Great Blue Heron

Thanks for the ID help. Annorion.

Ashish, That is sad to hear about the lack of support for wildlife and 15 years of pollution. I guess I won't be visiting India for tourism any time soon.

Are there efforts to clean up the coastal waters, or the Oil Tanker accident? Government, Universities, Wildlife groups, students, citizens? We sometimes curse them and talk bad about regulatory agencies here in the US, but they do a decent job trying to keep humans from destroying everything around us.

Ashish, that is terrible if the seabirds are declining there in Mumbai. Could it have been the time of day or weather or migratory season perhaps? Today our weather has been horribly rainy, so I am not sure if I would have seen anything today, if I had gone out.

Ashish, Great, we shall compare similarities and differences of water birds from India and Destin, Florida, USA and other areas I visit along the coast. It shall be a great discussion. You have great questions and comments.

Ashish, these are not large "line nets" but smaller nets that are cast or are on a stick. The nets are cast or dipped, then pulled up quickly. Our regulatory agencies at the state and federal levels are very strict about the numbers and species of fish caught by recreational and professional fishermen. The captains and first mates who run the charters are pretty good about doing the right thing, as far as I can tell. Their livelihood depends on the species surviving and thriving too, so there is an economic incentive to not over-fish or fish the juvenile populations. These birds are definitely predators, but they are also opportunistic. The spots on The Point are good vantage points for the birds. Some spots along The Point are better than others and the birds compete for who gets the best fishing grounds. The tip of The Point gets a swirl of water that crashes with waves but also traps some waters with the current and tides, so some fish are also pushed into the shallower waters by natural forces as well as left-over bits will wash ashore too. They will watch for "wounded" fish wounded or stunned by trolling lines or the bits washed up from the dolphins, big fish, and sharks who bite a few in half, leaving the other half to wash to shore. If you get a chance, look at the map above and zoom way in. You will notice a light spot on both the northern and southern edges of the East Pass. There are spots that are shallow enough to sit down and there are areas so deep large vessels go under the bridge. It's not that wide but most of the tides go through it twice daily. That is a lot of water movement (and fish with it) for a small space. The birds take advantage of it.

I did not see this one catch a meal. But it seemed to be a prized spot. He was the biggest bird on "The Point."