Archive for April 2009
Getting on Egg Time
An update on the Egret Colony of earlier posts. While in the area this morning I took the time to take some photographs of the colony looking for evidence of chicks on the way. Although I saw no eggs there are many sitting birds in the trees and what looked like a trade off of warm bird fannies on at least one nest.
The Egrets above did an interesting dance around one spot in their nest and eventually traded places completely.
It also looked like there was considerable courting still happening and male positioning ,jousting and rowdy behavior going on .
I just thought this guys brown tail feathers were interesting so I included it . In no time at all there will be chicks all over these trees and I will post more photographs to update this story.
KennJ
Indian River Egret Colony Gets Underway
It’s that time of the year again when the Egrets start building their nests and getting ready for little Egrets to come along.
Above is one small section of a large colony that has been in this area as long as people living in the area can remember .Once the trees fill up a bit more the battle for space will cause the colony to spread to every suitable tree in the area. Not such a wonderful thing if you happen to own a house under or around these trees as the dropping from 500 or so birds can be pretty awful.
The Egret above is bringing a stick to it’s mate who will build the nest as he delivers the materials. In the photo below you can see the change in the eyes at this time of the season. Pretty wild!
I will post more as the colony builds. The Colony is close to the Elizabeth River and counts on the availability of fish for it’s survival.
All photos are the property of Kenn Jolemore. Please respect it and ask if you wish to use
Photos from Southside Virginia 