“It’s an amazing thing to watch a lizard fold a moth into its mouth, like a sword swallower who specializes in umbrellas. ”
Elizabeth McCracken, American author
It was time for the annual cleaning of the bunny pavilion. Years back, Sam made a sturdy structure with strong posts and a metal roof. Three sides exposed to the elements are covered with heavy shower curtain liners. Inside the pavilion are the cages, and inside the cages are the bunny hutches. At least annually the bunny pavilion gets a good all-over cleaning, and now was the time.
As I dragged the water hose from the well house, Harry, the cat, pounced on a lizard. The lizard thought he was sufficiently camouflaged against the well house’s wood siding. He was not.
Harry, quick as lightening, snatched at the lizard when something fell to the ground and started wiggling. I thought, oh my gosh, it’s a baby lizard with no legs.
Harry paid absolutely no attention to the wiggling baby on the ground but continued pursuit.
With my good eye, I inspected the wiggler closer and saw it was no baby at all, but about two inches of lizard’s tail. That’s when I remembered the lizard has a survival mechanism that allows the tail to break off, thus saving the lizard.
Harry did not fall for the wiggling tail trick as I did; apparently this wasn’t Harry’s first rodeo.
The bunnies tolerate the cleaning fairly well, even though a little overspray dusts them with water. The bunnies seem almost appreciative and when everything is restored, they sit on top of their clean hutches and groom themselves. The curtains are pulled back, allowing for airflow and sunshine and welcoming the advent of summer.
While cleaning I took time to watch a shorebird stalking along the bank of the little pond. He was backed by an array of swamp irises, thick, but no longer in bloom. At first, I thought it a green heron, as we sometimes have those, but this bird didn’t look exactly the same. The easiest way to identify a bird is to photograph it and then look it up. This bird did not seem annoyed or even aware of my presence, or Harry’s for that matter.
I excused myself from cleaning and fetched Sam’s high-powered camera and took a succession of photographs, including two with a fish in the bird’s long, spear-like beak. Based on pictures, habitat and geographical location I believe the bird to be a little blue heron. The information stated that the little blue heron finds our area a hospitable summer breeding ground. Except for coloration, the little blue heron looks much like our common cattle egret.
And lastly, there was the poor little prothonotary warbler couple. They vigorously built a truly exquisite nest in the vase on the porch table. I noticed Harry took particular interest, viewing from both inside and outside the house. The only humane thing to do was to remove the vase so the couple could locate another abode before the eggs were laid and disaster imminent.
Shannon Bardwell writes a weekly column for The Dispatch. Email reaches her at [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.