The final part of our weekend near the coast was a visit to the rookery at High Island.
On our drive from Winnie to Hgh Island we came across an unusual piece of roadkill - an alligator. Even the Turkey Vultures are going to find that difficult to clean up!
It was a little early to see a lot of chicks at the rookery but several Great Egret nests had young in them.
Other Great Egrets were still collecting nesting materials.
None of the Snowy Egrets we saw were as far along with raising families as their larger relatives.
Mixed in with the Egrets were at least three Tricolored Herons.
This one seemed to be awed by the Snowy Egrets' plumage.
A couple of Little Blue Herons were also present but were hunkered down in the foliage.
As always, the biggest crowd-pleasers were Roseate Spoonbills. One pair mated while we were there.
Many more were busy forgaging, or bickering over nesting sites and materials, or just flying around.
Dee and I will have to return to High Island in a few weeks' time, when the Spoonbills and most of the other birds will have nests full of chicks. It's a sight we look forward to every year!
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You guys saw a lot of great bird action! Love all that pink! Sad about the alligator. I've never seen that happen before, although I hear down near the Everglades you can see gators that have been run over.
ReplyDeleteHigh Island rookery in April-June is a great place to take kids or friends who aren't really into birding. There's always lots of action, plus you can watch most of it easily without binoculars.
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