely little documentary!

Michele said...

Oh niiiice! Great series... it's like reading the National Geographical Magazine! Very nice!

Small City Scenes said...

Fun series. Did you find out what kind of squawkers those are? I wonder if we have them out this way. I will try to look them up. thanks for welcoming me back. MB

Barbara said...

Beautiful photos. Cheers from West Sacramento Photo of the Day.

Carol said...

I loved your photos, but I can't help you because I know nothing about birds.

Janice Thomson said...

What an excellent series of shots!
Those look like Willets to me George but I'm not totally familiar with your shorebirds.

Small City Scenes said...

Actually it looks like a Black-necked Stilt of the avocet family. who knows?? MB