Among the pleasant surprises in my recent outdoor experiences, having spent the last two weekends camping shoreside, at AZ's Apache Lake, in the Sonoran Desert, were to have been awakened a week ago Sunday, just at dawn, by a great commotion in the water near shore --- noisy splashing, as if great schools of fish were jumping, or etc. Curiousity got the better of my inclination to remain reclined in the cozy cocoon of my sleeping bag, and I clambered out of bag and tent and went down to the beach, to find a large flock of Double-Crested Comorants (large, dark, diving, fish-eating birds) laying waste to a large school of Red-ear Sunfish (a small panfish). The Comorants, about two dozen, as best I could count the constantly moving/diving/surfacing flock, seemed to be routinely successful --- one would dive, briefly, and invariably surface with a captured fish in its long, pointy beak, then perform a sort of avian, hands-free, sword-swallowing/juggling act to get the fish properly oriented, head-first, for gulping down... This whole group performance involved much splashing of wings and etc., which created the racket arousing my initial interest...
The next unusual observation occurred in the same spot, last Saturday afternoon, but inaudibly ...
Taking a break from intense involvement in a Nelson DeMille thriller, and from sipping a margarita, from the comfort of my folding chaisse recliner, back in the shade of the jungle-like shoreside vegetation, I strolled out onto the alluvial fan of a huge, normally dry wash, or arroyo, which creates what passes, hereabouts, for a beach, and is, for any practical purpose. High above, a flock of Turkey Vultures, some of which were probably among those roosting near my campsite with much commotion while settling in for the night. They were riding the thermals, as they do, but at an unusual elevation, which is I guess what attracted my attention. Perusing the dozen or so birds, with their dihedral wing posture, one stood out as different, and on a closer look, revealed a bright white head and tail, unmistakeably a Bald Eagle. Not unheard of in the vicinity, but never noted to mimic Turkey Vultures, as do Zone-Tailed Hawks, although this is my second observation of the behavior...
There are likely to be pleasant and unusual surprises around every corner for the keen outdoor observer...
