A Better Look At The Kingfisher’s Loach
This is a look at the weather loach (fish) not seen in my previous posts of this bird.
Tag: weather loach
“My” Female Kingfisher Came Back Yesterday
I’ve been looking for her most days this week but she seems to have certain requirements before she’ll show up.
Surprisingly, Lesser Scaups May Be Eating Invasive Weather Loaches Too
It seems that the invasive Weather Loach is becoming a significant food source for many of the birds in northern Utah.
Belted Kingfisher Stunning, Tossing And Swallowing Prey
A few days ago this female kingfisher landed close to me with a meal so I was able to document the gritty details of the demise of the fish.
Belted Kingfisher With A Fish (plus an interesting foot adaptation)
I was hoping this female Belted Kingfisher would catch a fish and eat it close enough to me for good photos. She did not disappoint.
Several Birds Of Two Species Battling Over A Fish
This fish must have been an epicurean delight because there sure were a lot of birds fighting over it for a long time.
Pied-billed Grebe Beating Up On A Fish
Pied-billed Grebe Making Its Escape With A Fish
Pied-billed Grebes are highly deserving of the “klepto” part of the term kleptoparasitism, especially among their own species. They’re an aggressive and threatening bird, chasing and attacking members of their own species and other birds too.
Pied-billed Grebes Frantically Protecting Their Fish
Yesterday morning the normally placid Farmington Bay Pied-billed Grebes were in a feeding frenzy and I had a wonderful time photographing the action.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Pied-billed Grebe Feeding Behavior And An Invasive Species
Yesterday morning the Pied-billed Grebes at Farmington were having a bit of a feeding frenzy and I was able to capture several instances of interesting feeding behavior.
A Greater Yellowlegs And Its Weather Loach Prey
Yesterday morning we encountered several cooperative Greater Yellowlegs at Farmington Bay and this one found a rather unusual prey item.
Weather Loach in Utah – Another Invasive Species
On December 12, 2007 I photographed this Common Goldeneye with a fish at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area. At the time I didn’t pay much attention to what kind of fish it might be and then just kind of forgot about it. Male Common Goldeneye with unidentified (at the time) fish The moment of capture Then, on October 2, 2008, I took some photos of a Snowy Egret fishing, also at Farmington. Finally, I became curious about the unusual fish – noticing the atypical elongated almost eel-like body in particular. I made some casual inquiries of refuge personnel about fish species present there but didn’t get anything definitive that would match this fish. More time went by, then I finally showed Justina Parsons-Bernstein some of the photos and asked her about the fish. She is the Director of The Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay WMA and she was also curious as to what species of fish it was so she sent some of my images to a vertebrate specialist with the state of Utah. He keyed it out as a Weather Loach. It turns out that the Weather Loach or Dojo Loach as it is also known (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is quite a remarkable fish. The name Weather Loach comes from the fact that it is highly sensitive to minor changes in barometric pressure and when it perceives such a change its behaviour becomes erratic, active and animated. Humans have kept them captive as a weather indicator for centuries. They are a very hardy species, capable of surviving poor conditions by swallowing atmospheric…
-
“My” Female Kingfisher Came Back Yesterday
I’ve been looking for her most days this week but she seems to have certain requirements before she’ll show up.
Surprisingly, Lesser Scaups May Be Eating Invasive Weather Loaches Too
It seems that the invasive Weather Loach is becoming a significant food source for many of the birds in northern Utah.
Belted Kingfisher Stunning, Tossing And Swallowing Prey
A few days ago this female kingfisher landed close to me with a meal so I was able to document the gritty details of the demise of the fish.
Belted Kingfisher With A Fish (plus an interesting foot adaptation)
I was hoping this female Belted Kingfisher would catch a fish and eat it close enough to me for good photos. She did not disappoint.
Several Birds Of Two Species Battling Over A Fish
This fish must have been an epicurean delight because there sure were a lot of birds fighting over it for a long time.
Pied-billed Grebe Beating Up On A Fish
Pied-billed Grebe Making Its Escape With A Fish
Pied-billed Grebes are highly deserving of the “klepto” part of the term kleptoparasitism, especially among their own species. They’re an aggressive and threatening bird, chasing and attacking members of their own species and other birds too.
Pied-billed Grebes Frantically Protecting Their Fish
Yesterday morning the normally placid Farmington Bay Pied-billed Grebes were in a feeding frenzy and I had a wonderful time photographing the action.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Pied-billed Grebe Feeding Behavior And An Invasive Species
Yesterday morning the Pied-billed Grebes at Farmington were having a bit of a feeding frenzy and I was able to capture several instances of interesting feeding behavior.
A Greater Yellowlegs And Its Weather Loach Prey
Yesterday morning we encountered several cooperative Greater Yellowlegs at Farmington Bay and this one found a rather unusual prey item.
Weather Loach in Utah – Another Invasive Species
On December 12, 2007 I photographed this Common Goldeneye with a fish at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area. At the time I didn’t pay much attention to what kind of fish it might be and then just kind of forgot about it. Male Common Goldeneye with unidentified (at the time) fish The moment of capture Then, on October 2, 2008, I took some photos of a Snowy Egret fishing, also at Farmington. Finally, I became curious about the unusual fish – noticing the atypical elongated almost eel-like body in particular. I made some casual inquiries of refuge personnel about fish species present there but didn’t get anything definitive that would match this fish. More time went by, then I finally showed Justina Parsons-Bernstein some of the photos and asked her about the fish. She is the Director of The Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay WMA and she was also curious as to what species of fish it was so she sent some of my images to a vertebrate specialist with the state of Utah. He keyed it out as a Weather Loach. It turns out that the Weather Loach or Dojo Loach as it is also known (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is quite a remarkable fish. The name Weather Loach comes from the fact that it is highly sensitive to minor changes in barometric pressure and when it perceives such a change its behaviour becomes erratic, active and animated. Humans have kept them captive as a weather indicator for centuries. They are a very hardy species, capable of surviving poor conditions by swallowing atmospheric…