Unexpected encounters with wildlife

THE WILD SIDE

By Maria de Bruyn
Correspondent

April was a month of unexpected wildlife encounters for me, resulting in some quite rewarding nature observations. While I enjoy getting well-composed and clear photographs of beautiful creatures, my outdoor outings are most rewarding when I get to see something new and interesting.

I’ve now seen the beautiful, yellow-crowned night herons nesting for a couple of years, but only got close-up views of their fishing techniques quite recently. The resident herons at Sandy Creek Park have become quite accustomed to many people walking and running in the reserve and now sometimes fish near walking paths.

One day, I was able to observe a heron intently pursuing crayfish, and s/he was having some real success (adult males and females are difficult to distinguish). The bird moved slowly and often stood still, staring intently at the swampy water ahead. Several times, a quick strike brought up a crayfish, but it was not a matter of a quick swallow.

Yellow-crowned night heron hunting, positioning and finally swallowing crayfish. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

The heron kept repositioning its catch and sometimes shook it, to kill it or at least dislodge its appendages so that it was easier to eat. This procedure could last for 10 minutes or more, so I was fortunate to capture some good photos of the dining battle. I learned that the bird often opens and closes its nictitating membranes during the dining process to protect its eyes from any grabs or mishaps with a struggling crayfish.

The nictitating membrane is a translucent eyelid that the bird can draw over its eyes at will to protect them from punctures and to moisten the eye when needed. The heron consistently deployed and withdrew the membranes as it tossed the crayfish around to dismember them before swallowing.

It was a fascinating biology lesson. I had thought the birds used the membranes to protect themselves from high winds or flying objects but did not realize that on-and-off deployment was also part of their hunting technique.

Largemouth bass engaged in spawning at Jordan Lake Transis Camp Game Land. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

On another day, while visiting a game land reserve, I was surprised to see the Jordan Lake waters being churned repeatedly near the shoreline. I was unsure what was occasionally popping into view until I finally realized that massive fish were thrashing around.

As no anglers were in sight, I had to investigate online which fish might have been so busy. It turned out they were likely largemouth bass (and perhaps some other bass species) that had come to the shoreline to spawn. It was interesting to discover that the bass seek out areas near the shoreline where they can eat crayfish (like the herons!) as the crustaceans are high in protein and apparently help with the spawning.

The male fish make nests and then the males and females swim around one another ejecting their eggs and sperm, which come into contact with one another as they drop down into the nests. The spawning activity was very vigorous with fish repeatedly agitating the waters all along the shoreline. Occasionally, it was possible to catch a glimpse of a fish as it not-quite-surfaced in the mating dance. I thought that this activity was a short-term event but when I visited the site again days later, there were still some spawning fish engaged in ensuring future generations!

Largemouth bass engaged in spawning at Jordan Lake Transis Game Land, where they will be a draw for anglers in May. Both photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

My third surprise occurred in my own yard. Red-shouldered hawks regularly visit, but the other birds usually do not get agitated when they appear. Normally, these hawks eat earthworms, small rodents and frogs but they do not bother other birds. In contrast, when a red-tailed, Cooper’s or sharp-shinned hawk appears, the other birds clear out as fast as their wings can take them.

This time, it seemed a few other birds sensed something was amiss. The smaller birds like sparrows, wrens, chickadees, titmice and catbirds kept visiting the feeders. But our resident neighborhood American crows immediately began chasing the red-shouldered hawk to my surprise. Then the hawk began chasing the crows in return and it seemed like a battle as to who would get to perch in a large willow oak near a nestbox.

The hawk kept returning and then a pair of blue jays joined the fray, attacking the red-shouldered hawk along with the crows. I had not seen behavior like this before and watched the drama unfold through my front window while I made scheduled phone calls for a volunteer duty (so I couldn’t go outside, and I had to keep to a schedule). Suddenly, there was great commotion, and I saw the hawk alight on top of the nearby nest box where Eastern bluebirds were raising a family. The hawk reached down into it with a claw trying to get the door open. The raptor pulled out a good bit of the nest and the other birds, including the bluebird parents, were quite distraught.

Top left: hawk on wire where it was being harassed by American crows and bluejays. Top right: hawk atop bluebird nestbox after having reached inside to get baby birds. Bottom left: one of the baby bluebirds after having been deposited back into nest box. Bottom right: bluebird parent getting ready to take away fecal sac after having fed the nestlings. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

The hawk remained sitting atop the nest box. Luckily, about 15 minutes later my volunteer shift ended. I hurriedly put on a hoodie and gloves and went into the yard to chase the hawk away. The bluebird parents were distraught and began to fly at me when I opened the nest box but then left me alone. What was left of the nest was upside down in the box, so I pulled it out and the naked baby birds were on the bottom. One dropped out of the nest material onto the ground, and I was able to retrieve it. After fashioning the nesting material back into what looked like a nest, I replaced it with the baby birds inside and closed the nest box door tightly.

I beat a quick retreat and settled on the porch to watch from a distance. To my relief, after a while the parent bluebirds went to the box and assessed the state of their budding family. Since then, I’ve been thrilled to see the parents bringing food to the babies and even removing the first fecal sacs from their hungry brood. The hawk has not returned when I’ve been around, and things have calmed down.

I still wonder why the crows and jays decided to drive away the hawk that day. Did they somehow sense murderous intentions on the part of the raptor? That may be a far-fetched conclusion, but it does fit the scenario and animals can surprise us! I wonder if the coming month will have equally interesting animal encounters for me.   

Maria de Bruyn participates in nature-oriented citizen science projects, volunteers for the Orange County Senior Center and coordinates a nature-themed book club. See more of her photos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bruynmariade/), Blue Sky (@mdb2024.bsky.social), and in blogs at https://mybeautifulworldblog.com. This reporter can be reached at information@thelocalreporter.press.