A Gregarious Giant

Although the pelican is...and forever will be...my favorite bird...the giant egret is a real charmer. Based strictly on looks...it would be hard to beat.

I was at the seashore starting at 9:30 a.m. this morning, and watched the sun go down at 6:30 p.m. 9 hours. I showed a Harley Davidson guy a few spots on the island...took a nice long walk...drank 2 44 oz. Diet Cokes, and watched a fishing boat come into the dock.

The boat was loaded down with a catch of sardines. I don't like them, but why don't they smell as bad coming off the boat...as they do coming out of the can?

You might as well have taken a mega-phone and yelled into it..."SARDINES COMING IN! BAIT FISH COMING IN! COME ONE...COME ALL. SARDINES!!"

The seabirds rushed in from places unknown. How do they know? Is there a secret call? Do they know, and follow the fishing boats? Can they tell time?

The light from the setting sun was exquisite...girlfriends were meeting the men-at-sea fishermen, and my camera battery held out for 1800 shots. As the t-shirt states...Life is Good.

So many flying birds showed up for the sardine party. I put a few more on my FLICKR PAGE...along with a couple of close-ups.

Tomorrow is our big Blip meet. CKJohnson, PepperG, and maybe Sefferdog. More to come later. Plus...I have to pick up my wife late tommorow night in Tampa...so I may have to back blip.