Dateline: 30 January 2022
This post is dedicated to Marlin Perkins (b. 1905 – d. 1986).
Disclaimer: if Marlin Perkins is ever revealed as having engaged in ‘dodgy’ behavior against any vulnerable populations, this dedication is hereby unequivocally retracted retroactively. Disclaimer 2: as of the date of this post, the management has absolutely no indication or sense that Marlin Perkins ever engaged in dodgy behavior against any vulnerable populations, and generally considers him, based on present evidence, an upstanding citizen and excellent individual. Disclaimer 3: any visual images of Marlin Perkins in this post are lawful under the “fair use” doctrine of US Copyright Law, as being (i) non-commercial, (ii) relating to social commentary and/or satire, and (ii) comprising a miniscule and minimized portion of the original video content in question.
Folks of a certain age (i.e., old folks) might remember the original television program Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (1963-1988), co-hosted by naturalist Marlin Perkins. The takeaways from Wild Kingdom were that lots of crazy stuff happens in nature, that nature is rather great, and that Marlin Perkins was a badass. With all due respect.
Fast forward to Presque Isle State Park, circa 2022. Saturday (29 January 2022): clear and sunny in the afternoon, brutally cold all day; staff spent the day in a workshop with the photo editor going over old, un-reviewed files. (Post forthcoming.) Sunday (30 January 2022): not quite as cold; still pretty cold. Lake-effect clouds/snow; sun barely managed to poke through occasionally. Presque Isle road conditions: snowy/icy, but overall plowed and ok; localized drifts. Trail conditions: snow on top of a thick layer of uneven ice and snow, with localized, deep drifts. Rather awful both for photography and hiking. Ok for snow shoeing.
With road-side parking plowed at Presque Isle Light House, seemed like a good place to start the day. Moderate/early ice dunes along the lake, snow/ice along the beach proper. Light lake-effect snow.
Unlike Wild Kingdom, unlikely you’ll be beset upon by constrictors, alligators/crocodiles, sharks, leaches, etc. at Presque Isle State Park. Not impossible, but unlikely. But that’s not to say there isn’t occasional excitement. Take Sunday. The beach was rather cold and barren, like something out of the arctic. A lone Merganser flew by, looking confused. Perhaps a bad day for bird activity – considering the conditions and time of year, it wouldn’t be unexpected.
Getting the lay of the land, however, spotted a sizeable raft of ducks taking advantage of the unfrozen water close to shore. Mostly Common Goldeneye and Scaups. Things were looking up.
Suddenly, a juvenile Bald Eagle emerged from the misty clouds, far overhead:
Even more suddenly, talons extended, it headed downwards towards the lake surface:
[Editor’s note: not the world’s best bird picture, but pretty darned cool.]
After a successful catch, this Bald Eagle was briefly harassed by two gulls. Perhaps trying to initiate a fish fumble. No luck.
Admittedly, “Bald Eagle catches fish-followed-by-gull-harassment” would not make the cut for Wild Kingdom. But it’s in that same spirit: even on a ‘low expectations’ winter day, when birds are involved, you might just see something amazing.