A familiar sight to many, the Red-winged Black Bird is found over most of the continental United States year round and extends its range into a big swath of Canada for the summer.
The males are always vying for attention with a flash of their shoulder patches and constant singing. This one’s tail feathers flared out every time he called, something I hadn’t noticed before.
On this rather dull day his eyes appeared as black as his feathers.
This fellow was a stand out on a small island in a city park with twenty or more juvenile and adult Green Herons.
He wanted some Attention!
When there was no response he took a break and perched in the water, something I’ve never seen a heron of any kind do before.
We could see a few Wood Storks dropping down in a marsh just off the road. What luck, room to pull off the road and a clear view down this open area to a chaotic scene of feeding Wood Storks with a few smaller wading birds joined in.
The group was in constant motion and some took off for greener pastures, well beyond where we could see.
A few managed to sneak off on their own, busily working the water.
The rest just kept moving further down this outlet.
Timing is everything. When we passed back by this area an hour later there wasn’t a bird in sight.
Barred Owl watches the water below.
With little warning the Owl swoops from the branch to the water.
After a small splash around at the base of the tree the Owl emerges…
Yes, he was successful! A fresh water shrimp or some type of crayfish was firmly clasped in the Owl’s beak.
The Owl flew to a safer spot, transferring his catch to his claw, and in no time he had consumed it.
This dead tree limb looks sort of like a hand holding up the Great Egret.
He just stood there, looking around for the longest time, making a nice contrast with the bright blue sky.
Breeding season is over and he’s looking a little disheveled. Time for a scratch before he moved on.
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.
With very few ducks around to consume the Duck Weed it is covering a larger portion of Ravenswood Pond than a month ago. It gets moved around by the wind and concentrates at the edges where you can get the closest photographs of the Wood Ducks. On the plus side there is less glare.
The female Wood Duck was taking a break from her chicks. They were sticking together and wasted no time moving away from perceived danger. Based on the ducklings size this could be the group that a few weeks ago numbered around a dozen, now down to five.
One male was at the other end of the pond where the duck weed pattern is different with large gaps out in the middle of the pond for a nice reflection. The water is deeper here–the larger alligators can swim without sticking out of the water.
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
The Pileated Woodpecker is elusive, mostly traveling high in the tree tops resulting in partially obscured and too distant photographs. This one entertained me close up for about ten minutes.
I was afraid I would scare him off if I moved to get better shots so I took what I could from where I first spotted him.
After he flew off into the tree tops I waited, listening to him work on the trees. I was hoping he would repeat his path as birds sometimes do, but it wasn’t to be.
Edited 12/24/2017 to correct spelling of Pileated Woodpecker.
