25 January 2013 Reflections

January 25, 2013 / Harry Selsor

It was a clear cold morning with frost on the ground crunching beneath my feet. I know it’s still “Florida” for you readers up North but for us down here that is cold. My trusty thermos of coffee was with me to ward off the chill as I set up my blind on the neighbor’s dock. The sun began to rise. I was “wishin and hopin”* for some close-ups this morning.

The Tricolored Heron and Snowy Egrets begin congregating on a small spit of mud waiting for the tide to go out and wishin and hopin for some fish. From my vantage point in the blind it proved to be all I was hoping for and I didn’t have to wait too long. One by one the Snowy Egrets began to line up along the bank and were soon standing all in line. It reminded me of my days at the Naval Academy as we lined up for morning formation. These white birds against the dark marsh mud gave me an excellent opportunity to practice and shoot for the right “white balance” techniques. It was much harder than I thought it would be. I was hopin for success and wishin I could master the right camera settings. I finally got a few I can share (shot over 200 photos though). Do you recall the birds "sittin on the dock" and the feathers flying from the other day? Well they were there also and "sorta" together again, the three of them. It looks like she can still ruffle his feathers and he can still get her tail feathers up though. The Little Blue Heron was also there wishin and hopin for a fish.

My editor in chief is tired of reading these two words by now. But "Wishin and Hopin" is what I leave with you today. We all spend time doing it. Sometimes we forget the other part of the lyrics though…the "thinkin and prayin" part. They all go together so we stay together. Be blessed. Harry

* Wishin and Hopin sung by Snowy (Dusty) Springfield (song written by Bird (Burt) Bacharach and Hal David)

'Cause wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
.......................
So if you're thinkin' of how great true love is

All you gotta do is hold him and kiss him and squeeze him and love him
Yeah, just do it
And after you do, you will be his
You will be his
You will be his

Cool Frosty morning. Birds gather on a spit of mud.

**Morning Meal Formation at the Dock Academy**

**She still sorta ruffles his feathers!**

Little Blue Heron wishin and hopin for fish! — **Little Blue Heron *wishin and hopin* for fish!**

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24 January 2013 Reflections

January 24, 2013 / Harry Selsor

Winter arrived on the Broward this week. It is supposed to be near freezing by weekend. I decided to give the new lens a workout, far away shots, close up shots, fast movers, slow movers. The birds really cooperated and I noticed that some of them are starting to show the beginnings of mating season coloring already. There is a list of birds in my journal I want to shoot this year and I saw a few that I really want close-ups of. Tomorrow, if the weather and the fowl cooperate, I am going to try to get some of those. In the meantime, hope you enjoy some of these shots with the new lens. Do you know what else you can do from the dock besides time travel? Go Fishin!

One of the best at fishin is the Pied-Billed Grebe. It is usually the first to arrive in my little lagoon in front of the dock each morning. This small diving bird swims underwater for tens of feet at a time. It has paddle-shaped toes instead of webbed feet like ducks. As it swims, the fish scatter and the egrets and herons follow right behind them looking for a fish of opportunity. It is a great of example of teamwork in nature. One Snowy Egret got a nice opportunity catch (at the Grebe’s expense). I felt sorry for the little Grebe but then he surfaced with a fish that was so big he almost choked on it getting it down! A beautiful Great Egret landed close by to see what was on the menu. What a long graceful neck it has. A Little Blue Heron landed on the dock and joined in the fishin also. It’s the smaller of the three local blue colored herons and has a maroon colored neck and head. I also got some distant shots of a duck called a Hooded Merganser. This duck is a diver (submerges to fish) and has to take a running start to take off. Dabbling ducks on the other hand can lift straight up and start to fly (Mallards are a good example). The male “Hoodies”as I call these Mergansers, are really striking with a large white head plume and black contrasting crown feathers.

We should all love to go fishin! I do anyway. What is also fun is catchin! Some people just go fishin and really don't care if they do any catchin at all. They come back and you can tell that they are fine anyway. Some folks are ONLY happy with the catchin. They will do anything to get that fish (sort like the Egret). Some people fish all their lives and never catch much. And they are happy. The catchers are fine too. Gotta eat. But they sometimes miss the joy of just fishin!. Be Blessed. Harry

Pied Billed Grebe, a year round resident on the Broward and excellent at fishin!

**Snowy Egret with catch while the Grebe goes hungry (for a moment)!**

**Male Hooded Merganser swims by fishin**

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23 January 2013 Reflections

January 23, 2013 / Harry Selsor

Today was a good day on the dock. It didn’t start out that way though. Old Man River was there in the predawn light sitting in a tree. He took off before I could get a good shot. The clouds soon thickened and made for poor light conditions. I took a few photos but there was nothing I would care to print. The good news is my replacement lens later arrived and I got a call from the North Jax Monthly. They are doing an article on Reflections in the next issue. Anxious to try the new lens I took it down to the dock in the late afternoon. The light still wasn’t great but I got some amusing shots of life on the dock.

A Tricolored Heron is at the end of the dock, just sitting there, staring at the water and looking like he is enjoying himself. A pair of Snowy Egrets soon fly in and get a bit too close to his personal space. I observe the almost human-like interactions that take place next. They both stand tall and circle each other. Soon the feathers ruffle up on both of them. It looks like a bad “feather” day. This fluffing and ruffling of head and tail feathers is a common interaction I have observed in these species of birds. I catch this comical moment. It appears like the Tricolored Heron has had enough and feathers fly (literally). The Snowy Egrets goes one way, and the Tricolored Heron the other. It was hilarious to see them interact. It makes for funny slideshows, too.

We all like to be like the heron, just ” sitting on the dock of the bay “ * wasting time. Sometimes others get in our space on life’s dock. Words are exchanged and we ruffle our feathers. Instead of letting the feathers fly next time, remember why you went to the dock in the first place. Find your place of peace again. If it gets too crowded go "Up on the roof" **. Soon you will be like this little grebe singing that old Beach “Bird” *** hit "Good Vibrations". Be blessed. Harry

* Dock of the Bay sung by Otis Red-wing (and someone named Otis Redding)

** Up on the Roof by the Grebesters…originally sung by the Drifters

*** Good Vibrations originally sung by the Beach Boys

**Old Man River observes Red Sky in Morning. Herons take warning.**

Tricolored Heron sittin on the dock of the bay. — **Tricolored Heron *sittin on the dock of the bay*.**

**Do you have to bring your Mother every day? Hey, is it something I said?**

**We just can't see eye to eye anymore! Suspicious minds!**

She gets his dander up, He gets her tail feathers up! Bad "feather" day!

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22 January 2013 Reflections

January 22, 2013 / Harry Selsor

Today I looked up and down the Broward. There are beautiful homes on the deep side of the river where the bluff rolls down to the river channel and into the marsh. They have docks of all shapes and sizes. These docks have boats in the water at the ready, some wait on slings, some under covered roofs, others are exposed to the weather. But you know, I hardly ever notice any people on those docks until the weekend when a few kayaks or boats go by on nice days. People are just busy during the week with work and life, like most. It got me to thinking.

We live on the shallow side of the river where the docks are somewhat different. There are three docks around me. The first is mine, a small simple 12 x 16 foot platform. The neighbors have a much longer one. I love the view from there. Upstream is the last one, now just a skeleton of an old pier. These different docks are for different activities. Mine is a great place to watch the birds. They swim right up to my feet sometimes. I get to enjoy it even more in my retirement. My neighbor's dock reaches far into the river. As their family grew so did the dock. They extended it, added a nice gazebo with a copula, a boat lift, and a floating dock for various watercraft. Their children, and now grandchildren, gather and enjoy weekends on this pier. There is a palm tree that lights up the night like a Jimmy Buffet sunset. Spunky, the Kingfisher, watches for breakfast from the copula and various birds take turns riding the leaping dolphin wind vane on top. Their dock is made to suit their life as is mine. The old dock that once was has seen better days. Old Man River, the Great Blue Heron loves to sit there and stare as if he remembers the time when there was a fresh wooden deck and planks connecting to the shore. Those planks are long gone and only barren pilings remain.

We don’t all live on the water but I believe we all have our “dock” of some sort in life. A place we go for peace. It might be a front porch, a tree in a meadow, or a long country lane. We long for such a place. We craft them to suite our lives. As life changes, so too our docks change. My wife and I enjoy our view from our little dock. It suits us just fine. My neighbors enjoy theirs also, and sometimes I go on it for a different view to take photos that I share with you. But some docks remain only in solitary memories. They too are treasures of bygone days that will never be forgotten. Be blessed. Harry

**My" bird studio" dock on the Broward**

**The neighbor's dock and visiting stork.**

**Bluebirds take turns riding the dolpins.**

Solitary memories.  Old Man River looks back. — **Solitary memories. Old Man River looks back.**

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Reflections on Broward is now "Mountain Musings"

25 January 2013 Reflections

24 January 2013 Reflections

23 January 2013 Reflections

22 January 2013 Reflections