What IS That on The Roof? By Barbara Edwards

The camper is set-up, the screen-room ready, the folding chairs and tables arranged for watching the world go by on St George Island State Campground. I’m putting away the stuff in the kitchen when my husband calls me.

“Com’on out and see this.” Knowing the drill, I grab my camera and tiptoe outside. He laughs and points at the camper’s roof. At first I didn’t see it. Then, “What is that on the roof?” I exclaim.

St George Island is five miles into the Gulf of Mexico across a long causeway. It’s one of the major stops for migratory birds and has one of the top ten rated beaches in the United States. So birds are common. I saw a bald eagle on a telephone pole. An albatross winged alongside the car during our trip over the causeway and miles of dunes are fenced to keep the nesting birds safe.

I’m not a birdwatcher. I can identify the common birds like cardinals and crows. The rest are just pretty objects to watch. I have several Audubon bird identity books and we looked up the visitor. An egret sat on my roof.

“Glad it’s not a stork making a delivery,” he quips with a wink. Did I mention he thinks he’s a comedian? See photo of crab?

The next day I saw the egret in the next campsite and wondered if it was lost or hunting. For many years egrets were hunted almost to extinction for their curly feathers. Turns out it was hunting. I knew they ate frogs and fish. I learned they also will snatch a swamp rat from the md and eat it. That time I didn’t have my camera.

So what does St George Island have to do with my writing? I’m planning on sitting in the screen room and finishing my next book.