R.Egret w/ fishing hook??

Gallery: Man & FaunaPosted May 19, 20171,728 views3 comments

I debated posting this one, especially after Sandy's lovely finch shot. It was painful to see and is still painful for me to look at now, although the bird seemed to be fishing just fine and was able to fly just fine. I have called the number on the gadget on the bird's back but have not connected yet. Can someone tell me what this gadget is? I am curious as it has a phone number and seems to have a name on it. I am assuming it has to do with fishing but was not aware that fisherman would put identifying information on their gear. I am not posting this to point fingers at all, so don't please call the person. It is an intersection that will happen between man and the animal world. ( I edited this just this morning as I did not want my intention on this to be misunderstood)

Taken at Bunche Beach outside of Fort Myers. D800, 300 mm with TC(effective 420 mm), f8, 1/1600 sec. Hand held.

Comments and critiques always welcome from this fine group.

Regards to all

Kathy Snead

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on May 20, 2017 at 10:36 PM

Kathy, with a name and a number to call, my guess is that what you're seeing is a radio tracking device for a bird study, where the thing sticking up is the antennae. Devices like these broadcast the bird's location (and possibly activity level) at fixed intervals so wildlife researchers can understand what habitat is critical to the bird's survival. The pose is quite striking with the raised wing and the neck feathers showing their colors well.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Snead on May 21, 2017 at 10:08 AM

Mark
Thank you for the reply and explanation. I have seen bands on birds and transmitting collars on the larger mammals but have never seen something like this. I feel better about that bird now, although it still looks painful. I have some other pictures of this bird where the device either doesn't show as well or what does show can be cloned out and I now feel better about doing that.

He he was quite a little show off, as in the case of most Reddish Egrets. They are by far my favorite wading bird.

Best
Kathy

Registered on April 6, 2017, 104 Posts, 397 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on May 27, 2017 at 2:20 PM

Nice catch! Congrats on the WP!
There are tiny tracking devices made for almost every type of critter, and they provide invaluable data without harming the bird or animal. The tiniest songbird or largest mammal can be tagged and tracked.
Example here, if anyone is interested: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/tracking-tiny-birds-using-tiny-gps-backpacks

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments