EGRETS NESTING AND NEWBORNS FEEDING!

I really love watching egrets fly. Of all the birds I have seen in Florida, the egret seems the most graceful. Even if they are just sitting in a tree, they have a gracefulness about them. There are more than just one type of egret. Some of them are the Cattle Egret, the Snowy Egret and the type featured in this posting; the Great Egret.

The Great Egret is a large bird with all-white plumage that can reach one meter in height, weigh up to 950 grams (2.1 lb) and have a wing span of 165 to 215 cm (65 to 85 in). It is thus only slightly smaller than the Great Blue or Grey Heron (A. cinerea). Apart from size, the Great Egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. In breeding plumage, delicate ornamental feathers are borne on the back. Males and females are identical in appearance; juveniles look like non-breeding adults. It is a common species, usually easily seen.

It has a slow flight, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes, ibises, and spoonbills, which extend their necks in flight.

The Great Egret is not normally a vocal bird; at breeding colonies, however, it often gives a loud croaking cuk cook cook.

When we arrived at the alligator farm, we saw only one nest (of which there were many) with newborn chicks. I was told by one of the staff that the chicks were 7 - 10 days old. As you can see, they still have that downy white look..

There were three chicks in the nest and at least one parent the entire three days we were there.  I have read that egret chicks practice siblicide. The two eldest chicks will often attack and kill their younger siblings and toss them out of the nest. Where is the parent while this is happening? They are standing right there preening, seemingly not interested in this gruesome act.

Thankfully, we did not witness this extreme form of sibling rivalry.

What we did witness was three chicks calling for food and calling often!

These chicks like all newborns are so cute and a little bit awkward looking. Their bills look almost too large for their small heads. Each day we were there, I was drawn to this nest. Looking at the chicks and the parent interacting seemed to have a special effect on me.  It was so darn interesting watching nature and this compelling story of survival; to see these cute little chicks in their nest and then looking down about thirty feet below them to the swamp area and sudden death.

Hundreds of crocodiles are swimming or laying around waiting for a chick or adult bird to fall out of the nest or fly just close enough to be reached with these jaws of death. As I walked along the boardwalk, I did wonder about the construction of these structures. They seemed strong, well built and they have been there for many years. Ahh, many years wood beams standing in water?? Okay, so after that thought, I stopped leaning against the railings. But in all seriousness, they are very strong and well put together. Looking down at all of these alligators, I had to keep reminding myself of that fact!!! 

Let's get back to the egrets. They are so much more graceful, cute and safe. 

There were some difficulties in photographing these birds. First, when there are three chicks and one or two adults in the nest, it is very difficult to have them all looking in my direction. Most of the time, I would get one or two chicks' faces and one of their backsides or the adult would be preening and have its head stuck under its wing. 

Another problem was the light. The sunlight was coming through the branches and the adult was so much taller then the chicks that often they would be in different light. The chicks were in bright sunlight and the adults' head was in dark shadow. During some moments, one of the chicks would be covered by the adult's shadow, thus creating a problem in getting the correct exposure for all at the same time. That is what nature photography is all about. You cannot dictate all the circumstances, cannot move the light and in many cases you cannot get any closer to the subject; at least not without putting the animal or yourself in danger.

After a while the other adult flew into the nest and the young ones really starting getting vocal about food!! We were lucky to capture this image of the adult sticking its bill down the throat of the chick and regurgitating a partially digested fish to feed the chick.

It is an amazing act to witness look how far down the baby's throat the adult's bill is!!!

When I started looking at these images on my computer, I was amazed at the nest image. 

At first I thought I just had a great image of the three chicks all looking forward and no chicks' butts lol.. But as I looked closer, I saw that one of the chicks had a partially digested fish in its bill.

You can see the fish in the bill of the chick in the middle. I was a little excited at capturing this image, actually more than just a little lol. Does that make me a geek????

Please remember you can click on the images to see a larger version.

Have a great weekend!