High Island Rookery

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The rookery in Smith Oaks at High Island is always worth a visit during nesting season and we weren't disappointed when we stopped by there on Saturday.

As usual, visitors were captivated by the appearance and antics of the Roseate Spoonbills.

A few Spoonbills were grooming or sitting quietly on nests.

Others were still in the process of building nests.

Now and then two of the birds would get involved in a tussle that involved a lot of noisy fencing with their bills.

There were many Snowy Egrets, resplendent in full breeding plumage. It was easy to understand how they were almost exterminated 100 years ago to provide feathers for women's hats.

Most of the Snowy Egrets seemed to be flying and wandering around rather aimlessly but a few were clearly in breeding pairs.

For most visitors the stars of the show were the Great Egrets.

A few pairs were indulging in bonding behaviors.

While their plumage was generally not as spectacular as that of their Snowy cousins, several of them had visible young in their nests. So onlookers oohed and aahed as Great Egret parents fed their chicks, and as siblings competed for food.

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