I know how lucky
I am to be able to make a living on the tropical waters of Key West, Florida. Many people only see some of the things I see by watching the discovery channel. After doing this for 30+ yrs and I still get a thrill out of the Key West wildlife I get to see.
Naturally, I get to see some very cool fish.
Sailfish, Marlin, Sharks, Dolphin, Porpoise, Sea Turtles and many more. When you see them, it is exciting and it also leaves you in awe of Mother Natures beauty. But it’s not just the creatures that live in the sea, it’s also the creatures that live around the water.
Normally when we get back to the dock,
Pelicans, Seagulls, and Tarpon gather around and under the boat. They have learned, that a boat docking, means fish being filleted and that means scraps being thrown into the water. Feeding Time! It happens just about every day. In addition to the Pelicans, we usually get a couple of Egrets too. Every once in a while, a Great Blue Heron will join the rest of the Key West wildlife at the dock and yesterday was one of those days. All the birds, Pelicans, Egrets, Seagulls and Herons compete for the scraps and sometimes they get into a squabble. That happened briefly yesterday. No injuries, just a lot of posturing and that was the cool part. The Pelicans will spread their wings and snap their beak. Their beak is not heavy and not sharp, so they really can’t hurt you with it.
The Great Blue Heron is a beautiful bird,
very tall and graceful, but when it’s riled, it will “puff” out its feathers in an effort to make itself appear more intimidating. It’s amazing the transition it can make in an instant. I had never seen it before and I tried to get a picture of it. I’m not sure the picture does it justice, but if you ever see it in real life, it is impressive. Its beak is very sharp and strong. It can do some damage with it, but that is usually a last resort.
This Great Blue Heron is putting on a threat display to intimidate the Pelicans