The Backyard Science group regularly features the Daily Bucket . Anyone can note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds, flowers and anything natural or unusual are worthy additions to the Bucket and its comments. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are unwinding around us.
Many people who closely observe critters attribute human characteristics to their favorite animals. Well, at least I do. Continue reading below the stylized goldfish outline for a description of just how wrong I was.
I've harbored pet store goldfish in backyard ponds for about 25 years now. Every suburban animal predator, from raccoon to snake to frog to heron to pootie to skunk, have preyed on my goldfish.
Sometimes, I imagine, some of the fish are wilier and quicker than the others. They evade predation for year after year, and grow 6-7 inches long, from their modest 1/2 inch beginnings.
Some of the fish are better at hiding, I thought, and recognize approaching enemies just a little faster than the others. And just about the time I've seen them enough to recognize and grow fond of them, they disappear.
Several studies claim that goldfish are visually acute and can identify the human that feeds them. They will swarm the water when the "feeder" approaches, and ignore an unknown human.
I thought I've observed that kind of learned behavior. However, today convinced me otherwise. I now conclude that goldfish have the brain power and deductive reasoning of a piece of floating bark.
I've currently maintained, for the last 10 years, about 250 square feet of water surface in two small backyard ponds. After bitter experience, I designed the ponds to protect the fish. The pond sides are abrupt, and there are bottom features where the fish can hide. One pond is almost 4 feet deep, the other is about 2 feet.
To my delight, 1 or 2 herons have stopped by periodically, for the last eight years, to eat goldfish. To circumvent my deep ponds, sometimes the heron will belly-flop into the water to nail a fish.
By my count, the gold (or even white) fish disappear the quickest, because of their visibility.
The heron has visited at least 4 times this year, most recently yesterday. They are stealthy, perching on the roof until they spot a fish, then quietly gliding down to pond side. I often wonder how I could not notice a 3 foot high bird with a 6 foot wingspan landing outside, just a couple dozen feet away from where I'm working inside. It happens again and again.
They typically eat fish from the ponds for an hour or more if we do not spook them. If the heron spy people in the house, they squawk angrily and fly away with mammoth powerful pterodactyl-like wing strokes.
If undisturbed, they catch a fish every 10 minutes or so, sometimes taking much longer. I foolishly imagined the fish wised up and took shelter after the heron caught a couple of them. I mean the water splashes, a foot-long heron dagger beak spears the fish nest to you, blood and scales fly, wouldn't you take flight?
Yesterday, just before noon, I spied a heron fishing in my narrow (30 x 5) by 4 foot deep pond. I immediately started going around the house on my hands and knees so the heron wouldn't see me, and unplugged the camera battery from the wall socket, reached onto the table top with one hand to grab the camera, and plotted how to document this visit.
I crept from window to window, popping up for a quick shot. Finally from the second story, I got a good look at the action. At one end of the pond, the heron was gulping down a fish.
When the heron spotted me, it backed off a few paces. I looked down at the pond, and just a few feet away from where the heron was feeding, were the goldfish fleeing in a frenzy, all hands to battle stations, dive dive dive?
Nope. They were lolling around on the water's surface, basking in the Spring sun, easy pickings for the experienced heron. Hide, you dumb !@@##%@!!!
I attribute human traits once again, and imagine the heron thinking "This is too good to be true! Time to feast!"
For comparison, here is a picture from last summer. Note there are a couple of gold colored fish in the older picture, compared to zero gold colored fish now.
Oh Well. In the great cycle of life, bet on the heron over the goldfish.
Now it's your turn, if you choose to share an aspect of the world around you, in a comment.
I'll be in and out all day to respond to comments.
"Green Diary Rescue" is Back!
After a hiatus of over 1 1/2 years, Meteor Blades has revived his excellent series. As MB explained, this weekly diary is a "round-up with excerpts and links... of the hard work so many Kossacks put into bringing matters of environmental concern to the community... I'll be starting out with some commentary of my own on an issue related to the environment, a word I take in its broadest meaning."
"Green Diary Rescue" will be posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
1:51 PM PT: 1:49 PST