Things I've Never Seen

I have only seen vultures take a bath once in all the time I have been filming birds at the river.  I hadn't even thought about it until I saw this gang taking turns dipping in the river. It got me to thinking about other things I have never seen.

I've never seen an eagle take a bath - although I have seen them standing in water on the edge of the river.

I've never seen an osprey take a bath - although with all the diving into the river, they could be considered to take more baths than any other bird.

I've never seen a vulture land on water - so, I wonder why they fly over the river so much. It isn't like they could pick something up out of the water; their feet are not designed for clutching prey.

I've never seen an eagle carrying a stick back to it's aerie.  But, that is probably because they nest much earlier than even the osprey.  They don't migrate and actually start nesting before the snows leave.  And, I don't do snow.

I've never seen an eagle's aerie.  I know there has to be several around, but they don't build them in the trees on the edge of the river as far as I can tell.  Having watched a few fly into the marsh, I suspect there are nests back in that area, but it is only a suspicion. I don't do snow and I don't slog through marshes so...

I shouldn't say that.  I do have a pair of waders that I have used numerous times to allow me to film right on the edge of the marsh pond at North Beach. They have allowed me to get much better photos of birds than I could have gotten fifty yards back.

I have never seen a great blue heron take a bath - although, here again, they can get pretty wet while stabbing for a fish beneath the water.  I have watched them preen (which may substitute for a bath) for what seemed like an eternity while I watched through the camera waiting for them to do something else. And I have the crick in my back to prove it.

So, there is still a lot to see.