A Fight for the Fish

FINALLY! I finally got a chance to see a boat come in and unload its catch at the A.P. Bell fish market.

The catch was herring, a fish used for bait. And, since it is a small fish, the pelicans, herons, and giant egrets can swallow it whole.

And...swallow it they did. IT WAS A FEEDING FRENZY!!! The boat unloads the fish on a conveyer, and the conveyer transfers it into a huge container on the deck of the company.

But...on its way there, the fish fall off in several spots, and there is a foot-long space on the conveyer "roof" that is missing. The birds fight for that spot, reach down into the conveyer, and pull out fish after fish after fish. The result is...SHOREBIRD MANIA!!!

The only problem? Everything is in silhouette, which is fine if there would have been a nice full sunset. But, the clouds took over, and obscured the 'set.

Still...SO MUCH FUN to watch.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76781400@N06/albums/72157680874667286  See more "fights" and the rest of my  birding afternoon on my Flickr page.

P.S. The big blue heron won this skirmish. After some light sparring with the pelican...it downed the fish.