Ecologist Susan Harrison is back with some bird photos from California featuring rookeries (there are some lovely shots of chicks and juveniles). Susan’s notes and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them.
Rookery Scenes
Recently I visited two local rookeries where colonies of large wading birds breed in early- to midsummer. It was fun to watch the nest building, egg tending, and varied interactions among adults and young birds of mixed ages. In some cases (like the Cattle Egrets), it appeared that young birds were competing with each other to be at the head of the feeding line.
Western Cattle Egrets (Ardea ibis), Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), and Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) were breeding at Sacramento’s North Natomas Regional Park.
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) were rearing their young at the Woodland-Davis water treatment ponds, which in spite of their unprepossessing title, are our county’s top eBird hotspot and the subject of much ecological enhancement for migratory birds and other wildlife.
Cattle Egrets:
White-faced Ibis:
Black-crowned Night Herons:
Snowy Egrets:
Thank you for these wonderful images.
Great photos! Thanks!
Incredible shots!
Ooh, very nice photos! The baby black-crowned night herons really crack me up.
Great birds. Thank you.
Lovely shots, thanks.
We have black crowned night herons and at least one rookery in MacArthur Park (of “melting in the dark fame,”) near my place in Los Angeles.
Those four snowy egrets look like a renaissance painting.
The night Heron in flight, showing wonderful feather colors, amazing photo
Are those 4 snowy egrets standing on a dead snowy egret?
Oh! five snowy egrets! (Jean’s comment made me look at it again- those two on the left had merged in my head.) And I was hoping the “dead” egret was actually part of a nest?
Beautiful photos Susan!