Tuesday, September 13, 2011

What's the Catch?

Someone obligingly placed a couple of tall bamboo poles on the oppostie shore along the stretch of river where I film.  Osprey, red-winged blackbirds and kingfishers all enjoy using it as a perch, as it is the highest point along that shoreline, being surrounded by marsh grass.  The kingfishers will spot small fish from the perch, then plunge-dive to catch them.  Actually, they must be aware that the water isn't that deep along the shore because they alter their technique and dive much shallower. 

When they do catch a fish at that spot, however, they are faced with a dilemma because they will routinely beat the fish against something hard before they swallow it.  Since there is nothing that "fits the bill" on that side of the river, they will carry their catch all the way across the river, usually to the nearest dock and dispatch the fish on a piling. 

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