The egrets left the Preserve some years ago and may be returning now. A few weeks ago I saw one; just days ago, there were five frolicking around in the refreshed treetops.
Black Crown Night Heron chick
But the black crowned night herons never did leave, and it’s been fun to capture a few pictures of their offspring. The ones pictured here, from past years, are big galumphing adolescents, with feathers nothing like those of their parents.
Stilt
Delving into the files again, I chortle a little when the pictures of stilts come up. I’m undoubtedly not the first to describe them as fully and formally dressed in their black & white tuxedos. They prance around the marshlands as if in a precise dance, occasionally dipping into the canapé tray.
Finally, today, I could not
- Shall we dance?
resist any longer. Here’s a little something from fantasy land. Would the original stilt have recognized it?