Sunday, March 25, 2007

What Is Going On Here?

So I'm minding my own business, attempting to get some pictures of the Sandhill Cranes and suddenly there are four kitty feet and a partial kitty tail at the top of the field of view. Wowie zowie, I better widen that out a little.
Does Kitty think he's really going to get anywhere with all those rather large birds?
All the cranes and geese are keeping an eye on Cat who is wearing a lovely green cat tag and collar. One gander in particular is heading towards the sitting goose. Cat has stopped stock still and seems to be staring towards the barn.
Cat now stares at the sitting goose.

(Pitiful isolation of Killdeer.) Follow the line of the field to the very edge, far left of the photo above. No really, it is there, honest. I didn't see him while I was watching the sequence live either.
Suddenly Cat goes into hunting mode, neck and head stretched forward, tail up, and rapidly heads into the field. The Gander next to the sitting goose is in hissing posture. I've been whacked by geese wings, and it's intense. I figure Cat has probably been thumped by geese himself as he lives on a farm so he is no longer interested in heading toward the goose. Unless it's some kind of ruse.

Cat turns quickly and looks left.
The Killdeer on the verge comes up and gets Cat's attention and distracts him from going whereever it was he was going in such a hurry. Hard to see, but the Killdeer is right where the cat is looking, on the edge of the cornfield. Follow the second board on the left of the doorway of the building down to the field. He's there.
All the birds watch Cat as he abruptly switches direction and heads off right fast.
See the Killdeer on the verge between corn field and grass to the left of the cat. It's near the edge of the photo. Why did Cat change direction and why does the Killdeer look like he's chasing him and the cat is allowing itself to be chased. I haven't found it in the photographs but I saw another Killdeer who was in a freeze between two
corn stalks just a foot and a half from Cat's current position.
Then...my battery went dead. Notice the sentinal cranes are watching and the two others have gone back to foraging. Why is Cat just sauntering up the hill how. What happened to the other Geese? The second Killdeer?
In fact what happened here at all? The discovery in the photographs of the Killdeer helps some but still...
Donegal Browne

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just playing, ma. Had breakfast already, but those plump things moving about so temptingly...