As these 3 Little Blue Herons (LBH's) have continued to grow, they are becoming more visible every day - they are climbing out from behind the leaves and also exploring much more than they have in the past. There has been a lot of "branch-hopping" going on recently, with some wing assist to climb around. No flight yet, but it's possibly 1-2 weeks away!
Mom still comes to feed several times daily, and it's like a Central Park mugging.
A new family of LBH's has emerged in this same Mangrove, not more than 3 feet away from this original nest. They seem to be about the same age as Groucho, et al, but were even more hidden by branches until recently. Meet Winken, Blinken and Nod:
In the next Mangrove over (about 20 yards to the right), another family is also just now becoming visible, and active. They seem to be the oldest yet, and likely to be the closest to flight.
This family is nameless so far, since I'm not sure I've seen the entire family yet. The whitish tint of the leaves is deserving of mention.... this is bird poop from another nest that's above them. I hope the rent isn't too high! Getting out of there is probably the biggest incentive to fly that we've seen so far!
I would love to get photos of Waldo and Waldon't flying, but the flights are too short with unpredictable timing. Waldo is clearly both the oldest and the most adventurous of the two. He now often has Waldon't with him on some expeditions, but Waldon't will often return to the nest alone. Waldo typically returns to the nest at night. Both now appear to be adult size. Here they are hunting by the side of the lake below their nest:
There is still LBH activity to come, though. Here you can see a nest with 3 eggs yet to hatch, and also a new hatchling in another nest nearby.
This above could actually be a Tri-Color Heron based on the breeding plumage appearance. And the one below is a parent from the nest that also had a piebald young adult occasionally sitting on the eggs.
Not to forget the other activity on the lake.... the Mallard duckling family seems to be keeping away from the gators. There are 9 ducklings still remaining and they have a well-planned morning and evening route to try to dodge the toothy predators. So far it seems to be successful and the ducklings are growing quickly.
And Mama Gator seems to have sent her babies on their way. I've seen a few on their own, but none with the parent in quite some time.
There should be some LBH flight news coming up for next time!
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