The battle

Alligators aren't the only predators cruising Bayou Lacombe. When I first spotted this pied-billed grebe (I confused the girls by calling out "peanut butter grebe!", an old nickname from my Audubon days), I thought it was trying to swallow a fish. The challenge was actually more difficult: a blue crab bigger than the poor bird's head.

But the grebe persevered, and, spinning this way and that in its exertions, managed over the course of several minutes to subdue and swallow its unwieldy prize. Jessa documented the fracas with her camera.

[Almost done...]

[There! One self-satisfied grebe.]

Later, we enjoyed some soft-shelled crabs ourselves, on po-boys. The grebe may have been an inspiration, but then again how much encouragement do we really need?

[Swimming off in triumph.]