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Very nice action shot, love the splash. I have seen a female , who had spent the day on the nest, leave when the male came to the nest in the evenings. She would fly to the shallow water on the edge of the river, take a bath and then find a stick and bring it back to the nest.
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You are right. This bird is in deep. Any idea as to the depth of the water? Love the sheet of water over the bird's near wing. Overall I think that this could go a bit lighter. Bad luck that the bird was facing a bit away from you.
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I do not know exactly the depth of the water but I would not be surprised that it'd be about 10 feet deep. Shot at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida.
Thanks for your comments!
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Publisher
You are welcome. They usually bathe in water where they can stand. Did you see it enter the water? Where were you standing? How far from the bird?
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Yes I did see it enter the pond : it actually dive in. I have other shots showing this. I was quite close to it : I just passed under the palm tree where it was standing and it just dive in front of me! Sometimes, they just wash their talons while flying, sometimes, they totally immerge themselves and just their head is out of the water. I have seen them doing thaht quite often.
Thanks for asking!
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I have photos of an osprey doing the same thing last year. The lake water was about 10 to 15 feet deep. It dove in and I thought it was fishing, but it started bathing.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Yves Guillot
Yes I did see it enter the pond : it actually dive in. I have other shots showing this. I was quite close to it : I just passed under the palm tree where it was standing and it just dive in front of me! Sometimes, they just wash their talons while flying, sometimes, they totally immerge themselves and just their head is out of the water. I have seen them doing thaht quite often.
Thanks for asking!
Thanks for the additional info. It would seem that you might have mis-judged the situation: the bird was not bathing--it was flapping after a missed strike at a fish.
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Your hypothesis is interesting but that was simply not the case : they are doing that many times a day (dive and flapping = bathing) and there are no fish whatsoever in that little pond.
Thank you for your interest in the scene!
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Publisher
Is there no shallow water around for them to bathe in? You said that the bath was "brief." In addition, the energy expenditure of a dive is great. Be right back.
From the Birds of North America species account: "Bathes in fresh of salt water, generally at shallow edges. Wades into water and ducks head and breast, vigorously beating wings; emerges and shakes plumage, then preens."
Also, "After diving for fish, emerges from water and shakes plumage vigorously by twisting body in flight, head to tail; distinctive behavior."
Hunting success rates vary from 25 to 75% on the first dive so what you are seeing would be commonplace. It would seem that there are fish in that pond....
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Great conversation here!
Maybe my use of the word «dive» is not not totally right or is confusing.
They do plunge into water but not from a great height. Even sometimes they begin by washing their talons and then complete their manoeuver by simply letting themselves splash into the water. When they do so, I have never ever witnessed them going out of the water with a fish. They go fishin in the Gulf which is just one hundred feet away from this artificial pond. Also, when they get out of the water they do «vigorously beat wings; emerge and shake plumage, then (sometimes) preen» and also «shake plumage vigorously by twisting body in flight, head to tail». (for which behavior I also have some shots.)
If there is fish in this artificial pond, it is only small baits for Pied-billed Grebe. That is why I keep thinking that it was bathing.
Thanks for your interest in this behavior (whatever it may be)!
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This is classic image.I like the interesting discussion.
Regards,
Satish.
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