Wood storks, roseate spoonbill and... gator. Photo by RED Denty at pond across from our house.
A child’s riddle?
No, a sight to behold.
Stop!
Traffic, although light, literally stopped in its tracks while a flock of some 50 Canadian geese, beautifully colored with their distinctive black, white and brown markings, waddled across the road from a pond to a field of grass near our home. The majority kept their eye on the leader and the field across the road, totally oblivious to the humans stopped for them to pass. The last two stragglers, were more leery of those watching, but even with furtive glances to the left and right, they finally joined their flock. Once in the field, the geese grazed.
It truly was a sight to behold, especially during the sameness of daily routine for many of us. Routine, in the time of COVID-19, has helped us keep our sanity. But natural events still can spark awe and stir our appreciation for God’s world.
Of course, the vivid image which made itself at home in my mind sent me in search of “geese walking.” April Holiday, writing for the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, says, “Geese certainly can fly across a road.” According to her research, they can fly long distances and at great heights.
She adds, “A goose is a grazing animal and grazers walk as they graze. Their legs are positioned to their bodies farther forward than either duck or swan legs. They can, therefore, walk and graze on dry land. Walking uses far less energy than flying.” She cites both biologist Chuck Fergus of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and biologist Marion E. Larson of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
We left the scene as the fowl grazed; and when we returned, they were gone.
A flash of pink
But this unique pause in our day hasn’t been the only unusual sighting we’ve witnessed in our neighborhood. More and more, we’ve seen a lone bird, cotton candy pink in color, sprint through the sky or rest a bit on our walkway across the marsh. Last week, four perched on our dock.
According to Krista Harris, writing for The Brunswick News, the pink feathered roseate spoonbill, which usually lives in marshes, tidal ponds, sloughs and mangrove swamps along the Gulf Coast and Southern tip of Florida, has been spotted along the Georgia coast. While a few, in the past, have occasionally flown northward in August, more have come even further north to stay year round.
Scientists cite change in habitat and climate for the bird’s migration. According to Dr. Jerry Lorenz, state research director for the Florida Audubon Society, spoonbills “always had to adapt to sea levels. The thing is, they’re smarter than human beings. The know how to get out of the way of rising water.”
A family feast
Each time a wood stork, with its dark head and black flight feathers, flies over, Bob and I joke about whether he’s going after a baby to deliver or is returning from a delivery.
However, the other day, I witnessed wood storks tending to their own family in a tidal creek during low tide at breakfast time. First, an adult wood stork, the only stork native to the United States, foraged the muddy bed. He was closely followed by three young storks imitating their leader. Mother followed in close pursuit.
While the old wives tale may make us smile, we’ve learned that both wood stork parents are very attentive to their own young. Wood storks may live 20 years or longer.
Laura Fenton, writing for Real Simple Magazine, reports on a recent study by Daniel Cox at the University of Exeter in England. “This study found that being surrounded by birds improves mental health.”
We are grateful that we see such a wide array of birds. We marvel at these creatures that share our space in this world. And when they put on a show, we have to stop and watch.
2020
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