Question: What’s up with the birds? For the past several evenings there’s been a big meeting on the dock and today this guy hangs out on our front porch for an hour. Not the least bit afraid of me…lets me get less than 10 feet away to get a pic. Mike Vinson
Herons and Egrets on the dock. Red-tailed Hawk on porch.
Answer: It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. That does not mean you need to read a thousand words in my answer. It does say that with the pictures we received far more clues than a simple description.
The one image is of a collection of herons and egrets hanging around on the dock. Clue number 1. The picture also shows that the tide is very high. With such a high tide, the birds are pushed out of their normal feeding zones and resting up. For the last few days, at about the same time, this would be a common occurrence. Furthermore, at this time of the year, one will find the maximum number of individual birds. The southern migration is in full swing. Herons from up north are looking for places to spend the winter.
Second, the young of the year have all hatched and are also exploring new worlds. It is very common for at least 30% of these young birds to not make it through the first year. For some species the attrition rate is even higher. As the season progresses, some birds will not make it and others will move on. Clue number 2 supports the above. Three adult Little Blue Herons hang around on the dock. While the image is not super clear, I think there are 7 immature Little Blue Herons in the mix.
The adult Little Blue Heron is the dark blue throughout its body. The immature birds start out white, looking very much like a Snowy Egret or Great Egret, but they are the same size as the adult Little Blue Heron and their legs are grey, not black (snowy) or yellow (great). These observations help explain the abundance of birds Mike is seeing.
The images of the hawk offer a host of clues. We can look at the picture and see that this is an adult Red-tailed Hawk. The one image clearly shows the red tail, something only seen in adult birds. We cannot tell the sex of this bird with certainty, but I would guess a female. Females trend taller and heavier than males. This bird looks hefty, though without something for scale, it is hard to tell.
Why is this bird so tolerant? The front on picture shows a huge bulge in the throat or crop of this bird. Many birds have a special organ by their throat called a crop. In the feast or famine world of nature, this allows them to gorge and then store the food for slower digestion. That bulging crop indicates this bird
has just eaten a huge meal! I guess that it is tolerant of the intrusion because it is stuffed and digesting.
Question answered by Robert Mercer
Photos by Mike Vinson