Andale, Andale; Anhinga, Anhinga!

Q and I have been watching the progress of this year’s birds at the UT Southwestern rookery since late March. Most of the great egret juveniles have been testing out their wings and making short practice flights. Black-crowned night heron and anhinga juveniles are branching, and some of the juvenile herons are flying. Several tricolored herons arrived a few weeks ago, although I have seen branching tricolored juveniles as well as just-hatched tricolored chicks. Cattle egret chicks are beginning to hatch. Ibises have just arrived, and although I’ve seen a few little blue herons throughout the season, only recently have I seen one standing on the beginnings of a nest.

Q and I typically visit the rookery on one of the weekend days. On Saturday, June 27, I went to the rookery alone because Q was involved with Field Day, which is a holiday for ham radio operators.

Unfortunately, all of the fledging activity makes it more difficult for me to know if juvenile great egrets on the ground need help or if they are on the ground intentionally. The main criterion I used last year was to hang back and watch them for a while to see if they took off. I saw J R at the rookery that June Saturday, and he suggested another way of thinking of my problem: if the bird looks like it’s having fun, don’t disturb it!

I have been to Rogers several more times since taking Number One and Number Two there. On this Saturday at the rookery, I had already walked over three-quarters of the way around the rookery and was trudging up the path back toward the Memorial Garden. Then I noticed, about five yards away from where I was standing, an anhinga sitting on the ground near the path.

My first impulse was to stop and take a picture. Just as that thought occurred to me, a more urgent thought overrode it: “WHY IS THAT ANHINGA ON THE GROUND?!”

The anhinga looked like a juvenile. I knew that juvenile anhingas branched, like owls, as they grew into adults, leaving the nest early but staying high in the trees until they were able to fly. They didn’t spend time on the ground. The juvenile was on the edge of the path and could disappear into the trees at any moment.

I dropped my stuff, grabbed a blanket, and ran as fast as I could toward the bird.

She didn’t seem able to fly, and I grabbed her. Like pelicans, anhingas have gular pouches, and when I got a hold of the juvenile, she turned toward me, flared out her gular pouch, and struck. It was only habit that kept my hands firmly on the bird while I dodged her attack. I managed to get the blanket over her body, but I couldn’t get it over her head to subdue her, so she struck at me again and again. My eyes were protected by safety glasses, but my arms took several hits. I managed to wind the blanket around Miss Stabby the anhinga’s body and hoisted her off the ground. She was much stockier and heavier than the egrets I’d rescued. I held her chest and her feet as I carried her back to where my stuff was. Her feet felt very strange. I think part of the strangeness was because I wasn’t used to how much surface area her feet took up, compared with egret feet. Anhingas have large webbed feet.

When I catch egrets and herons, I wrap them securely, making sure their wings are against their body, but not too tightly, because I want them to be able to breathe comfortably. Miss Stabby would not stop fighting. She would not put her wings together. She would not stop striking at me until I managed to get the blanket over her head. Then I watched, horrified, as her head moved under the sheet, trying to find an opening. I was outmatched!

Earlier in my visit I had picked up a small abandoned egret chick and put her in the Birdie Bag. I considered just holding the egret chick and putting Miss Stabby in the Birdie Bag, but I thought that Miss Stabby was so feisty that she would just wriggle her way out and make a run for it. The only thing I could think of was to retrieve the cardboard box I had in the trunk of my car—the Birdie Box—and get the anhinga into it so I could close the top. Miss Stabby was still so wild, however, that there was no way I could gather up all my stuff and carry the anhinga to my car.

J R had already left, so I couldn’t ask him if he’d be willing to run out to my car and get the box. I had to temporarily leave most of my stuff on the ground again. I managed to get the Birdie Bag over my shoulder and, still holding the fighting anhinga, walked to my car and struggled to unlock the trunk and get the cardboard box out.

A minute later, just as I got Miss Stabby inside the cardboard box, I saw another juvenile anhinga hauling ass, running across the grass toward the rookery.

Well, shit! Where the hell did that anhinga come from? Was it related to Miss Stabby? How did they both get on the ground, and why was that bird so far from the rookery?

I couldn’t keep the box closed, and Miss Stabby kept striking. I finally had to get another towel and drop it over the top of the box to keep the bird inside. I gathered up all of my stuff, picked up the Birdie Box, and quickly walked back around parts of the rookery, looking for the other juvenile anhinga. I didn’t find her.

At Rogers, they looked over Miss Stabby. She was a little skinny and too young to be out on her own—she hadn’t developed all the feathers she needed for flying—but she was otherwise in pretty good health.

I made sure to get some pictures of her while she was in the Birdie Box at the rookery, because when on earth would I have the opportunity to rescue another juvenile anhinga?

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

Miss Stabby the anhinga peers out of the Birdie Box.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

She glowers like a supervillain. Just what were you plotting before you wound up on the ground, Miss Stabby?

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

YOU’LL GET NOTHING OUT OF ME, HUMAN. NOTHING!

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

YOUR BOX SHALL NOT HOLD ME! VIVA LA BIRD! FREEDOM!

The next day, Q and I went to the rookery together. We were almost ready to leave when I spotted another juvenile anhinga hiding among some weeds, close to where I’d found Number One and around the corner from where I saw Miss Stabby the day before. Capturing a distressed bird is MUCH easier with two people compared with one person! I was pretty sure that the anhinga was Miss Stabby’s little sister and the same anhinga I’d seen running toward the rookery the day before. Although the bird was feisty, she wasn’t quite as active as Miss Stabby.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

Q prepares Miss Stabby’s Little Sister for wrapping and placement in the Birdie Box.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

WHAT IS HAPPENING? I AM SO CONFUSED.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

FIRST MY SISTER WAS CAPTURED AND PUT IN BOX AND TAKEN TO BIRDIE JAIL. NOW I AM CAPTURED AND PUT IN BOX . . .

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

OMG! THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE ME TO BIRDIE JAIL!!!

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

OH, THERE ARE FISHIES IN BIRDIE JAIL? FRESH WITH NO REGURGITATE? HMMM.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX and rescued

OKAY, BIRD HAS DECIDED. BIRD IS READY TO BE BOOKED INTO BIRDIE JAIL, PLS.

Sadly, Q and I learned later that one of the rescued anhingas died. We suspect that it was Miss Stabby’s Little Sister. The bird that died was apparently too emaciated to recover when we found her. I’m still glad that we picked up the anhingas and that Rogers tried to save them both. If I don’t pick a bird up at all, it will surely die unless another human intervenes. If I do pick a bird up, it may still die . . . but there is also a chance it will live, and that’s a chance it wouldn’t get if I left it alone.

Q and I went back to the rookery on Friday, July 3. We found no other anhingas in the rookery, although we did see a very small black-crowned night heron chick sitting in some mowed grass outside the rookery. It was in a section of the rookery where there weren’t any nearby nests, so I’m not sure how the bird got where she was. Regardless, I picked her up and put her in the Birdie Bag.

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) chick found on and rescued from the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX

Black-crowned night heron chicks really, really remind me of little baby dinosaurs.

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) chick found on and rescued from the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX

The chick was totally freaked out. Her eyes were pinning like crazy, and because her irises were so light-colored, the flashing pupils were very noticeable.

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) chick found on and rescued from the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX

Forget the Hypnotoad; this was the Hypnoheron!

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) chick found on and rescued from the ground at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas, TX

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOHERON! AND FISHIES.

Because we had the heron, we had to go to Rogers. That meant getting onto Woodall Rodgers to get to 45 south. When I drove, I usually took Harry Hines to get to Woodall Rodgers. I-35 south was almost always backed up, and the far-right lanes that exited to Woodall Rodgers were always the slowest; they were also not easy to get over into. I wanted to go on Harry Hines, but Q was driving. Q was tired of Harry Hines and wanted to take the highway. I said, okay, go whichever way you want, and Q ended up getting on east-bound Inwood to exit onto south-bound Harry Hines.

As we were driving on the on-ramp to Harry Hines, I saw something strange and yelled for Q to stop the car.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) stranded on a traffic island near Harry Hines Boulevard and Inwood Road in Dallas, TX

HOWDY, HUMANS. YOU HAVE FISHIES FOR BIRD? I WILL BE ADORABLE BIRD FOR YOU IN RETURN FOR TWO TASTY FISHIES.

Perched up on a traffic island to the right of the on-ramp to south-bound Harry Hines was a juvenile anhinga. She looked about the same age as Miss Stabby’s Little Sister.

There was no pull-off, but because there was no traffic behind us, Q backed up and pulled over as far to the right as he could. The on-ramp was extremely wide, and cars could go around us without trouble. We grabbed our protective glasses, blankets, and the Birdie Box. I walked up onto the island and snuck up behind the Harry Hines anhinga while Q waited in the street. The Harry Hines anhinga became extremely agitated as I closed in on her. She ran out into the street, where Q caught her and carried her back to the island for wrapping and placement in the Birdie Box.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on and rescued from a traffic island near Harry Hines Boulevard and Inwood Road in Dallas, TX

Q holds the Harry Hines anhinga after her capture in the street.

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on and rescued from a traffic island near Harry Hines Boulevard and Inwood Road in Dallas, TX

I AM SO ASHAMED YOU FOUND ME ON HARRY HINES. I JUST NEEDED FISHIES SO BAD. HUMANS DO IT; WHY NOT BIRD?

Juvenile anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) found on and rescued from a traffic island near Harry Hines Boulevard and Inwood Road in Dallas, TX

Luckily, the juvenile was offered and accepted placement in a court diversion program to serve the remainder of her sentence at Ms. Rogers’ Finishing School for Wayward and Troubled Birds.

I don’t know if the Harry Hines anhinga survived—almost immediately after we dropped her off, Matt Leatherwood tried to feed her a nice big fish. I hope she did live, and I hope the other juvenile that survived is doing well. One of the workers at Rogers said that Miss Stabby, the anhinga that probably survived, was quite “sweet.”

Last year when I was bringing rookery birds to Rogers, I often spoke with a woman there who joked that I should bring them an anhinga. She said they used to have an anhinga named Charlie, who could not be released. Charlie was a very long-lived bird, and although they had offers from zoos and other places, they refused to give him up because he was such a sweet bird. If that woman is still working at Rogers, I haven’t seen her this year, but I would love for her to know that I finally brought them her hoped-for bird.

Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park: Part 2

Although none of the nesting birds seemed affected by the people at the gator farm, one bird was especially nonchalant. She was a juvenile tricolored heron that was perched on a post only a couple of feet away from the main boardwalk.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) preens on a post at the rookery at the St. Augustine alligator farm in St. Augustine, FL

If I may speak frankly, you humans all look like ugly monsters.

The wood storks were starting to perk up and get a little more active. A few of them flew short distances to land and loaf on different trees.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The roseate spoonbills were still mostly hanging out.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Although I don’t like birds being obscured by branches, I really like the different patterns of shadows.

This next spoonbill was clamping down on branches and shaking them furiously. I’m not sure whether he was trying to gather nesting material or if he were shaking the branches as a mating display.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SEXY FOR THIS BRANCH. TOO SEXY FOR THIS TREE. SO SEXY, YOU SEE.

Some egrets had their nests in a good-enough condition that the “on-duty” incubating bird could relax and lay on their eggs.

Great egret (Ardea alba) sits on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Other egrets were actively working on their nests, even though the females had already started to lay eggs.

A pair of mated great egrets (Ardea alba) work together on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A pair of great egrets together at their nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The male snowy egret was still perching on the tree where he had run off the female he mated with.

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

SNOWY IS TOO YOUNG TO THINK OF SETTLING DOWN AND BUILDING A NEST. SNOWY IS FUN-LOVING AND CAREFREE!

Another great egret had a beautiful green lore.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) begins to shake itself in a rouse at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

HELLO, LADIES. MY ASTROLOGICAL SIGN IS THE SEXY BIRD. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN?

Other great egrets displayed, hung out on their nests, and looked for nesting material.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) scratches an itch at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. AUgustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The bills of the wood storks were fascinating to see up close. I remember a project in a ceramics class in which we burnished our pieces while the clay was still moist and later fired the pieces in a pit fire. The colors and the way the light hits the stork’s beak remind me of that burnished clay after it was fired.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The juvenile tricolored heron fluttered down to the banks and stepped into the water to hunt. At one point she walked right by a gator. The gator didn’t care.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

She was able to catch a few small fish, but I didn’t get any pics.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The spoonbill that had been shaking branches gave up.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SLEEPY TO BE SEXY. POOR ME.

The other adult spoonbill that I’d been watching also went to sleep.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A different spoonbill was awake, although she was just lounging around while a pair of nearby snowy egrets were bleating and working on a nest.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Some of the wood storks started gaping again.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL
Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

DO YOU LIKE MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME, HUMAN? I’M GOING AS A TREE.

At that point, Q and I had been at the rookery for about two hours, so we decided to go check out the other exhibits at the gator farm.

Alligator (alligator mississippiensis) lounging in water, covered in bird droppings, at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

This rookery gator cracked me up because of all the bird shit on its back. It must have been hanging out in that position for a long time.

They had an African exhibit that I really liked. There was a red ruffed lemur that was dozing.

Red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) sleeps at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There was also a pair of marabou storks. They were awesome! I loved their long, dangling throat sacs. One of the storks preened the other for a few minutes. The preener then briefly preened herself before wandering off to get a drink of water.

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) preens at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Profile of a marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

What a striking bird.

 

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) takes a sip of water at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were also cape griffon vultures and a hooded vulture. I thought that the hooded vulture was especially beautiful.

Cape griffon vultures (Gyps coprotheres) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

We also walked by a couple of Galapagos tortoises.

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were lots of other birds in other exhibits, although I didn’t take pics of them. I’ve never been particularly interested in alligators or crocodiles, but I was amazed by the diversity of the species they had at the gator farm.

One post remains.

Juvenile Bird Day! Starring: Ibis! Heron! Egret! And Last But Not Least . . . Vulture!

It was July 6, a Sunday. Q and I were visiting the rookery at UT Southwestern. It was getting near the end of the season, and most of the birds had already left. We first had to check on the Thothlings, our collective name for the three juvenile American white ibises that had hatched that spring.

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

PINK EYE IS PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR!

We loved watching those ibises. I liked them best when they were getting just big enough to squirm out from underneath their parent in the nest, and I liked watching the parent’s desperate attempts to keep them tucked under her/his body. They were so cute, with their black heads and small, black-and-pink–striped, curved beaks. Once the Thothlings were distinctive enough that I could tell them apart, I named them. At first I was worried that I might not be able to keep them straight because their coloration would continue to change, but I realized that they would be long gone from the rookery before that became a problem. Watching them explore their nest tree was always fun. Eventually that exploration changed to short flights to other trees, then flights above the rookery. Then they left.

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I AM CUDDLE MONSTER, AND I AM HERE ON JULY 6!

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Pink Eye stands proudly in her nest tree.

We could see Pink Eye and Cuddle Monster, but where was Zebra?

Juvenile American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) perched in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I’M BACK HERE, SILLY HUMANS!

There were still a few large black-crowned night heron juveniles hanging around the rookery.

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

Juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

And some not-so-large black-crowned night heron juveniles.

Two baby black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) sit in a nest at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

They look like tiny dinosaurs.

Throughout the spring several tricolored heron couples tried to nest at the rookery, but only three couples were able to make it to egg hatching. The most successful couple made a nest that, while visible, was far back in the foliage. The female in that couple was the first to lay eggs, and all three of the chicks survived to adolescence. The second couple had a much more visible nest near the ibis nest. The female laid at least two eggs. A few days after the first chick hatched and was able to move, I stopped seeing movement in the nest. By that time the second chick should have hatched. I hoped the babies were just asleep. The next day the heron couple had vanished, and a cattle egret was steadily pilfering sticks from the abandoned nest.

One day the adolescent tricolored birds disappeared. It happened right after a storm. I was sure they were dead, and although I never saw a corpse, I always kept watch for one. Q thought that the birds had simply grown too old for the nest and dispersed to other locations.

Q was right.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) stands in a tree at the UT Southwestern rookery in Dallas

I’M ALIVE!

After the reappearance, I only saw the tricolored juveniles when I was with Q. Maybe that was because we visited the rookery at different times when we were together than when I was alone. Or maybe they liked him better than they liked me. Once we even saw two of the juveniles flying to their old nest. That was nice.

As we were finishing our circuit around the rookery, Q and I saw a great egret juvenile wandering around near the Memorial Garden. Rescue time! The first time I rescued a great egret juvenile, I was concerned about the baby I saw staggering on the lawn in the hot sun, but I knew some types of juvenile birds would explore on the ground while their parent watched from a safe distance away. I didn’t want to interfere with that. I called up Rogers and explained my worry. “Do great egrets do that?” I asked.

“No. If a great egret is on the ground, the parents have forgotten it. It needs help.”

After that day, I started carrying a cardboard box in my car and plenty of towels in case I needed to make a rescue at the rookery.

Great egrets are shitty-ass parents. Really awful. If a bird falls out or is pushed out of the nest and can’t make its way back, it’s fucked. No one will help it. To make matters worse, like baby American white pelicans, baby great egrets often commit siblicide. Smaller/younger siblings who aren’t outright killed but who are still harassed may end up falling out of or intentionally leaving the nest to escape from their murder-inclined siblings.

By this time I had started carrying not only towels with me but a large bag I dubbed the “Birdie Bag.” If I found a bird too young to be on the ground outside the rookery, I would catch it, wrap it up in a large towel, and place it in the Birdie Bag to keep it secure until I got to Rogers. Using the Birdie Bag worked better than just holding a wrapped-up baby to my chest, and I hoped it made the experience less traumatic for the bird.

Abandoned juvenile great egret (Ardea alba) rescued and put in a bag for transport to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

The wandering egret juvenile secured in the Birdie Bag, awaiting transport to Rogers.

When Q and I got to Rogers, we went to look at their birds after dropping off the egret. A few great blue herons live there and have the run of the place. The first time I saw them, I was very nervous. They were so close! I felt strange walking by them: “Uh, excuse me? Wild bird that is just standing there? Don’t you need to move? Run away? May I please get by?”

I almost always get a kick out of seeing a “wild” bird chilling next to human-made objects. This was no exception.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) lounges next to an air conditioning unit at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center south of Dallas

The heron looks like she’s just skipped class to go smoke near the back of the high school.

One of the baby vultures was hanging out by herself in the shade.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lounges in the grass at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center south of Dallas

Greetings, humans!

THE STORY OF THE ROGERS VULTURES

Kathy Rogers told Q and me the story of the vulture family when we were at Rogers at the end of May. I’ve forgotten some of the details, but hopefully I can remember enough to do justice to the story.

Black vultures nest on the ground, in places with lots of cover. Ms. Rogers had noticed a pair of black vultures hanging around Rogers, and one day discovered that they had made a nest in a large cage that had been empty. Ms. Rogers said she was extremely excited to see the nest—because the birds nest on the ground, one cannot easily observe adult breeding behavior and juvenile behavior. She was looking forward to learning more about the vultures. She kept the cage empty for the vultures to continue using and observed them.

The black vulture couple laid two eggs. While they were incubating the eggs, Ms. Rogers received two abandoned black vulture eggs. She wondered if she could get the black vulture couple to care for the abandoned eggs/chicks along with the couple’s own offspring. Unlike great egrets, black vultures are excellent parents.

All four of the eggs hatched within the same week. Ms. Rogers introduced the extra chicks to the parents and supplied the parents with supplemental food to feed the new additions. The strategy worked: the parents accepted all four babies as their own and cared for them. Ms. Rogers said this news was especially excellent because the birds from the abandoned nest will have a pretty good chance of surviving in the wild due to the socialization and teaching they will learn from their adopted parents—black vultures are highly social and gregarious birds. For a while the babies had open access, but after they wound up in the woods, Ms. Rogers put them in a large pen with access outside to a “porch” where the parents could hop in and check on them. Once the babies got older, they had more access to the grounds. The last time I was at Rogers, they were old enough and strong enough to roost in trees and on roofs. They are heart-meltingly ADORABLE.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) stands in shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

You can still see little threads of yellow down around her neck.

We left that juvenile and saw another hanging out by herself under a bench, although four more juveniles were lounging under another bench near her.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lies in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Four juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) lies in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

An adult had been sitting near the foursome, but she got up and walked out into the sunlight.

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) walks on the grounds at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Walter M. Miller, Jr was right: I do lovingly feed my young.

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) walks on the grounds at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

She is walking past a cage that has a black vulture in it. I always wondered how the caged black vultures felt about the vulture family. Glad to see conspecifics? Sad that they couldn’t move freely, while the other birds could?

A black vulture (Coragyps atratus) stands in the sun at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The juvenile who had been lying by herself near the foursome got up and looked adorable.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing in the shade at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Then I realized something. The vulture family had four juveniles. When Q and I had first arrived, we’d seen a juvenile vulture. Then we saw the juvenile who had been lying down by herself. Next to her were the four juveniles resting together. The adult had joined another adult elsewhere on the property. That’s six juveniles and two adults.

I returned to all of the locations to see if any of the birds had moved—maybe I had mistakenly counted the same bird twice. Nope. Six juveniles. Four of them were obviously the Rogers birds, but who were the other two? Perhaps the count was four Rogers juveniles, one Rogers adult, and a different adult with its two juveniles who had come to visit the Rogers vultures. Do vultures even do that?! The next time I went to Rogers, there were only the four juveniles there.

UPDATE: I ran into a woman who works at Rogers (she was the person who taught me, after I had a near-miss experience, that egrets go for the eyes and I should wear safety glasses), and when I asked about the vulture family, she was able to make sense of what I’d seen. Not only had the vulture parents taken in the two newly hatched birds along with their own chicks, but later on in the season two more vulture chicks that had been abandoned were brought to Rogers, and the vulture parents adopted those birds as well. So there were six juveniles, total. The next time I was at Rogers and had only seen four, the two others might have been somewhere else on the property.

She also said that the vulture couple has been spotted visiting Rogers again with a couple of their offspring. She suspects that the parents might be looking to scope out the area for a possible nesting site. She said this year, they are only making one specific cage available to the parents to use, not the one the birds chose last year. It would be adorable if the vulture pair chose to raise young there again this coming year!

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

All right you humans, listen up. My name is Fluffy, and I’m here to instruct you in the fine art of being a vulture.

Back where the majority of the juveniles were hanging out, the vulture who had stood up decided to hop onto the bench.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a bench at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The other vultures were still lounging on the ground.

Two black vultures lying on the ground at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

The vulture on the bench hopped down and went out to strut her stuff in the sun.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

I WILL BE SO SEXY WHEN I AM A GROWN-UP.

Juvenile black vulture (Coragyps atratus) holds wings out at Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, south of Dallas

WHY IS NO ONE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME? NOW I AM ANGRY! GRRRR!

Q and I went back home, where I saw a pretty black bee hanging out on my gaillardia blooms. Does anyone know what kind of bee it might be? It was small, much closer to the size of a honey bee than a carpenter bee.

Black bee on a gaillardia flower in Dallas

One last thing: I hope that anyone reading this will strongly consider donating to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. They do excellent work rehabilitating and caring for birds.

Two Random Pics: A Pelican Landing and a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Preening

Recently there was a photo contest calling for submissions of pictures representing activities and wildlife at White Rock Lake. Neither Q nor I had ever entered a photo contest before, so we decided to do so for fun, not expecting anything would come of it (and we were right!). I was trying to choose between several pelican pics that I really liked, but when Q saw one of them, he became very emphatic.

“This one. Choose this one. You have a great deal of action and excitement with the diagonal pelican slicing through the frame.”

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) descending to land at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

OH SHIT, WHERE DO I LAND?

In early July I’d seen quite a bit of a yellow-crowned night heron who kept preening, sunbathing, hunting crawdads, bathing, and preening again on and near a concrete chunk in the lower section of the spillway. I chose one of my favorite pics of her.

Yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea) grooming at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.

A Dallas birder, photographer, and blogger, Ben, did get an honorable mention, so I was glad to see that.

UPDATE: The winning pics are up, and . . . uhhhhhhh . . .

Some birder/photographers who have much more experience regarding this contest than I told me that the contest was unprofessional (in the context of real photography contests with real judges). The “judges,” who were not named or described (if I am remembering correctly), tended to choose extremely boring and/or clichéd pics. The photographers joked to each other that there HAD to be a pic of a dock as a winner!

Except they weren’t joking. Three dock-related pics were winners/honorable mentions! There were some pics that I liked, but in general . . . man . . .

If Q or I enter this contest again, we have a much better idea of what wins. Or, as Q said, “We can take a break while riding around the lake and snap a shitty picture of some boats or the landscape and win!”

 

The Adventures of Edwina the Great Blue Heron, Mighty Hunter of Sunfish

Early July was actually pretty good for nearby birding. The ibis juveniles were still at the UT Southwestern rookery, along with a few very rapidly maturing black-crowned night heron juveniles and Giant Egret Babies. For me, the best birding was suddenly seeing yellow-crowned night herons off-and-on during the day for two weeks at White Rock Lake, and I would almost always see a great blue heron hunting near the spillway. Usually the great blue would be on the spillway steps, but when I stopped by on July 3 after a trip to the rookery, no birds were there. Instead, two men were crouched on a concrete embankment beyond the fence, fishing. They had frightened away all the birds.

(Hey, Dallas, as you’re so unbelievably broke, why not bring in some money by simply enforcing your laws about not fishing over bridges at the lake and not hopping over or crawling under fences to trespass onto land to fish? I saw someone doing that every day I was at the lake during the summer. Often more than one person.)

I thought that there might be some birds further up, so I pressed on and crossed the bridge. I continued walking along the edge of the water, peering through the fence. Only a little past the bridge, I saw a great blue heron standing in some water just behind a small island of trees and concrete chunks. She had probably been hunting in the spillway when the fisher intruded, and, luckily for me, she had barely flown out of the way.

I didn’t know it, but I had just glimpsed the bird who would become the most successful hunter out of all the birds I’ve watched: Edwina the great blue heron.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) standing in water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Who, me? That’s right, me!

I crouched down next to the fence and watched her. She was sipping water, and later I realized that she had probably just finished eating a fish. At the time, however, I didn’t know what she was going to do or where she might go, so I waited. After slaking her thirst, she walked onto the concrete island and hopped down into a section of grass and reeds that faced a small channel of water. That bird was ready to hunt!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) standing on grass at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

FISHIES BEWARE!

She walked to the edge of the greenery and crouched, readying herself for a strike. When the strike came, it was totally unlike what I’d seen in the past.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) dives into water, hunting for fish, at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Something happens, and I’m head over heels . . .

Edwina was clinging to the foliage with her feet to anchor herself, but the forward momentum of the strike was so great that she was unable to maintain her footing and tumbled all the way into the water.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in the water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

I never find out ’til I’m head over heels.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in the water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Wait, am I supposed to be swimming or hunting?

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) emerges from water clutching a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

HUNTING SUCCESSFULLY!

Later I would see herons falling into water while striking at a fish, but watching it happen for the first time with such a large bird simultaneously astonished me, cracked me up, and made me feel somewhat protective of her.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holding a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Q saw this picture and said, “It would be beautiful to paint a room the colors of a great blue heron’s feathers, but it would be difficult to get the heron to come to the paint store with us so we could compare the feather colors to the paint samples.”

She climbed back up into the greenery and hopped onto the concrete island, still holding her fish proudly aloft.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holds a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

DON’T WORRY, FISHIE; I WILL TAKE YOU TO A SAFE PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SWIM HAPPILY . . . IN EDWINA’S STOMACH! HA HA HA, I AM SO FUNNY. I LOVE ME.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holds a green sunfish in her beak at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

She let the fish wriggle in her beak for about forty-five seconds before she gobbled it down. She sipped some water, then made her way back to her hunting spot.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) strikes at a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

STRIKE!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) strikes at a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

SPLASH!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) strikes at a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

. . . and back in the water she goes.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Ah, missed!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Well, FUCK!

Edwina didn’t let the miss get her down. She got right back down at the edge of the water and struck again.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) bringing up a fish from water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Her neck looked like it kept stretching out longer and longer as she pulled her head out of the water.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) bringing up a green sunfish from water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

That’s a bingo!

She carefully regained her balance while keeping a hold on the sunfish.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holding a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

MY fishie, human!

Then Edwina raised her foot up by the fish. I got very excited, because I’d never seen a heron use her foot to manipulate objects in her beak. But I was wrong: Edwina was using her foot to scratch her face while she held the fish.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holding a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

FOOLED YOU, HUMAN!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) holding a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Then she turned away and took her fish back to the concrete island to devour it.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) eats a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

BYE, FISHIE!

Again she took a few ceremonial sips of water.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in the water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

And again she returned to her hunting spot.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) walking through foliage at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Better run through the jungle.

And again she dove for a fish.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) diving into water after a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Weeeeeeee!

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) emerges from water with a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

So give me fishies, and make ’em one, two, three. I will eat them; they will satisfy me.

Can you guess what happened next?

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) emerges from water with a fish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) carries a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) prepares to eat a green sunfish at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Three fishes caught and eaten! And again she returned.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) walking through foliage at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

She was obviously going for a fourth fish, but I’d been watching her for about forty-five minutes and thought I’d seen plenty. I decided to let her hunt without a human peering down at her.

As I stepped back onto the bridge to leave, I looked down at the concrete embankment where the human fishers had been and saw that a much more appropriate fisher had taken their place.

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) fishing from a concrete embankment at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Good luck, black-crowned night heron!

But before I left, I got Edwina to agree to participate in a brief Q&A for humans who may be interested in her life.

What kind of fish is the best type for great blue herons to eat?

MY FISH.

If you could eat any kind of fish right now, what kind would you choose?

YOUR FISH.

Thank you, Edwina!

Birds at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: March 2014 Florida Visit

I’ve been up to (over to? across to?) Titusville several times in the past, either to visit the Kennedy Space Center or to watch shuttle launches, but I’d never been birding in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. My father and I went there together, and I got to see another bird I’d been hoping to see.

We paused along a pull-off point because I saw a few birds standing together and wondered what they were. The day was extremely windy, and taking in-focus pictures was a huge challenge. The birds were about the size of a heron, with pink feathers and a long, strange bill with a circular curve at the end.

They were roseate spoonbills. I had never seen one before nor even heard of them.

The spoonbills eventually flew off, and almost right as they did, a tricolored heron flew in and began to hunt. I was so pleased! Little did I know that I would be seeing more tricolored herons in the future, and in Dallas.

We tried the Atlantic side, hoping for brown pelicans, but there was almost no birds and LOTS of people. We turned away from the Atlantic, and that’s when we started seeing more birds.

Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) perches on a dead tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Oh, Little Blue, birdie, I love you, Little Blue.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) lands on a tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Nice of you to drop in, madam!

The tricolored flew in right as my father and I were turning back from a trail that had ended in muck. As we would walk closer to the heron, she would fly and land just a little in front of us.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) perches on a branch at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Just gorgeous.

Finally she got tired of us always catching up with her and flew off for real.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) in flight at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

BYE, HUMANS!

We went by a location that was frequented by manatees, so we decided to drop in and look. We didn’t find manatees . . .

Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) soars through the air at the Merritt Island Natinal Wildlife Refuge in Florida

The turkey vulture, one of my father’s favorite birds.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

HELLO, AGAIN!

The adult brown pelican was initially loafing on a railing in a restricted part of the river. She dove into the water, floated for a while, then took off and began flying in circles. A juvenile joined in on the flying fun.

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) poops while flying above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Pooping birds crack me up. I don’t know why.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

ZOOM!

We went on a walk in an area of pine habitat, where we saw some scrub-jays and an immature bald eagle. Overall it was a good visit, and I hope that the next time I go to Florida, Q will come with me so we can check out the refuge together.