Dogfight!!

 Jun 24, 2023


Well, OK, a birdfight. But still exciting. On the right we have an adult Snowy Egret, with the telltale signs of black legs with yellow feet (called "golden slippers") and a yellow mask around the eyes and base of the beak. In addition, the beak is black. At first, I identified the bird on the left as a juvie LBH (Little Blue Heron). After some more study, and reviewing many other photos from websites, this appears to actually be a juvenile Snowy Egret: clues here are yellow/green legs and the hint of a yellow mask (which would never be seen on an LBH). Also, the juveniles only have some black at the tip of the beak.

We said in the last posting that it seemed like there were several Snowy Egret nests in the Mangrove we have been watching most closely. As many as 6 adults have been obvious, but all nests are around the back of the Mangrove, and for purpose of observation they may as well be on the far side of the moon!

But what you see above are two juvie Snowy Egrets who are now starting to emerge, and are clearly flying to get to where they're visible. In the next photo, it's easier to compare the two types of birds. The top is an adult Snowy; the bottom is a juvenile LBH with a black beak and no mask!


There has been a lot of activity by the juvenile TCH's (Tri-Color Herons). The census so far indicates a total of 8 juveniles: the 3 that were first detected (Lenny, Squiggy, and Fonzie), and another 5 in the Mangrove a little bit to the south (who, sadly, remained unnamed). All are now flying, and only Lenny et.al.(the youngest) return to the vicinity of their nest anymore.. (below)..


As a reminder, this is what they will look like as adults:


The Mallard duck family has grown tremendously since the last photo op, and are now much more visible on a daily basis. I suspect Mom kept them all under wraps as much as possible.

This Duck Mom is a rock star. Normally, 30-50% of a clutch of ducklings survive. This one started at 12 and is now at 7 (mom is also in the photo on the left, and the ducklings are now almost adult size!). So this is a yield of >50% in waters full of toothy alligators and a plethora of Osprey overhead. They're not out of the woods yet, but a really good start for this bunch - the best in years around here.


Time to move on....

So, a lot of empty nesters right now. Some eggs are still being incubated; the LBH eggs that we saw last time are still there and being taken care of. Some nests are being rebuilt (including the Anhingas) and we might see the cycle restart in some places.

And the Great Blue Herons - Waldo and Waldon't - only occasionally drop by now. I hadn't seen their mom in several days, so I thought maybe she took a few days off in Key West after so many weeks of being accosted by her offspring. But she showed up again yesterday and is probably just going to chill for a while!








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