Blogging at the Holler’s for the Birds!

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life


I was sitting at my desk, just getting ready to post on birds of the far southern hemisphere, when I looked up and there walked Big-Bob! (All new critters at The Holler get names.) So instead of birds from the far south, you’re gonna get critter action from the Holler’s wild-west.

Of course Big-Bob, a great egret, doesn’t belong here. He belongs at the lake, but this is one of the many things I love about birds, they don’t follow human directions, and they pay no attention to where ornithologists say they should be.

Anyhoo, I grabbed my camera and followed Big-Bob. He was on a mission and unfortunately lizards were on the menu. Meet Fred.

Fred knows us. He is a very large, very old alligator lizard, but he got much smaller when Meep-Meep, the roadrunner, relieved him of his tail, which he is diligently trying to grow back, and resting a lot accordingly. He is also molting which makes everything worse, poor Fred.

Fred is now understandably wary of all large birds. He took one look at Big-Bob and bolted to safety. It was a good day for Fred and Big-Bob, but a not a good day at all for poor Little Lizzy!

You may see Flash the hummer in this photo flying close to observe the predator-prey interaction. Flash lives with us year round and some of you may remember Flash. I have lots of talks with him about staying away from large predator birds like Meep-meep and Big-Bob who like to eat hummers, but as I mentioned before, birds don’t listen to humans, so you can see Flash buzzing Big-Bob like nobody’s business.

So, instead of cheers to you from the birds of the far south,

it’s cheers to you from the hungry Holler’s wild-west-critters~

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268 thoughts on “Blogging at the Holler’s for the Birds!”

    1. He is the biggest alligator lizard I have ever seen. He never lost his tail. When I first saw him I wasn’t sure what he was and I grew up with alligator lizards. He is really not feeling well poor guy and I feel sorry for him too, but he seems to be recovering.

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  6. What an exciting adventure for Big-Bob. But I’m aFred it’s a bad day for Little Lizzy though. Anyway, I think Big-Bob has no egret about it. ヾ(*Őฺ∀Őฺ*)ﾉ

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  9. These are animals we don’t see in our part of the country, so it’s fascinating – exotic – wonderful to see these birds and other creatures. Sorry about the one who got eaten, but egrets have to eat too.

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    1. I loved lizards when I was a little kid until an alligator lizard bit down on my index finger and wouldn’t let go. I ran all the way home with it hanging from my finger. My mother went through all sorts of contortions to get it off. They have a hook on their palate and when they bite down they lock. Now I like them again, but I am not quite dumb enough (yet) to stick my finger in front of one!

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        1. My mother is a cool character to this day. First she used popsicle sticks and when they broke, spoons. It did freak me out though. I wanted it off! But years later, I helped my son and his friends catch alligator lizards so we could raise them for awhile. I didn’t put my fingers or theirs, in reach of the jaws though….

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    1. The saddest thing about Fred it that he is rare because he is old and he never lost his tail. He was huge and at first scary until I figured him out. Now he is a bit stumpy and under the weather, but I see him around and I think he will make it, as long as Meep-Meep minds her manners!

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    1. This is the second time at The Holler that I have looked out the window and seen a huge bird that doesn’t belong here. The last time it was a great blue heron and my first thought when I saw it was, “there’s a dinosaur at my door! Laughing…..I love having them here.

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  15. Amazing 🙂
    Fancy having wildlife (literally) on your doorstep. They must feel very safe and secure in getting so close to you. Took me a while to see the little Hummer in the 6th image – they are so tiny.

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    1. The hummers are so tiny and great egrets are so big! The hummers are just ridiculously bold. They always buzz close to look at predators, including praying mantis which like to eat them.

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    1. Thank you! Big-Bob has quite the neck and the beak doesn’t he. He can sink his head way under water and stab a fish with his army combat knife beak! I am impressed. I hear if you annoy them, they aim for the eyes, so I have no intention of annoying him.

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  17. Cool as a cucumber… just sauntering by. 😉 I love the green tones around Big-Bob’s eye. What amazing wildlife you have there at the Holler. Lucky you (and us)!

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          1. The other day I saw a whole story on my hike. Chipmunk, mouse, then weasel searching the stone wall for the same. Even a fisher cat (larger weasel) hunting porcupine. Deer, rabbit, squirrel always. Opossum in the back yard checking below the feeders. Snow makes tracking so easy. Hope you make it out here some day- you’re always welcome!

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    1. Flash is ridiculously brave and very fast. He is dominating the feeder again as the first new spring arrivals are starting to trickle in….I’ll have to set up a distant feeder he can’t dominate soon.

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  22. Big Bob would love it here…we have lizards everywhere although our biggest one Big Daddy may well give him a run for his money…Great pictures Cindy 🙂 x

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  24. I once saw a great blue heron hunting rodents in the same way that Bob was hunting lizards. I’d never heard of a heron or egret stalking prey on land before, so I asked my boss (who was a naturalist) if the heron was “alright.” Putting too much faith in textbooks can make one ignorant!

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    1. Well, don’t feel bad, a Great Blue Heron showed up here about five years ago, and stayed for days. I was so worried about it because I had no way to give it water, although I tried everything, and was sure it needed it. I called animal rescue and had it “rescued,” and right before the rescue people showed up, it caught about three lizards in a row. It was a smart bird, came to The Holler on vacation to get away from all that dreary water, and eat something besides fish for a change! I was the one that was sorta clueless. Plus, another amazing thing I saw as the rescue woman grabbed the GBH by the beak, was that two roadrunners forgot about running, and just came up to gawk at the whole enterprise. Live and learn. Now I know for sure that wild animals are much smarter than humans

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  30. Lucky Fred was eaten form the back not the front, so he can regrow the tail. The egret is one amazing big bird. He might come more often to your restaurant.

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  32. Thanks for letting us share these exciting moments with your brilliant photos. I have blackbird dramas going on outside my window this moment – but have neither the skills nor the camera to capture them (and it is dull and raining).

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  43. Great photos, as always. I did see Flash before I read that he was there. I did a double take – that can’t be a hummer interfering there, can it? Critters (and birds) are so unpredictable.

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    1. They are fascinating. Hummers are remarkable curious and brave. Any unusual animal, or person for that matter, that visits The Holler will receive a very close inspection by them. They seem inordinately fascinated by predators, but I have only seen them caught once in ten years.

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  46. Your posts are getting more and more fun Cindy. I love the names and fun backstories for your holler critters. I like the name Flash and his spunk to bomb Big Bob! Go Flash! 🙂 Would an egret really eat a hummer?

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    1. Heck yes the egret will eat a hummingbird, if he is fast enough to catch one. The roadrunner likes to stand near hummers and make attempts to catch them. I have only seen him succeed once, thankfully, and he crowed around in front of me with the hummer in his beak like a house cat with a mouse!

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        1. It’s kinda like Holler bio huh???? It certainly was for me when I first moved here. I used to dream about being bitten by rattlesnakes, chased by coyotes, gored by bulls, and bit by black widows. Now I realize it was a lot better than my last job! 😉 😉

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