Feathered Friday - THE FEATHERED POND SAGA - Episode 4 : THE GULLS ARE BACK IN TOWN
The Mediterranean gulls (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) were, for who knows what reason, absent from the pond last week and didn't appear in the last episode ...
... so today ...
... they'll have the main role in this feathered show.
I just threw some bread in the water ...
... and now the gulls ...
... and a few Eurasian coots (Fulica atra) ...
... are involved in a very photogenic feeding frenzy.
Meanwhile ... very near ... only about 20 meters from there ...
... on the willow tree ... the Great tit (Parus major), in the first appearance in this series, is quietly observing the action, sheltered by the dense branches ...
... looks a bit like a bird in some sort of organic cage from some angles.
It's interesting how this swarming looks rude and chaotic when you are watching it in real time ... but ...
... when you freeze the action on photograph ...
... there is a lot of elegance ...
... in every single frame.
These beautiful birds ...
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... make a mundane activity like feeding ...
... look like ...
... a perfectly choreographed aerial ballet ...
... with some water ballet elements :)
Meanhwile ...
... a bunch of Common chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) have joined the Great tit on the small tree that grows in the shallow water...
... and on the other side of the pond ...
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... on the large weeping willow ...
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... the Little egret (Egretta garzetta) ...
... is grooming her feathers.
The swarming of seagulls ...
... that spawned many photographs ...
... was actually ...
... pretty short.
In a few minutes ...
... the birds snatched all the bread ...
... and then ...
... the gulls flew away to rest high above the scene, on the surrounding electric wires ...
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... while the coots ...
... decided to swim till the center of the pond ...
... where they continued their floating around in a more relaxed way. Meanwhile ...
... two cormorants of the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) species, were drying the wings on the not very warm winter sun. While approaching the cormorants ...
... I passed too close to the small willow tree ... and so the Great tit started to sing her alarm - melody.
On the other side of the pond ...
... high on the tree ...
... the Little egret was still grooming the plumage ... she was mostly using her beak ...
... but from time to time ...
... her feet were also handy for that job.
The Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)...
... joined the bunch of coots in the deeper water near the center of the pond ...
... while one of those coots ...
... decided to take a distance from the gang ...
... and went on the shore ... when the coot started to groom the feathers ... and her beak disappeared in the plumage ...
... she didn't look so much like a bird ... but more like some black volcanic stone.
On one of the small trees near the water I spotted the Eurasian blue tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus), another newcomer to this series ... and on a tall and large oak tree ...
... I saw two Hooded crows (Corvus cornix)
While I was photographing these birds on the trees ...
... the coot went for a little walk along the banks of the pond ... and then she entered the water again ...
... when the domestic goose was passing by ... on this photograph they look like two ships ... the Goose - the galleon ... and the coot :) ... I don't know ... something smaller.
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At one point the Egret came down from the tree ... and started walking through shallows overgrown with brown vegetation in search for small fish ...
... one of the seagulls came down from the wire and started to follow her like a shadow ... he was thoroughly observing what she's doing... and from time to time ...
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... the gull was loudly talking in his shrieking seagull language, showing the vividly red throat ... as you can see on this photograph ... especially if you enlarge the thing by clicking on it :D
On this photograph the Egret has caught the fish and the seagull is very excited abut her success.
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A bit later ...
... she caught another small fish ...
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... and after a bit of maneuvering ...
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... with the beak ...
... the fish was on its way down her throat. And now ...
... with this photograph of the Egret staring at the water, ready to catch another fish ...
... and the usual closing shot with a wider look at the scenery ... is time to end another episode ... hope you enjoyed this feathered story ... as always in these posts on Steemit, all the GIFs and photographs are made by me.
Congratulations @borjan!
You raised your level and are now a Dolphin!
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Another wonderful bird saga!
I envy your pond, you can see so many interesting things)
:) It's one of the best spots around town. Especially for birds.
Wow, Pretty Mediterranean gulls movement photography and these are really fantastic.
Thanks :)
Terrific photo essay and ornithological study
Thanks. :) Glad you like this feathered post.