Nests and more!

Yesterday, we went to check on the nests at Ding, thinking that it would be a quick trip and get a couple of pics of new baby chicks. We saw much more on the trip, though! First, two of the four Yellow-Crowned Night Heron chicks had hatched. I love their wild hair!

The nest below is at quite a distance away. I cannot tell if there are two or three little heads in the nest. Maybe next time, I will be able to see them better.

The Little Green Heron babies were all asleep, as were the Anhinga babies. I saw the pretty Tri-Colored Heron below through the tree branches, all colorful with his mating plumage.

As we walked away, I heard a lot of wing flapping, so I turned around and got to see the two pretty Tri-Colored Herons standing in their nest, making babies!

They look pleased with themselves in the photo below, don’t you think?

While I was taking the photos above, my husband was trying to get my attention to tell me that the 10 foot gator had surfaced in the water in the little creek. I managed to get a photo of her before she went back under the water. That is one huge gator. I had my long lens and she was too close for me to be able to get the whole body in the pic. But trust me, this is a really big gator.

Mama Anhinga was drying her wings near the nest while her babies slept.

The little juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron below looked lonely sitting by itself in the sun.

On the drive through Ding, a raccoon ran across the road in front of us. All I could get was a blurry photo through a dirty Jeep window!

The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron below looked like he’d just pushed back from a full meal and was surveying his surroundings. It’s such an odd way to hold his wings.

We certainly didn’t expect to see 29 Roseate Spoonbills in one spot.

Perfect Landing!