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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ Birds Fish Too!
May 25, 2008
The first stop on any bird nesting tour has to be Blue Heron Island, the smaller of two tree covered islands between Makers D4 and D6 in the Reed/Davidson Creek arm of lower Lake Norman. In the spring, this island becomes a rookery for dozens of blue herons. During the nesting season, the male and female take turns hunting, repairing the nest, tending the eggs and rearing the chicks.
Blue Heron Island is off limits during spring and summer months, but the birds can easily be observed from a boat. Anne Silver, a Denver, NC resident, along with some neighbors, recently enjoyed a sightseeing tour of Lake Norman. Anne was intrigued with the large bluish-grey adult blue herons that would leave the nest empty handed and then return with nesting materials or food. The activity was like that of a busy airport.
The blue heron’s primary diet is fish, but occasionally it will eat small snakes and rodents. Most times, a heron will stalk its prey in shallow water, but is smart enough to know that an opened bait tank or koi in a fish pond are easy pickings. Many an angler has gone to the dock before daylight to find an overstuffed heron and no bait in the tank. Once a heron finds live bait in a tank, he will return day after day until you secure the lid to prevent his long bill from flipping it open.
An osprey is another large bird that is easy to observe during the nesting season. This raptor, often mistaken for a southern bald eagle, has a snowy white belly and a crowned white head and tail. An eagle, however, is considerably larger.
Ospreys make their nests on poles, channel and shoal markers, duck blinds and other man made platforms. Much like the blue heron, ospreys constantly gather nesting materials and search for food. Instead of stalking small minnows, this bird of prey snatches larger fish from the water’s surface either on the fly, or by diving when the fish are deep. Watch the sky above an osprey’s nest. It will circle above the nest just before crashing into the water for a meal. Interestingly, once the prey is snared, the osprey will carefully turn it to face forward for better aerodynamics on the flight back to the nest.
There are dozens of osprey nests on Lake Norman. One of the most popular ones is atop the abandoned water intake at the entrance to Davidson Creek near Channel Marker T2. A much smaller nest sits atop the shoal marker between Markers T2 and T4. If you want to see a nest built on top of a duck blind, you’ll find it on the first island to your left at the entrance from the river channel to Mountain Creek.
Upcoming Events:
Boater Safety Class –“Night Boating and Anchoring on Lake Norman” - Gander Mountain, Exit 36, Mooresville, NC – Thursday, June 12, 2008, 6:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. Registration fee is $25.00. For more information or to register, call Capt. Scot Spivey - 704-587-0325 or visit www.lmservice.org.
“Night Fishing for Lake Norman Stripers, Bass and Catfish” - a free seminar conducted by Mac Byrum and Capt. Gus Gustafson - Gander Mountain, Exit 36, Mooresville, NC – Thursday, June 19, 2008, 6:30 p.m. Call 704 658 0822 for additional information.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
When bird watching, don’t frighten or intimidate birds by getting too close. Nesting birds should be viewed with binoculars or by using the view finder of a camera’s zoom lens.
The Hot Spots of the Week:
Stripers, bass, and catfish are hitting live baits and jigging spoons on deep water drop offs in the lower lake. Bass are surface feeding early and late near boat basins and around the islands near the Lake Norman State Park.
The water level is currently 1.7' below full pond and holding, while water surface temperature is in the seventies.
Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' With Gus! at www.FishingWithGus.com or call 704-617-6812.
For additional information e-mail Gus at Gus@LakeNorman.com
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