Cattle Egret

Another series of pictures from the Alligator Farm and Rookery in St Augustine, FL

This is my favorite series from the trip. The Cattle Egret is not native to the US but are thought to have migrated up from Africa via S America. These are normally plain Jane (IMHO) little birds that become stunningly beautiful during breedng time...

These two were just finishing up the nest building. I watched what I believe was the female arrange sticks then bounce on the nest, arrange again and bounce. She did this several times...

Here's the happy couple, arranging sticks in the nest

...

Preening each other...

More later...pictures and posts aren't showing up for some reason so I'll wait for a while.

They are indeed lovely birds :-) How fun to watch them making the nest. I for one am fascinated by nest building. I've said it before, I'm easily entertained LOL. But I'm really amazed at what intricate structures birds can create with a few twigs and their beaks. Now I know it also includes their feet LOL

Julie

More gorgeous pictures Stacey. We have Cattle Egrets here in Australia as well, and again they are not native here but are believed to found their own way here from India, following the spread of domestic cattle over the world. I have never seen a nesting colony.

Nature is great entertainment that's for sure!

I think Cattle Egret are pretty much world wide now. I'm so lucky to live in a place that has nesting shorebirds and fairly easy access.

These two spent a lot of time cuddling...

My favorite!

Mine, too!! Great shot!!

Aaaaaahhhhhh, that's just tooo cute! Thanks for the big smile Stacey! :-)

-Julie

Nothing like an egret hug to brighten your day, right?
Thanks Donut and Julie...


This is the incredible Palm Cockatoo, Probosciger aterrimus, native to Australia. This bird strutted and carried on for me but never let me get a profile of its raised crest. Notice the tongue is also red and black

This cockatoo is used in the captive breeding program and SSP, Species Survival Plan, which is a cooperative breeding program amongst N American zoos.

What a character! My husband walked up and said "I think that bird likes you!" I wish we'd had more time...

Here's another bird from Australia, the Kookaburra aka Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae

Black-necked Swan, Cygnus melanocoryphus, native to South America.

I don't know what kind of turtle this is but it was interesting to see the repair done to it's shell. This looks just like the surgical " plates and screws" used to set bone in humans...

Hmmm, wonder who did that?

At the Alligator Farm?? Gee I wonder too...

Some of my entries aren't posting. That happened yesterday too. Anyway here's the other shot of the Kookaburras...

I thought this was a Great Hornbill but now I'm not so sure. It is a Hornbill though

This small gator spends so much time in the water it has grown algae. There were several like this

The wonderful Toco Toucan from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America

And a profile that really shows its colors

A stack o' gators

Soft-shell Turtles

Floridian, love the pictures of the cuddling Cattle Egrets! I can easily believe they have spread all over the world, they seem to adapt to everything! When the company I worked for in Miami had bull dozers clearing right-of-way, the birds would come by the hundreds and walk in the path made by the dozers. The noise never seemed to bother them. They also frequently visit the yards around the neighborhood here. The cats are so funny; they just hunker down and watch them as if they can't believe their eyes. LOL Of course TomKitty stalked a Great Blue Heron visiter once....then the bird turned around and glared at him and TonKitty headed for home!
Pati

LOL TomKitty met his match did he?
We see big flocks of Cattle Egret here too when big machines first start clearing or the farmers mow for hay. It must be a veritable bug buffet!

Stacey, I'm so wowed by these latest pics. But your first Toucan shot is out of this world! That one really blew me away! The clarity is .....well.....WOW!

That poor turtle. What a lucky little guy he is to be living somewhere where people care enough and have the skills to help after such an attack. Of course, I suppose if he lived elsewhere he may not have gotten attacked in the first place. ;-)

-Julie

Thanks Julie...These gators are well fed but it doesn't stop them from the occaisional wild feed. Paul (DH) watched a gator crash through the underbrush below the nesting birds. He says it seemed the gator deliberately bumped the nest branches as if it were trying to knock the nests down...I do know that any babies that fall become snacks

There were lots more animals in the zoo, many endangered but our primary reason to be there was the rookery

Here is a Galapagos Tortoise...my first thought of course is "ET phone home"!

And a front view...these tortoise are huge

Oh, WOW! I feel like I just went on vacation! Thanks so much for sharing Floridian! I'm going to look at them again :)

I'm glad you enjoyed them...want to go to the beach next??

Great series. We have a lot of Cattle Egrets here, but they are very shy. The most common large bird that I see, and I have never been able to get the picture.

As always your pictures are wonderful Stacey......I had to laugh when I saw the fuzz under the Galapagos Tortoise's eye (all I could think of was Mealy Bugs)!


Please, please, please, take us to the beach next! Ü

Thanks Trois, The Cattle Egret are pretty shy here too but the nesters in the rookery don't seem to mind all the folks taking pictures and oohing and ahhing over them.

Pam, gardening on the brain, eh? LOL I've got pictures of birds, eggs and babies from one of our local barrier islands. I hope to have a thread started soon...

LOL........just a wee bit but it's the battle of the mealy bugs that I'm seeing in my sleep right now. :b

Thanks Stacey Ü ......I could use a holiday!

Stacey, I have enjoyed all your pictures. You have included one Australian, the Palm Cockatoo, that I have never seen even in a Zoo, but the other Australian is more familiar. There was a Kookaburra in my garden only yesterday. The Toucan takes me back to my recent visit to the Amazon rainforest, although I did not see a Toco Toucan, I did see three other species and managed to photograph one, this Many-banded Aracari Pteroglossus pluricinctus.
I love your Galapagos Tortoise pictures. Like you I also thought immediately of ET when I saw them in the Galapagos last December. I have just put together some of my Galapagos Tortoise pictures into this thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/518169/

The Cockatoo was fascinating, I wish I'd had more time to watch its antics. I understand it is severly threatened and protected in Australia. Do people really eat parrots? Blech! So...if you come to Florida one spring you can see this bird too!

Your Toucan picture is lovely...someday I'd love to do a rainforest eco tour like you and (Poppy)Sue. That would be fascinating.

LOL ET! Can't you just picture that face tucked into the closet of toys??

beautiful pictures! So many that I just loved but the gator 'stack' made me laugh!