For most hunters, it’s only natural for us to associate the phrase “man’s best hunting companion” to one of the many breeds of hunting canine, but there’s a small group of hunters whose colleague in the field is valued for their keen eye, swift maneuvers, and sharp talons instead of their sense of smell. These are falconers.
If there is one bird that is the personification of stealth and patience, it is the Great Blue Heron. These large, tall birds stalk shallow ponds, lakes and waterways in search of a wide variety of fish and amphibians as their next meal. It is not uncommon for them to stand motionless for many minutes at a time, just waiting for their prey to get within striking range.
The Gulf was on one side, beautiful oak trees and the Waffle houses were on the other side, and the miles passed by most pleasantly. We came to a sign welcoming us to Louisiana, and the vibe changed immediately. Salt marshes extended off to the south. The fisherman in me started drooling, something that wouldn't stop until we left the state.
“Something keeps nibbling,” he said. “I can barely feel it, but it keeps taking my shrimp. It must be really tiny.”
“It may be much bigger than you think,” I replied. With the tide falling hard, small crabs drifted along with the flow. I scooped several with a net.
“Try this,” I suggested, hooking a crab about the size of a quarter on a jighead. “Don’t cast it. Just flip it a few feet upstream and let the tide push it back under the dock. Keep it next to the pilings. When you feel a little weight, set the hook.”
Woodpeckers are common birds that inhabit most of North America. Downy and hairy woodpeckers are some of the most common, but there are also red-headed woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, northern flickers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and several others.
The westernmost portion of Gulf Islands National Seashore lies in the city limits of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The National Park Service runs a campground at this location, and Susan and I found ourselves surrounded by RVs after we pulled the Sienna into our site.
The unique thing about saltwater fishing is that there are a multitude of baitfish available for predatory fish to feed on. Finger mullet, pinfish, pigfish, croakers, pilchards, and menhaden are frequently on the menu. If it swims in saltwater, it lives a life of fear from being devoured by bigger fish!
Most fishermen around here have caught their fair share of sunfish. Although there are many species of sunfish, some anglers never learn the differences. That’s a shame, because different species of sunfish have their own distinctive color patterns and their own fascinating behaviors. Green sunfish are one of the more interesting sunfish.
Florida can boast of a river that behaves in a most unusual fashion. The Santa Fe River starts at Santa Fe Lake, flows towards the Gulf of Mexico for a while, and then disappears into a large sinkhole at a place called River Sink. Suddenly it's gone!
In the spring, crappie spawn in great numbers around shallow structures such as standing timber, logs or stumps. When crappie congregate in small places, anglers can enjoy a fun day fighting them one on one.
Everyone is familiar with honey bees, right? They make honey! And who doesn’t love honey? Actually, honey is just one of the substances produced by honey bees. They also produce beeswax, bee bread (eaten by young worker bees) and royal jelly (for the queen bee). Typically, though, just the honey and beeswax is harvested from honey bees by humans.
When my high school friends and I were high from beer, pot, or both, one of the topics of conversation was, "If you only had a year left to live, what would you do?" When you're 17 or 18, that topic seems very remote. In May 2019 (long past 18 years old) I was diagnosed with an incurable lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis. Didn't like hearing this, but didn't expect to live forever, either. Susan (best friend and spouse) and I bought tickets to fly to Europe. BAM! Pandemic hits! No Europe until who knows when.
