You could have knocked me over with a feather after this little surprise! Although I've been sure for a while that there was only one chick in the Great Blue Heron nest, a second head suddenly popped up last Saturday! They look to both be healthy and about the same size, so it's unclear if I've seen them both, but only at different times, or one prefers to stay down low. Regardless, we now need a second name, and the moniker "Waldon't" was suggested by an alert reader.
Even knowing that there are 2, it's impossible to tell them apart. There is still usually only one of them visible, but here are some exceptions coming up:
And here below is the entire family portrait - Waldo and Waldon't with both parents, and last year's chick (now adult sized) snuck into the back upper left for a photo bomb. He stops in occasionally, but there never seems to be any disagreement or problem. Last year, he actually had a sibling as well, who disappeared when a little smaller than Waldon't. Hopefully they both make it this year.
Other feeding pix:
All the while, the Anhinga chicks are quietly growing larger in size and also in quantity. Here, they are pretty aggressive in trying to get dinner. There are about 6 Anhinga nests in the same tree as the GBH - this one is the most visible by far.
Not to be outdone, our little gators are slowly growing and seem to be staying alive. It's difficult to see and count them all, but there appear to be around 10.
Here you can see several of the little ones in the foreground and a couple in the background.
We're getting closer to LBH (Little Blue Heron) nesting season. Nest building is just beginning, and they will have their time in April!
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