Cypress Wetlands is hosting lots of Wood Stork nests this season and there are good views into a few of them.
The chicks were in constant motion, figuring out how to manipulate their gangly bodies.
Another visible nest had three chicks, although I only got photos of two at a time. The parents were intent on their own grooming.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
May 7, 2025
A Yellow-crowned Night-heron picked up and rejected a number of possible twigs for nesting material and spent some time just looking around.
Finally, the right stick was located…
and away he went.
I don’t normally include humans, but that’s my husband, Ted (tpjphoto.com), not getting an image of this flight. The photo also give you an idea of the rookery location and density, with the boardwalk running through the woods.
The heron continued on towards his nest, somewhere up in the trees.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
May 7, 2025
Correction March 28, 2026
I had these photos and post erroneously labeled as Black-crowned Night-heron.
The trees surrounding the Yellow-crowned Night-heron nesting area at Cypress Wetlands had filled in considerably in the two weeks since our previous visit.
I got a few glimpses of some mating behavior….
…but mostly it was butt end views.
Dangling Spanish Moss and a little breeze added to the sight line interference, but create some drama.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
April 10, 2025
Several Snowy Egrets were looking for sticks at the edge of the pond, and this one did some creative stretching to check out his options.
Meanwhile, this one found the perfect stick.
And away he went with it…
into a tree that hadn’t leafed out yet.
Where his mate was waiting.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
April 10, 2025
A pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are making a nest in a Crepe Myrtle in our back yard.
They have been gathering material for a few days and this morning I spotted the nest. Here one of the pair was smoothing around the outside of the bowl shaped nest.
Much of the viewable material appears to be lichen or small pieces of dried leaf.
The pair worked cooperatively when they arrived back at the nest at the same time, one handing off material to the other to work into the structure.
Summerville, SC
April 23, 2025
**testing change of image display from Large to Full Size for issue on Android with Chrome browser **
And just a little closer to me than I expected!
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
March 25, 2025
We made our first trip to the rookery at Cypress Wetlands in late March. The Yellow-crowned Night-herons had just arrived that week according to some locals I chatted with.
The birds had gone right to work picking nest sites in the same nesting area they have used in previous years.
Fortunately for the bird watcher the trees were just starting to put out needles and leaves.
They also took some time to show off, hoping to attract the best mate.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
March 25, 2025
This was a modest sized stick for a Roseate Spoonbill to bring for the nest.
He took a moment to get it just so in his beak, then flew the final few feet to the nest, where it was a tight squeeze getting it situated.
Once he got there the female couldn’t turn around to take it from him–the usual pattern with new nest material.
The next looks pretty small so far…hardly big enough to hold even one egg.
The male went off for more, leaving her to rearrange the sticks before the next one arrived.
Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
February 11, 2025
There’s not much for a bird to do once the nest has been made and the eggs have been laid. (I didn’t see eggs but the one Spoonbill laying down is a good indication that they are there. )
Just preen and wait if you don’t have egg duty.
Just snooze if you do.
Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
February 11, 2025
More of the SET-TO a usually brief and vigorous fight or debate, per our friends at Merriam Webster
The bill clacking/snapping was how I first noticed there was something going on here.
There was a lot of wing flapping, too.
I didn’t even notice that the female stuck her beak in at one point.
And then it was over, the other fellow retreated to his chosen nest spot and this one started poking at the fronds and his spot again.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, FL
February 12, 2025
