We've had more animal encounters out in the field lately, and most of the animals are a great source of entertainment. Except for these guys - they've scared the crap out of us on more than one occasion (mostly because they hang out in the plants that we're closely studying).
We drive in between two small ponds on the way out to the main highway, and on a few occasions, we've managed to see a couple of these pink-colored spoonbills. They are beautiful.
This guy will haunt me in my dreams. In my version of hell, I will be in the middle of pokey plants, covered in mosquitoes, and forced to listen to this hawk, squawking constantly all day. I have a video of his call if anyone wants to suffer.
Then there's this guy. We stopped and watched him for awhile on the way to our field sites the other day. He was completely puffed up and strutting around, trying to impress the ladies. He even gobbled a couple times, hoping that would entice them.
The ladies were less than impressed. They wandered around completely ignoring him, and he would alternate between periods of dejection while his feathers drooped, to glimpses of hope, in which he fluffed himself up again and tried to strut and cut off the path of the ladies. By the time we left, I think he was starting to realize that his strategy wasn't working.
What in the world is that spidery thing?! I hope you carry plenty of cups with you to trap the spiders until Mom can come kill them for you.
ReplyDeleteFunny story - we found a HUGE spider in the entryway between our bedrooms (where our shared bathroom is), and Cat put a small box over the top of it with a note that said, "Present for Kike!"
ReplyDeleteWhen we got home from the field, Kike thanked us profusely for the gift. :) And then laughed for quite awhile.
Nice! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that!
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