Ectoparasites, or Animals doing undignified things

Humans are lucky in that we are mostly parasite free. If we do happen to get infested with tiny insect fascists, we can simply pick them out with tweezers, wash them out with shampoo, or defeat them with the help of the Russians.

Animals are not quite as nimble when it comes to eliminating political parties, but they do have a few tricks to deal with skin parasites. Basically, they keep themselves clean with nature's hairbrush: their mouths.

And sometimes they have to use nature's face-scratcher...


...and then we can laugh at them.


Seriously though, grooming is a big deal for birds and mammals, and I'm hoping to eventually do a more detailed post about parasites, grooming, and all the things birds learn about in the middle school locker room.

Stumpy

Sometimes you can get to know individual birds at the lake because of something distinctive about them. A lot of times it's an injury, like a missing toe. Several times in April, I spotted Stumpy the snowy egret, who is missing 3 out of 4 toes on the right foot.

Missing toes might be a big deal for a snowy egret, because they use their bright yellow feet to churn up the mud as they walk, scaring snacks out of hiding and into their waiting beaks. But I saw Stumpy foraging in the shallows and the stump seemed to work just fine as a churning device, and the remaining toe seems to be enough for balance.

There's also Stumpy the Night Heron, who's just missing the tip of one toe on the left foot. Kind of hard to see in the photo but enough to make this bird uniquely identifiable.


Having seen the way these guys fight, I wouldn't be surprised if a nasty peck from a rival caused this injury.

Spring Part 2: Pride of Madeira, M'dear

Purple Anenomes are blooming in the park now.


















So is Redbud...




And Pride of Madeira is verrry popular with the ladies... lady hummingbirds that is!













I don't know why Blogger keeps rotating this picture.













Horned Grebes are showing their horns (those weird orange things behind the eye):













And Snowy Egrets are getting a bit tufty!