Bad Day to be a Crab…by Brad Marks

Well, when I said in a previous post I was going to take a “break” I had no idea that was going to turn out to be literally. Some would say I might have jinxed myself, others might look at my recent history and invested in the predictive market. As a guiding rule, I prefer to focus on rehabing one injury at a time – stay focused, put the effort in, get past it and prioritize whatever is left. I was having issues with a joint in one of my fingers prior to retiring with a nod to typing being a major component of my career for all 31+ years. I exited the grind, it seemed to get better, started hurting again and then broke my elbow – new priority. Continued to hurt, then broke my ankle – new priority. Having been cleared of that latest injury, went back to my elbow surgeon to FINALLY deal with the finger. Words you do not want to hear when the doctor pulls up your xray – “Whoa, that joint isn’t just damaged, it’s obliterated!” Optimistic day, meet Craptastic day. Looking at joint replacement or joint fusion – for certain, my guitar days are officially over. Got a shot in the joint to relieve some of the pain until I make a decision. As a result, my break may extend longer than originally intended – at least until I can hit the E-C-D keys again. Worry not, for Brad has a number of great posts from their jet-setting adventures already in the queue to entertain you!

Take it away Brad…

One day during our Australian photo assignment, Jan and I went different directions.  The tour group’s activity for the day was to go to the Great Barrier Reef, something I’ve always wanted to see.  That is, until the wave conditions on the day were expected to be between 1-2 meters high (3-6 feet).  Gads!  Intrigued readers know of my fondness for small boats in rough seas . . . NOT! (see here)  I made the choice that day to keep my feet firmly planted on land.  Jan, who’s afraid of nothing (learned to ski Double Black Diamond runs when she was about five) went on the boat ride to Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef.  She did tell me later that several people succumbed to motion sickness on the rough 45-minute transit to and from Green Island and that I would NOT have had a good time on the boat.

Once the tour bus took the rest of our group to the boat headed for Green Island, I grabbed my Aussie hat and went outside to see what the tidal flats of Cairns (pronounced “cans”) were offering that day.  After an hour of photographing shore birds and wading birds in the tropical sun, something caught my eye in the trees to the right.

That’s NOT a wading bird!!! Hit the jump to read more about this fishing royalty!

Swallows had been flying all over the mud flats that day, and we all know how hard they are to catch cleanly in a photograph.  This bird in today’s story wasn’t flitting about like the swallows.  It seemed to be on a mission, flying from the trees, straight to the mud flats and back again.  I didn’t see it happen all the time, so I could never really focus my eyes to track it.  Except for this one time.  I was able to catch the feathered missile flying from the trees, buzz the mud flat, make a sharp U-turn and head right back to the trees and land on an exposed branch.  This was too tempting to leave alone.  Keeping my eye glued to its location in the tree, I started walking into the shade, being mindful of my surroundings and other people.  This bird didn’t leave the tree, but seemed to be hopping around on the branch.

As I approached the tree and looked up, I could still easily see the bird, but it was nearly a complete silhouette.  It had something in its rather long bill, but I couldn’t quite see what the bird was having for breakfast.  There were very bright patches of the sky behind the bird, and very dark leafy areas all around it.  One of my worst photographic scenarios, a completely backlit subject surrounded by shadows.  I think I tried to stop down the lens a bit, but left the ISO where it was and began firing away to see what I could catch.  Hopefully, digital processing later would reveal more details. 

This is a Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus), definitely a +1 for us.  I’m presuming the poor crab was one of the thousands of fiddler crabs I had seen earlier wandering all over the tidal flat.

With a bit of teasing in Lightroom (Wildlife Intrigued does not get any endorsements from Adobe, but if anyone from Adobe is reading this, please contact our Legal team for endorsements) I was able to “fix” the photos enough to be able to identify the bird.  With a little more fiddling in LR, I was able to make them presentable enough to use for this story.

I’m not really sure what the kingfisher is doing now.  Maybe looking for competitors trying to steal its lunch, er, breakfast?  It surely can’t be trying to get the crab to go down peacefully.  Through the progression of photos, I could see the crab’s legs still moving.  It was probably hoping for a last-minute crabtastic escape.

Keen readers may notice a resemblance to another bird in Australia with a very large bill, the Kookaburra.  Kingfishers are related to the Kookaburra, or vice versa.  Kingfishers, in general, have a rather sleek body compared to the Kookaburra’s blocky stature.

Sacred Kingfishers can be found all over Australia, New Zealand, and islands up to the Equator and as far west as Jakarta.  They do tend to migrate to slightly warmer temperatures (north in this case) during colder months, which is precisely where and when I spotted this one.  Kingfishers are mostly solitary during the year, pairing up only for mating season (September to December).  A pair of Sacred Kingfishers will normally raise two clutches of 3-7 eggs each during a single breeding season.  Both participate in excavating the nest, incubating the eggs (about 17 days) and caring for the young.  Adult kingfishers will eat nearly anything they can catch and carry in their large bills.  Their diet consists of small crustaceans, reptiles, insects and sometimes fish.  Lifespan estimates vary from 10-15 years in the wild. 

Today’s Sacred Kingfisher let me get about 55 photos in the tin before it lost patience with its still wriggling meal and flew away.  At this point, I realized the impromptu photo shoot had ended.  Dang it!  I wasn’t sure any of the photos would turn out, and would probably not get another chance to take photos again.  Nor was I able to photograph the crab being swallowed.  Holding a large camera and lens nearly straight up begins to wear on a body.  I was beginning to get kingfisher neck, which is very similar to warbler neck from the Northern Hemisphere.  I felt lucky to have found this snacking Sacred Kingfisher amongst the leaves and hoped I was able to have capture some nifty photos.

Thank you for reading.  If you want to see more Sacred Kingfisher photos, please visit here. 

Credits:

Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing.