Turning the tables on a predator, at least temporarily.
Last night I was culling some older images when I came across one that made me smile on an otherwise gloomy and depressing day. I’d never posted it before, so I decided to see if my readers enjoy it as much as I do.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
That morning at Farmington Bay WMA, whenever one of the many Pied-billed Grebes caught a fish there was a lot of competition for it from other grebes, and even from coots. So when this grebe caught a fish, in order to avoid the other birds he started swimming directly toward me, which they rarely do when they have prey. Usually when they have a fish they turn away from any potential competitor or threat and in this situation, that would include me.
But as he came my way, the fish wrapped its body tightly around his bill, which seemed to surprise and confuse him.
A tighter crop on the bird reveals that his cartoon-ish eyes make him seem befuddled by his predicament, to say the least.
But his confusion didn’t last long. After this shot was taken, he realized that he was getting too close to me so he turned and swam away and then quickly swallowed the fish before any of the other birds could take advantage of the situation.
The look on his face made my day then and it makes my day now.
Ron
Just saw this. Love it!
Made me chuckle right out loud. Good catch, the photo I mean. Thank you for posting.
Chuckles are always good. Thanks, Lleni.
HUGE smiles. Thank you so much.
You’re very welcome, EC. Thanks for enjoying it.
Who does his hair??? The salon charges $50 for the gel to get that spikey look!🤣
An all-around amazing photo – a perfect laugh on this cold, rainy day.
Thanks!
“a perfect laugh on this cold, rainy day.”
Carolyn, that’s what I thought when I found the image again yesterday, which was a “cold, rainy day”.
‘Cartoonish eyes’ indeed! Can’t stop smiling!
Thanks, Kathleen.
Wow! I can see this becoming the newest viral trend everywhere. What a capture! I would have been laughing too hard to shoot any more that day.
I’m sure I chuckled at the time. Granny Pat. The laughing didn’t begin until I saw the photo on my big screen at home.
Love it. Makes my day too.
Good. Thanks, Deedee.
That is an awesome photo. The look in its eyes says it all. I have watched them and I think they all have the fear of one of their buddies coming to steal it. They really do try to get it down quickly, but often that does not happen. Whenever watching our various water birds struggling to get prey down the hatch I say thank God for hands.
Thanks, Everett. Yes, what would we do without hands.
Good one! It’s not easy being, uh, grebe.
That’s it. I think I’ll call him Kermit…
That fish/loach ? Made me think of the donut you often mention
enjoying on your outings……what a funny picture !
Yes, the fish appears to be a weather loach, Kris.
Believe me, I had far less trouble with my donut this morning than the grebe had with the fish.
TOO funny! “What the hell?” 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it, Judy.
That could become a viral meme—–if only I could come up with the perfect caption!! Love it.
If anyone could come up with a good caption, it would be you, Sue.
Never seen such a closeup of a Pied-billed Grebe’s eyes. Comical look indeed, but those eyes are mesmerizing.
Have to also note that I am always amazed at the quality of those crops.
Hilarious! So glad u shared!
Thanks, Jo.
Michael, thanks for appreciating the quality of many of my crops. They don’t all have high quality but many do. I can thank my lens for that.