The Dual

It seems like I spent most of the first 52 years of my life being in a hurry. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing at certain stages in life ... but the downside is that you miss so much when you are always rushing to get the the next thing. In 2008, life put the brakes on me in the form of a brain tumor. Yes, nothing like having a hole cut in your head to slow you down a bit... As many of you know, that was the event in my life that brought me back to photography. And it has taught me the rewards of slowing down and really enjoying the moments in my life.

Which leads me to today's blip... I made a quick trip to Redington Beach again this morning. Very few people and lots of birds - perfect! The first thing I saw was two American oystercatchers roosting on the beach. Have I mentioned that I just love those birds with their bright red beaks and matching eyeliner?

After spending a bit of time with them, I moved further down the beach to watch a group of cormorants who were hanging out on some pilings and ropes in the water. I just sat on the sand and waited for things to unfold. And very soon, I witnessed a pretty cool interaction between these two cormorants. The bird on the left started heckling the one on the right and the two made their way up the rope, shuffling and flapping wings. Eventually, they started dualing with their beaks, something I've not ever seen before.

I got a pretty cool series of shots but this is the shot I liked the best because I think it really conveys the sense of aggression between the two. The footnote is that the bird on the left won the day and also the coveted perch on the piling.

I also watched a group of little sanderlings dashing up and down the beach, as they do. What I also saw, which I've not seen before, is when they stop dashing and just lay right now on the beach for a rest. I was so busy watching some pelicans fishing over the ocean that I didn't even realize that about 12 sanderlings had settled around where I was sitting, all snoozing.

So, several cool Little Moments today...and if you'd like to see more of the cormorant dual, as well as some sanderlings and an oystercatcher, I've posted 7 photos on Flickr, starting HERE.

I am looking forward to having a visit with CreativeCarol and her granddaughter Moira later this afternoon. Carol has a bumper crop of Meyer Lemons and she offered to drop some by. I love those lemons, so I leapt at the chance to get my hands on some...not to mention that spending time with Carol and Moira is a delight.

Happy Hump Day, people! And thank you very much for sending yesterday's Osprey on the Warning Sign to the spotlight page - lovely!

Debbi