Great Egret nesting season is over and there are just a few left hanging around the rookery area, sort of at loose ends. This one in the foreground had taken a walk into a dense wet area away from the pond.
The other one seemed to think he was missing something.
Bird number one wanted to be on his own and marched across the walking path.
I’m out of here!
On to the next bite
Another successful dive
The fish went down
But how to get rid of the garnish
Dunk and swish
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
July 25, 2021
I love to watch this scenario, especially when a reflection is involved.
Lunch is small bites
Hold on tight so it doesn’t escape
One quick flip
Next!
There were several Yellow-crowned Night-herons in the trees around the big pond at Magnolia Cemetery and a few were pulling on sticks.
The end of June seemed late for gathering nest material, but perhaps it was for a repair.
Or maybe they just liked to poke around in the trees.
There didn’t seem to be any urgency to the mission.
A couple of them were just watching–me as well as the other herons.
June 27, 2021
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
I haven’t seen many Green Herons this summer so photographed this one even though it was through some reeds.
He stayed in the underwing check position for at least 30 seconds, not even moving.
While I repositioned for a better view he assumed a more heron-like posture.
Then gave a call.
He didn’t get an answer.
A fellow photographer pointed out this nest where he had seen three Yellow-crowned Night-heron chicks the day before. With the fuzzy head and how he was mostly laying down I’d guess a week or 10 days old.
After a bit the first chick and one nest-mate, rather camouflaged to the right in the twigs, stood up for a look around.
From a different angle a quarter of a way around the tree I spotted one chick. He looked older, but it’s hard to say for sure with the curtain of Spanish Moss.
If you zoom in you’ll see an eye of a second bird to the left of the standing bird, at nest-top level, just before the big clump of Spanish Moss.
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
June 27, 2021
Other than getting fed juvenile wading birds don’t have much to do until they learn to fly. If there is more than one in the nest any siblings are fair game for attention and practicing life skills.
In this case they didn’t pay any heed to their neighbors, which in turn, ignored them.
Even when the ruckus ramped up.
In contrast to Green Heron, Over My Head, Two Views sometimes I see birds below my level, from a boardwalk or dike. While not the head-on image we might prefer, this Green Heron was close enough for details of his gorgeous feathers.
He took some time to preen and inspect…
… scratched in itch…
… before flying to a nearby clump in the swamp.
Adult Great Egrets get quite a workout feeding their young, and all this after procuring something for them to eat.
The chicks are aggressive about getting their share.
You can hear the “feed me” chorus, which is how the photographer often knows there is action afoot.
One more go at the regurgitation. I never saw the food, at this age it goes directly into the juvenile’s throats.
That’s it, I’m out.
I spotted a single Yellow-crowned Night-heron at the far edge of a rookery, high above my head.
Something gave him a start, not dangerous enough to fly off, but he looked concerned.
