Showdown–September 15, 2013
A snowy egret and a green heron squared off on the bulkhead at the marina. Actually, it wasn’t much of a contest. As soon as the egret got close, the green heron flew off.
The egret continued working its way down the bulkhead, and one green heron after another yielded its space to the egret.
Apparently egrets trump green herons.
I like to visit the marina from time to time. It serves as a great way to calibrate, though unscientifically, what’s going on with the bird population. It served as a fair indicator during spring migration when new birds would suddenly begin appearing at the marina. First the yellow-crowned night heron, then the green heron. Now, I’m hoping it will serve as a good indicator for fall migration, as well. For instance, I thought the green heron may have left since I haven’t seen one near the peninsula in weeks. But today, at the marina, they were still very much present. I counted eight in all. So it’s fair to say, the green heron have not left the building, yet.
In the meantime, the brown pelicans were putting on a show. It’s amazing, and entertaining, watching them dive for fish. 
Update on Gulf Watch: Tropical Storm Ingrid is now Hurricane Ingrid, but unfortunately we are not expected to get much of anything from it. Higher tides, other than that our drought-like weather continues with an occasional shower.
Green Thought: “I saw that animals were important. I saw that plants were even more important. I was also to learn that compared to many of the other species, we weren’t important at all except for the damage we do. We do not rule the natural world, despite our conspicuous position in it. On the contrary, it is our lifeline, and we do well to try to understand its rules.” ― Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, The Hidden Life of Deer: Lessons from the Natural World
