These pictures were taken on March 23rd, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas. These little guys can really put on a show during mating season. They are very territorial and when I was there, two pair were trying to nest in the same area
. It just lead to one chase after another and of course showing off all their fluffy, pretty feathers, which they only have during mating season.
This picture was taken at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas on March 30th, 2008. Flight shots can be very tricky to take. For the longest time I had trouble finding the bird in my viewfinder, let alone getting the camera to focus on it. Practice is the answer. If you double click on the image, you'll find it's perfectly clear even when blown up to a larger size.
This picture was taken at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas on March 23rd, 2008. Probably the main reason that all the birds nest on the Island at the Rookery is because there are no predators there. That's because the waters have quite a few alligators so normal predators won't venture out onto the Island. Of course, there is a bit of a price to pay for this protection: any chicks that happen to fall out of the nest are gobbled up within seconds of hitting the ground. However, these chicks that fall probably wouldn't have made it anyway. I saw one Great Egret chick that managed to climb out of the nest 
and was on the same branch, but about two feet away from the nest. It's Mother completely ignored it and just went about looking after the remaining chicks. I watched for about two hours but the chick was still in the same spot. The next day the chick was gone. This seems very cruel to most of us but I guess this is Mother natures way of doing survival of the fittest. Great Egret chicks can be very aggressive to other chicks where they will peck at smaller chicks to achieve dominance and a larger share of the food. This chick may have been driven out of the nest.
This picture was taken on 24th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas. The warblers were supposed to be at the Boy Scout Woods, but very few showed up while we were there, including this guy that didn't know he was supposed to be at the Boy Scout Woods.
These pictures were taken on 23rd March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas. During breeding season these guys really like to spread their wings and show off their colors. I think they succeeded. They got my attention.
These pictures were taken on 29th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, High Island, Texas. Shooting these birds during breeding season can be exciting because of all the feathery plummage and the birds are doing their best to show off. It spoils a person for the remaining 10 months of the year though because the birds aren't nearly as pretty.
These pictures were taken on 23rd March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, High Island Texas. The Rookery is a birder's paradise, especially if you're into photography. You're close enough to the birds that you can get a nice clean shot. I took more than 700 pictures on this day alone. I've managed to delete about 600 and I'll be processing the remainder for some time to come.
These pictures were taken between 23rd & 30th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, Texas. During breeding season, they are much more colourful than during the rest of the year. In some of the pictures, you'll note some juveniles that are much less colourful. It's also interesting to watch some of their mating rituals. They seem to have sword fights with their bills and one of their rituals is they will sit side by side on tree or branch and bow their heads in unison, then raise their heads in unison. It's quite interesting to watch.
This picture was taken on 31st March, 2008 at the High Island RV Park, High Island, Texas. Marie, the park owner (wonderful park) was gracious enough to allow me to go up on her balcony and take photos of the Purple Martins that nest in their park. I'll be posting more of these guys later Marie.
These pictures were taken on 24th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, Texas. In these pictures, they are actually squabbling
over nesting areas. They probably aren't as good pictures as I would like to post but they do show some of the breeding plummage that you only see in the spring.
This picture was taken on 31st March 2008 at the High Island Beach, Texas. It's a pretty common Gull, but what the heck, he's trying to look beautiful.
These pictures were taken between 23rd & 29th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, Texas. These guys are in full breeding plummage and are much prettier at the time of year than in the rest of the year. They are quite agressive toward other Snowies wanting to nest in the same area as can be seen in the top picture. Note the black bill and yellow feet. Watching them build nests was quite interesting. The Great Egrets would fly off and bring home one stick at a time, whereas the Snowies would wade in the water feeling for sucken sticks with their feet and then pick it up with their beak. Then walk or fly back to their nest with their new found treasure.
This picture was taken on 28th March, 2008 at Bolivar Flats, near High Island, Te
xas. Many times, Reddish Egrets can be seen with their wings spread wide, walking or running through the water in an attempt to frighten their prey causing them to move and be seen.
These photo's were taken between 23rd & 30th March, 2008 at the High Island Rookery, Texas. The Great Egret is one of the most common birds in the world including North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. They make their nests out of sticks and not all chicks make it past the nesting stage as the larger, stronger chicks will often pick on the smaller ones.
These photos were taken on 26th & 29th March 2008 at the High Island Rookery, Texas. They are also known as the "Snake bird" because many times when they're swimming only their head and neck will protrude from the water. They don't have oil in their feathers similar to ducks which allows them to swim underwater much more easily. Because of this, they are often seen with their wings spread, drying their feathers as is shown by the second photo. Double clicking on the photo will allow you to see an enlarged version.
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