There are a few families of Wood Ducks out near the old rookery. One female has about 15 – 16 ducklings following, the other maybe 6.
Family units are flexible, any small chicks with no female latch on to the first group that comes by. Duck is a favorite with half the critters that live out here. Picking up strays helps them survive.
If I had not looked along the edge of the swamp I would have walked by. Tall and thin they blend right in with the trees and brush on the swamps bank.
It can get crowded out there. Good spots are at a premium.
A Great Egret joins it’s mate while two (big) Great Blue chicks watch the action.
The Heron and Egret have reached an agreement here, they always do. After breeding season they will never get this close again. Both are predators. In a rookery concessions must be made.
There is one spot near my home, in a local swamp, that I can find these little beauties. Most times all I get is flash of brilliant yellow. This time a few were around and Ellen was there. She always draws in the ‘little birds’.
These warblers winter in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America, primarily in Mangrove Swamps. They come north to breed and love the deep swamps around me with Cypress Knees (roots).
Ellen will find plenty of these birds in the Four Hole Swamp area (out in the rain right now), me I take the easy way and stick close to home.
I walked past these three the other day and grabbed a quick shot.
It doesn’t matter how many shots like this I have taken over the years, never passing up this.
Great Blue Heron nest.
Everything else stops when you spot a Reddish Egret on the hunt. Catch one at dawn in the early light…hard not to do the happy dance. This is a bird you need to go find, they rarely show up on the average walk, no matter where you are.
This Egret was spotted a bit after dawn in a salt marsh, that’s their only habitat.
Because there is always sun glare on the water hiding their prey the dance is a series of moves to find fish.
First a Reddish will run through shallows, splashing water and driving fish ahead.
At the end the Egret will raise his wings to throw a shadow on the water. This makes for clear visibility.
You know this is a great show when photographers walk away from Roseate Spoonbills to watch the dancing Egret.
Anhinga, AKA Snake Bird, warming up to start her day. A true South American tropical bird who discovered a warming climate and has steadily moved north. They now breed every year down the road from me in a local swamp. While not the biggest of predators most other birds keep their distance.
Cornell Labs description;
‘A dark body stealthily swims through a lake with only a snakelike head poking above the surface. What may sound like the Loch Ness monster is actually an Anhinga, swimming underwater and stabbing fish with its daggerlike bill. After every dip, it strikes a regal pose on the edges of shallow lakes and ponds, with its silvery wings outstretched and head held high to dry its waterlogged feathers. Once dry, it takes to the sky, soaring high on thermals stretched out like a cross.’
The banks of a swamp have as much, if not more, small prey as the water. Insects, snakes, and multiple type of lizards are there. Great Blue Heron will eat anything. If they find a small enough Alligator, it’s gone.
