Busy birds - belly full edition

Another great SMAP theme for the week: Busy birds!

I was wondering if I had photos around that would fit the theme, since my camera is really not that great for action photos; but ended up finding quite a few clicks of one of bird's favourite activities: feeding!

^{Turkey vulture - Cathartes aura}

Well, unfortunately, feeding time for vultures means bad news for another animal; but hey, it's nature, and these guys are amazingly important to the ecossystem! Here, we had to interrupt momentarily our trip, while mr. vulture was clearing the road of what was once an opossum.

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Little fishes are probably not that happy with these visitors, but there's no denying on how elegant are egrets on the hunt.

^{Little egret - Egretta garzetta}

I normally see them hunting in fresh water! Guess they were in need of salty food. 😁

Not that far from the egret, ruddy turnstones were busy as well. I din't see no stones turning, but they were trying!

^{Ruddy turnstone - Arenaria interpres}

It's funny how their name is in english; if I were to translate from the portuguese name, it literally means "sea dove". And yes, these are a common finding near salt water. Even in the urban beaches near my home, they're a very frequent presence, and not shy at all! They can let people get just a few meters close.

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This next beauty doesn't exist near home, but no arguing about her elegancy either.

^{Great blue heron - Ardea herodias}

She's huge! At first I though I was seeing a grey heron (Ardea cinerea), but this one seems definitely bigger. Still, from what I've research, there's certainly a margin for error, and this was the only decent photo I took. In my defense, I was in a catamaran ride, having fun in Cuba, not not exactly in hardcore birding!

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Let's wrap it up with the little guys! The tiniest of the post, but as busy as the rest of the bunch. And in their case, no other animals were harmed in the feeding process.

^{Scaly breasted munia - Lonchura punctulata}

I bet the farmers aren't thrilled with their visits, though. Munias are gregarious, which means there's usually a few of them together. And here in Ubud, in the rice fields, it wasn't an exception.

Happy birding everyone!

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