(JUNE 8, 2010) This morning we saw a single fisher near the dam. It wasn't a man with a tackle box and a pole, but a great blue heron standing near the dam trying to catch a fish for breakfast. He was just hangin' out there waiting for some tasty fish to come over the dam.
Elizabeth said, "I guess that is why there are so many fishermen lined up on the bank near the dam each morning. If you want to go where the fish are, follow the herons." It's kind of like finding a good place to get a good meal when you are traveling - go where the truck drivers eat.
Near the first field after the dam, there was a cardinal shining red against the Carolina blue sky. He was chirping and just hangin' out, enjoying the morning coolness. The air was crisp and welcoming after the heat of the past few days.
As we approached the public works department, we heard a ruckus in the trees and saw some crows enter the trees where mockingbirds hang out. The leaves moved and the images of birds could be seen and the squawking became louder and louder. Out of the dark trees emerged a sing mockingbird that sat on the top of a nearby tree. However, the fracas wasn't over. As the bird sat there, another bird dive bombed this guy, knocked him off the branch and took up residence where the single bird had been hangin' out. What was that all about? I don't know. It could have been territorial; it could have been a nesting situation, or it could have been something else. The battle took place about 2o yards beyond where I saw the young mockingbird in the brush yesterday. We didn't see the young bird today.
Beyond the public works department we saw a family of geese hangin' out. The two adults here hangin' with their six goslings of differing sizes. They were the only group of geese in that area; most mornings there are 2-3 families of geese and goslings, and generally a mallard or two.
As we returned back to Dan Daniel Park, we saw some turtles sunning themselves on the log in the river - no cormorants - just turtles. Closer to the dark woods at Dan Daniel Park we saw some insects, including a pretty neon blue damselfly, and a few birds in the tree (a couple of wrens and a sparrow) chirping away.
When we got back to the dam, the heron was still there. "I wonder if he caught anything?" Elizabeth asked. "I don't know," I replied. "He still looks hungry, and I guess he would have had his fill and moved on by now if he had. Or maybe he is just hangin' out there."
It was another good morning on the Riverwalk.
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