Of Mudbugs and Night-Herons

When the kids and I asked Tiffany where she wanted to eat out for her special (early) Mother's Day lunch last weekend, it was no surprise to any of us that she picked Pappadeaux, the Cajun seafood member of the Pappas Restaurants chain. We both have a weakness for their brand of vittles, and our overall favorite is a spicy combination of those two most wonderful Cajun delicacies: fried crawfish and crawfish etouffee. Oh, man, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Crawfish, crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs — no matter what you call 'em, they're good eating. And it's not just Cajuns and Texans that think so. Just the other day on the way home from work I passed this distinguished-looking gentleman:


Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
He was busily hunting frogs and crawdads in the post-flood mud near Big Cypress Creek. You can tell by the half-lidded expression of ecstasy just how much he was enjoying these fresh-caught morsels. (Fresh is always better than frozen when it comes to shellfish, you know.)


Of course, every now and then you come across one that's got just a little more kick in it than the rest. In fact, this poor fella found one particular critter that just refused to go down without a fight!


Unfortuntely, after a brief battle that mudbug was lunch, and I had to leave the bird to enjoy the rest of his buffet. It just goes to show you, though — no matter our differences, everyone can agree when it comes to good food.

Hmmm, I wonder if Pappadeaux has frog legs on their menu...

[To view any of these photos in more detail, just click on the appropriate image to view them on my Flickr photostream, then click the "All Sizes" button above the image.]


For more great bird photos from around the world, check out Bird Photography Weekly #38.