Surrounded by yellow iris and calla lilies a Great Blue Heron stalked his way across the edge of a pond.
Look closely at the edge of the water on the right hand side in the second image and you’ll see he wasn’t alone: a small Alligator was patrolling the water.
These images were taken 4/5/2019 as the water was dropping in this pond. Repairs were being done to the pond out-flow and adjacent road that required the water to be lowered.
It was fascinating to see what had been under the two to three feet (up to one meter) of water. This first image is an alligator ramp that is the same one seen in Wood Stork King of the Ramp.
The reddish material is Mosquito Fern. Next is another Alligator ramp that had just barely been sticking out of the water on the high end.
Lastly, this is a view of a bridge that connects a couple of the pond’s islands as part of the path around the pond. Great Blue Herons can easily walk under the bridge.
As of last week management is adding some water to this pond. Unless we have a big rain I expect it will be weeks and maybe more before the water is back to the previous level.
I haven’t photographed this Great Blue Heron nest very often even though it is on the same pond as the others I’ve shown with chicks. The light never seems right or the birds’ position aren’t right. This day was a little different.
I cannot resist these beautiful blooms.
I’ve commented before on birds’ desire to occupy the highest point. This applies even if it is just a clump of sticks in the pond. We’ve had a lot of wind lately and small branches and other debris is getting pushed around in the ponds. This Great Egret found an attractive twig collection to drop in on.
Then it started to sink and he took off, straight up into the air.
One flap of the wings and he was off.
Banking smoothly left he decided to try another spot.
After checking that the danger had passed from the intruding Great Egret the Great Blue Heron chick fluffed his feathers back down to regular size.
Then he took the opportunity to wingercize, flapping his wings in preparation for learning to fly.
He didn’t lift off this time, but did do some single wing stretches to complete his work out.
It would be easy to walk right underneath this Barred Owl Owlet without even knowing he was there. I probably have more than a few times!
The adult that was with him for his Eating Lesson had flown off to sit over the pond, leaving the little fellow on his own.
He was somewhat covered by the pine boughs and his coloration seen from a predator above would blend in with his surroundings. When I was leaving I saw the other parent a few trees away keeping his eye on the area.
Either by instinct or from learning from a parent, this Great Blue Heron chick was defending himself from a Great Egret Intruder. This is the same nest in the Skinny Tree featured in Scram, Great Egret where the GBH adult was protecting his nest.
The chick made himself really big.
I suspect they’ve done this before and shortly the Great Egret went back to poking at sticks on the outer branches of the tree.
It turns out that the Barred Owls I’ve been watching have a chick. The first time I spotted him he was getting a feeding lesson from one of his parents. The adult demonstrated then passed the item, which I could not identify, to the owlet.
They were very high off the ground and many branches prevented a good view. These owls are very accustomed to people passing by. With hundreds of acres available to nest they chose a spot near a popular walking path through Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
The tree canopy is pretty dense in the area where the Barred Owls I’ve been watching hang out. There are a few perching spots that are nicely lit in the late afternoon.
This Owl chose such a branch, showing off his powerful feet.
