Azalea "I'm Back At The Catfish Farm"
May 6, 2011Camellia on Muddy Creek – Va Beach
May 6, 2011
Azalea did just as it appeared she was doing on our last satellite map. She was on the move back to the NC Tidewater Research Station and the private catfish farm that is located east of Plymouth, NC in Washington County. As she has done on previous visits here, she spent the night at the catfish farm, and the nights in the communal roost with other bald eagles. White data point is at 1:00pm May 6.
6 Comments
Her Mom didn’t raise any dummies!
Thanks Reese-
She is becoming predictable.:)
If I may ask a couple of dumb questions… Catfish farms I assume are raising catfish…why raise catfish? for food? human consumption… we don’t eat catfish here soooo- I’m just not sure… or are they for release? My next question: I always think of catfish as bottom feeders… so how does an eagle get a chance to catch one off the surface. I obviously don’t know a lot about catfish???!!! Thanks Reese for your help and patience!! and please know I was another ‘eagle-watcher’ taken by surprise at the level of emotion Mom’s passing provoked… I felt comfort knowing so many others on this site felt the same way… my family thought I was ‘nuts’!!
Response – Catfish are a southern favorite in resturants, and the demand exceeds the supply, so raised to supply the need. The ponds the catfish are raised in are shallow, so easy for eagles to see and forage upon.
Thank you, Reese. The few fish ponds(raising bait minnows) I have come in contact with around here are about 10 ft deep, so I was thinking that was too deep… is that the depth of Catfish ponds? I’ve never eaten catfish – is it a strong-tasting fish?
Response – I don’t know the exact depth. I asked when I was down there and was told the ponds were shallow. I know I could see the catfish splash on the surface, so I am sure the eagles can see them too. I don’t know how catfish taste. Unlike Azalea, I am not much on eating fish.
What is meant by the term communal roost? Thanks.
Response – There are as many as 40 bald eagles of all ages visiting the catfish farm. At night they head for one of two areas of woods near the fish ponds. Areas where eagles or other birds gather like that at night are called “communal roosts”.
That certainly would be an accurate assessment that ‘if we can see them the eagles can too’!! I love fish, but only ocean fish(salmon’s good, too) – no crustaceans, tho!! Take care, have a good weekend.