Gallinules announce their presence vocally so I knew there were some nearby when I walked the dike around the old rice field pond at Magnolia a couple weeks ago.
I finally spotted some…one adult, two older juveniles and a few chicks. There are at least three chicks under the larger birds, and two more to the left in the reeds.
Interestingly the young chicks have the orange beak of a mature adult, but as they get older they turn all grey. Of course with six or more birds they are never all looking the same way at once.
The banks of the dike are overgrown most of the way around limiting view into the water.
August 4, 2020
Beautiful photos of these wonderful birds, Ellen! We call them Moorhens here, and I see them on my local canal.
Thanks, Peter! They get called Moorhen here, too, especially by older birders. Somewhere along the way the official name changed. There is also a Purple Gallinule, seen south of here, which is much prettier but still has those crazy hen feet.
Nice pics! If a translate directly from Swedish they would be called “pipehen” here!? I have noticed a few chicks in town this summer, in the small river we got. It is fun to see that they also are baldheaded as chicks.
Thanks, Hans! Interesting name, they were previously known as Moorhens here and at some point the official name changed. The chicks sure are cute, and the bursts of running on water from the adults makes me laugh.