Figure 1 – The opportunistic fisherman, Little Fresh Pond, Cambridge, MA, (c) DE Wolf 2015.

As the ice has been melting on our ponds I have noticed hundreds of dead fish first floating just below the ice and then in the melted water.  It is a disturbing scene but one quite nature.  This is winter pond kill. In shallow pods as ice and then snow block both exchange with the atmosphere and light penetration to fuel photosynthesis, the water becomes depleted of oxygen and the fish suffocate.  It is a gruesome scene, but quite a boon to the sea gulls, such as this herring gull (Larus argentatus), that have flown inland for the feast.

I found this guy on Little Fresh Pond in Cambridge, MA, feasting on not so fresh fish this past Friday.  The light was annoying, very dull and overcast.  But he was happy to pose for me and I kept taking pictures until I got just the right combination of bird, wing, and fish.

Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 145 mm, ISO 1600, Aperture-priority AE mode, 1/1600th sec at f/10.0, with +1 exposure compensation.