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If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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Posted by
riverspots 7 MD (
My Page) on
Thu, Jul 16, 09 at 12:59
| My 600 gallon pond sits in L of my house. Other than an occasional garter snake, I thought I was predator free. Herons and osprey fly over head but do their fishing from larger ponds or the river nearby. But today, I saw something I would never have believed. I was looking at a 1 inch goldfish fry (comet/shubunkin mutt) that was beginning to show a red and white pattern through its speckles. As I watched the fry dart from lily pad to lily pad, a robin (you know-the red-breasted harbinger of spring) made a low pass and snatched that fry on a fast fly-by.
I think it was an opportunistic grab as I hadn't seen the robin sitting nearby, scoping out the pond. But it seemed quite certain that the detour over the pond would be worth the trip. It hasn't rained here for a couple of weeks and the ground is hard. Earthworm pickings are probably quite slim and I'm sure it's hungry or needs the food for chicks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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- Posted by horton 6 b Ontario. (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 16, 09 at 13:40
Riverspots, there you go!
These sort of things, that people say, "just don't happen", keep on being witnessed and reported by people on this forum. The old expression. "Any port in a storm," rings true in this case.
Can't find a worm for the kids, I'll snatch a little fish! "Horton" |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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| Wow Riverspots, that's amazing! |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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| Ok, let me ask you this... did the fish have a worm in it's mouth? I had better get out there and start sprinkling some feeder worms around the garden. |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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| I did, of course, search the internet for similar sightings. Apparently, robins have been (rarely) seen wading knee deep to catch small fish. And may catch insects while flying. My robin has just combined the two hunting techniques. |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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It was a kingfisher in costume as a robin. Either that or the eggs were switched in the nest.
Mike |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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| When you reflect on the gargantuan mouths on those baby robins it is not strange at all that the parents, driven mad with the demands of their young, become fishermen. |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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- Posted by horton 6 b Ontario. (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 17, 09 at 7:00
| "Ok, let me ask you this... did the fish have a worm in it's mouth?" bluesunflower, that WAS funny! LOL "Horton" |
RE: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...
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| That is an intersting observation. Perhaps the bird was getting a drink and the fry jumped in his mouth? lol Regards,
Lisa |
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