Jan. 11, 2015 - Florida Birds and their food - Part 2
Read MoreHere’s the second set of photos showing birds catching and eating their food. I took all of these photos on Sanibel Island which is just off the southwestern coast of Florida. This Double-crested Cormorant was fishing near the wildlife drive at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It came up with a nice-sized fish.
CormorantDoublecrestedwithfishDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20141119
This is a different Cormorant than the one in the first three photos but it shows how the fish gets turned around so it can be swallowed. The bird tosses the fish in the air and catches it with the head pointed in the right direction. I’m sure it takes a lot of practice to learn how to do that. I’m also sure that quite a few fish get away until the Cormorant learns how to properly execute this maneuver.
CormorantDoubleCrestedwithfishDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20141120
This picture was taken 2 seconds after the previous one. That’s how long it took before another Laughing Gull was trying to steal the food away. The birds were too close to get both of them completely in the photo. I don’t like to use photos with parts of a bird cut off but the intensity of the pursuing gull made me want to show it to you.
This White Ibis was foraging along the Gulf Coast near the cottage where we stayed on Sanibel Island. I really like that bright red face and bill and the light blue eye. It picked up a small mollusk with the tip of its long bill. Now, the question is, how does it get that tidbit into its mouth and down its throat?
IbisWhitewithfoodShalimarCottagesSanibelIsland20141116flipped
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