Dwarfed by the reeds and grasses growing at the edge of the marsh this immature Little Blue Heron squawked his way to a landing then seemed unsure what to do.
His mottled coloration made him stand out nicely from the green background as he took a stroll along the irrigation canal bordering the marsh.
Click on either photo for larger view.
Here is a selection of juvenile Little Blue Heron portraits with nature provided backgrounds. You can just start to see some color in the tips of the tail feathers.
The pin head feathers aren’t as prominent as the chicks get older, although in the right light and humidity conditions they still stand up.
I liked the way the pine branched framed the back of this one and was wishing I was a foot or so taller to line it up better.
Click on any photo for larger view.
Adult Little Blue Herons teach their young to fly by encouraging them, sometimes with food, out to the end of a branch. The adult then takes off, hoping the juvenile will follow.
Although the juveniles have been venturing onto the branches for a couple of weeks, In the beginning actually lifting off is a tough sell.
Many of the families have three or four chicks and the sibling competition seems to spur them on. This fellow appeared to be an only child, or maybe the others have already moved on.
“I don’t know if I can do this!”
Success! It was a short hop but he made it and landed successfully.
A pair of Juvenile Snowy Egrets were using the alligator platform to practice strutting their stuff.
Their reflections were interrupted by the duckweed, but I liked the tree reflections across the water.
This platform sits just off one of the islands where several Snowy Egrets nested. We could hear them but have rarely seen them.
The juvenile Little Blue Herons are spreading out away from their nests and just when one thinks he has found his own piece of paradise he gets company.
These sticks are from a dead branch that fell in a storm earlier this summer and it makes an easy landing spot for the young birds. Unfortunately it provides no protection from alligators that could easily lurch out of the water and snatch one of them.
This section of the pond is choked with duckweed and the alligators travel easily unseen beneath it. Even if they do see a predator the herons rarely take evasive action.
There are no ducks around to eat the duckweed right now and the conditions seem to be perfect for it to thrive, making for very green photographs.
The Black-crowned Night Herons built their nests on the interior of the swamp’s islands so we haven’t seen much of the juveniles. A few weeks ago they started to venture out onto branches and this week we’ve seen some fly.
This one dropped down near the path giving me an opportunity for a portrait. His eyes haven’t yet turned to the characteristic red that makes this heron really stand out as an adult.
Taking a longer flight, this heron flew to the next island, showing off his sizable feet. Like the Great Blue Herons, the Night Herons seem to be on their own learning to fly.
He found a perch and stayed with it. He had a great spot for watching the Little Blue Herons work on their flying lessons.
The juvenile Little Blue Heron are more mobile, but most of them still weren’t flying on this day about a week ago. They are venturing further away from their nests and their feet were in full view.
As I developed these photographs I noticed how many ways they use those feet, often digging their nails in for support or to climb a branch.
Head on shots of birds rarely look like much, but in this one the Little Blue’s feet are nicely lined up and show off how long his nails are.
They don’t need a very big branch to hang on to.
As we were leaving the rookery this adult Little Blue landed above us giving another foot view.
After being away for a week we visited the swamp our first day back. The Heron and Egret chicks grow so fast I was eager to see what had changed and who might have moved on.
In the Little Blue Heron rookery the chicks had gone from the protection of their nests on the interior of the island to exploring nearby branches.
The chick above was in a risky spot out over the pond where an alligator could jump up and snatch him. The chick’s flying skills aren’t established yet so just lifting up may not be an option.
The Little Blue Heron chicks seem to have more interest in their surroundings than the Great Blue Herons we have watched at the same age.
An intense thunder storm moved in so we did not make it to the rookery to check on the Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons on this day.
The Great Egret Chick was getting some relief from the sun on this hot June day.
There are three chicks in this nest. Why did this one get protection and the others didn’t or was this for some other purpose? More bird behaviors that I can’t explain.
What do you do in the nest all by yourself, hour after hour, waiting for the folks to bring a meal?
Pace back and forth.
Check out the corners of the nest.
Try out some new poses.
Test your vocal capacity.
Personal grooming.
I have not seen this chick leave the nest although I’m sure he could. He hatched about the same time as some others that have learned to use their wings.
June 2, 2017
