Smith Oaks Rookery

.
After visit to Anahuac NWR, we made the short drive over to the Smith Oaks rookery at High Island. It was a little late in the season to see eggs hatching but there was still plenty of other action to watch. Here are some of the scenes that greeted us.

The Roseate Spoonbill nests were full of large chicks which were still just very pale pink.

In  some cases, one adult was watching over the young while the other parent was presumably away looking for food.

One adult Spoonbill seemed to be running rather late because it was still collecting nesting material.

Several nests contained young Cattle Egrets.

In one nest three young Great Egrets were lined up waiting for a parent to return with food.

In another, the parent had just arrived back and was being mobbed by hungry young birds.

In other nests young Neotropic Cormorants were either waiting anxiously for parents to return ...

... or were busy being fed.

This Tricolored Heron appeared to have only one chick to care for.

One Snowy Egret looked wonderful in its in full breeding plumage.

Down by the water another Snowy Egret was fishing, no doubt needing to find food for a nestful of hungry young.

A Black-crowned Night Heron flew in and then quickly disappeared into the undergrowth. No doubt it was heading for a well-concealed nest.

The biggest surprise was to see numerous Wood Storks flying over the pond or perched in nearby trees.

We don't get to see Wood Storks very often and usually when we do see them, it is at a distance. So getting such comparatively close-up views was a real treat and was a fitting end to a pleasant day's birding.
.