Lighthouse + Peveto Sanctuary

I began my day's venture here. The eighty foot Sabine Pass Lighthouse stands tall in the low lying marsh off the Gulf coast in extreme Southwest Louisiana. As the sun peeked its head above the horizon, I wondered what the Lighthouse looked like at night years ago with her brilliant beam piercing the night sky for all the sailors passing by to see. I thought of the Second Battle of the Sabine River fought practically in her shadow and the natural disasters she encountered in her 153 years of existence. It was a great way to start the day in the presence of such history.

On the way home I stopped at Peveto Sanctuary and surprised this small, nervous bird hopping about in the bushes, vines and trees. He spotted me and immediately displayed his scarlet red ruby crown then went merrily on his way hopping about the woodlot gathering food while at times hanging upside down on branches. I've seen them on many occasions but never with their bright red ruby crest raised.

Here he is again with his usual wing-flapping ways. If you look closely you can barely see the ruby red crest on top of his head.

A Belted Kingfisher hovered in mid-air then plunged head first into the water in the pond west of Peveto. He clutched his prize with his large, thick beak and flew to a snag at the water's edge. Each time the mullett moved the Kingfisher slapped him hard against the wooden snag. It was a loud, distinctive slap easily heard. I observed this behavior for several minutes and moved on wondering how this bird would down this large fish.