I could hear the Red-bellied Woodpecker around the swamp from the distinctive shrill call. Sound bouncing off the water can make the exact direction hard to pinpoint. Eventually the flash of red gave away his position.
This tree branch has a number of holes the woodpecker was exploring while a juvenile Little Blue Heron looked on.
Satisfied, the heron returned to sentry duty.
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 Little Blue Herons are working on their nests on the interiors of two little islands. They get into squabbles with their mates or their neighbors then take a spin around the island, sometimes taking a time out before getting back into the fray in the dense undergrowth.
Out in the open it is easier to see their beautiful blues. The intense blue on their beaks is a match for the blue sky on this April day.
An in-flight photo from underneath gives a perspective on their wing spans and shows off that their bodies aren’t all blue.
The Little Blue Heron’s various blues seem more purple than blue in the bright sun. This one is about to disappear into the greenery towards his nest.
April 22, 2017.
With an occasional eye to the sky as Hawks and Vultures passed over head, this Little Blue Heron worked back and forth on a log, poking in the duck weed.
He seemed not to notice the Alligator floating just behind him, his head just to the left of the birds in the photo above. From where I stood peeking through underbrush, I wasn’t sure the log wasn’t alive, either.
The Little Blue gave a ruffle after a mis-step off the log and went back to patrolling.
The Little Blue Heron and logs from another angle.
It’s easy to overlook the Little Blue Herons around the swamp and pond right now with the flurry of Great Egret and Great Blue Heron mating and nest building going on. Occasionally one will land right in front of you, showing off the shimmery blue color.
This one was looking around, using these dead branches to get different views into the water.
Then just a short flying hop to the next vantage point, the Little Blues are just as graceful as the larger wading birds.
He finally waded into the water creating a nice reflection, but I never saw him even try to spear something to eat.
Click on any photo for larger view.
Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp 3/3/2017.
A wading bird, the Little Blue Herons can cover a lot of territory as they methodically wade around the swamp in search of food, pulling each leg fully out of the water for each careful step.
The swamp floor has greened up a lot in the last couple of weeks with a variety of plants poking through the water hiding all manor of tasty morsels.
On this day I only saw him pull up vegetation.
Click on any photo for larger view.
A Little Blue Heron caught a frog almost as big as his head then didn’t seem to know what to do.
He just stood there for quite awhile–the frog wasn’t moving so I don’t think preventing escape was on the bird’s mind.
A rinse in the canal might help:
Drip dry:
Finally, down the hatch:
After a couple of false starts when junior thought this was about getting lunch brought in this adult Little Blue Heron got his offspring to fly.
First we climb to the top.
Then flap and go!
Junior was reluctant to take that last step:
Success!
And touch down, all in less than 30 seconds.
