Instead, I headed down to the site to at least take inventory of things we might have to deal with next week. I got there at 8:30 AM and it got hot. Fast. No breeze and high humidity. Good thing I skipped harder work today. Once I made all of my mental notes in an hour I was soaked from head to toe from sweat.
One the way home I got a second wind thanks to the car's AC and decided to check in on Kraft Azalea Park. I figured all the Great Egret and Double-crested Cormorant chicks would all be fledged and gone but who knows. Might be something there. It was very quiet. Couldn't even find a Wood Duck. As I was completing the last part of the lakeside property I finally heard some chatter up in the trees.
Baby Anhingas! That one was up in the branches by itself taking a stretch. Then I spotted another nest full of Anhinga chicks.
Then another, and another. They were all in a few oaks all here by the road. This pair just relaxed on a branch. Adults would sometimes fly in and out during food runs.
This bird actually flew in and chased off a Great Egret.
The Egret settled in some lower branches. Probably waiting to steal some food from the clumsy chicks.
While I was walking around for better angles I was definitely smelling some critter in a state of decay. I couldn't find it anywhere, though. Eventually, however, I spotted it. It appeared that an adult male had slipped of the branch and got its head caught in the limbs. You can barely make it out in the photos. Probably for the best. I still don't know how that chick is going to be, mentally, after fledging while its Dad hangs dead just beneath the nest. Ew.
Life in the big, bad, jungle. Nice to know that the Anhingas do nest here after the other species. Extends the photography season a bit more.
No comments:
Post a Comment