I open the post to show you a big Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea).
A nice and peaceful scene that will soon be shattered by an attack.
Again, one of those dark sky mornings and I had to protect my camera against the tiny raindrops that have the habit of wetting everything. I was not going to spend another day inside our house, and we decided to drive down to see if I could get anything on camera at the dam of our local golf course. A very good decision, as once again the unexpected took place. So, without ado, let me show you what happened.
This below was the view of a mountain from the golf course, and thankfully things started to lighten up a bit in the sky.
Right, here we go, as the heron wandered too close to a bird's nesting place.
Said bird was a Blacksmith Lapwing (Vanellus armatus), and they are known as cheeky little things during nesting times. I think that you know what was going to happen next.
Bang! With a scream the blacksmith landed almost on the tail of the much bigger heron, and the heron took off in a hurry.
The heron flew to the opposite side of the dam.
But the blacksmith followed and kept on bombing the heron.
The heron flipped his hairdo up, but it didn't scare the blacksmith, and the blacksmith just continued to bomb him.
Finally, the heron flew away to go and hunt somewhere else.
Like I said above, it was totally unexpected, and I feel for the heron, as I had the same lesson via a blacksmith when I walked too close past its nest. I think I posted it last spring season, or maybe the one before, but I know that I also got the blacksmith babies on camera at the time. So, no matter what size, that blacksmith will attack anything that moves. Just goes to show how demented birds will defend their territories. The snake season has almost started, and I wonder if I would get an opportunity on camera of a blacksmith attacking a snake near its nest. I bet that the snake will come off second best, as the blacksmiths are real fighters, with sharp beaks and claws. Maybe I will, and maybe I don't, it doesn't really matter.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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