Today as I was sitting by one of my favorite wetlands along the Foothills Trail, I was casting about for photographic subjects and in the tail of my eye, caught a flurry of wings and a dive-bombing streak. I looked up and saw a Great Blue Heron perched at the top of an old snag about twenty feet high and a Red-Winged Blackbird devilling the daylights out of him. There were actually two male Red-Wings working together. One bird would dive for the Heron's head, permitting
its companion in the assault to approach from behind to land on the big bird's back or stubby tail. The Heron stood its ground for a good
fifteen minutes, remaining motionless under the savage attacks save
for stretching its neck and raising its beak. Finally, it gave up. One
Blackbird immediately occupied the perch and announced its dominance
with rapidly repeated calls. If you look closely,
you can see where the cap of the Heron's wing has been bloodied by
repeated peckings. I was fortunate to make this capture of the Red-Wing in full display.
365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
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