Pic of the Day

Who's Eye?

Hint:  This bird was photographed in South Florida.

     Leave your guess in the comment section below and come back to the blog tomorrow night and see if your answer is correct.

Pic of the Day

      Double-crested Cormorant - Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park:  The Double-crested Cormorant is a bird of worldwide distribution.  In most parts of the world it and other cormorants are called shags.  Cormorants are a controversial species for there is the constant conflict between the birds and fishermen.  Cormorants eat fish, and fishermen believe that the cormorants take too large of the a percentage of fish.  Cormorants do number in the millions worldwide.  There have been incidents in other countries where massive killings have been undertaken to reduce the number of birds where populations have exploded.
      The Double-crested Cormorant is often overlooked by the ardent birder as common and unimportant, just a check mark on a list to say it was seen. But the bird is quite beautiful; its aqua green eyes are more stunning than any emerald, and its stout hooked bill more efficient than any manmade fishing hook. The bird is a superb swimmer, and when in breeding plumage its double crest are easily seen and its feathers a combination of blue, red and green iridescence.
This cormorant and his kin in Everglades National Park do not have to worry about angry fishermen. They live a life of leisure, feeding on exotic fish in the everglades waters. Its only worry is being eaten by introduced exotics such as the Burmese or African Rock Pythons that now number in the hundreds of thousands in the South Florida everglades.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200

Pic of the Day

     Double Crested Cormorant Eating Mayan Cichlid -- Everglades National Park, Florida: While photographing bird on Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park my son came running to me, calling to come and photograph a cormorant that had just caught a fish. I picked up camera and tripod and rushed to the site and began to shot as a Double-Crested Cormorant was beating a Mayan Cichlid against a rock. The purpose of beating the fish against the rock was to break the bones so it would be easier to swallow. After a number of attempts to swallow the fish the cormorant finally got the cichlid down. This image was captured just as the fish was headed down the gullet. What I find most intriguing is the connection between the eyes of both predator and prey, and the drama of life and death in the wild.
On another note, the Mayan Cichlid is an exotic fish in the Everglades. Cichlids, Oscars and other exotics are not native to southern Florida and compete with native fish threatening their survival. Cold weather and predation by native birds help hold these exotic fish in check.

Nikon F5, Nikkor 500mm f4, Provia 100