Gatorland II – Great Egret Chick

by

4

Great Egret at Gatorland by Dan

Great Egret at Gatorland by Dan

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)

As you may be able to tell by Dan’s photo, that the parent was protecting the youngster. We were told that this was the first Great Egret chick born this year. From the other articles, you saw lots of them sitting on nests. A few others have been born since this one, but we weren’t able to see them.

Great Egret at Nest with Chick at Gatorland by Lee cropped more

Great Egret at Nest with Chick at Gatorland by Lee cropped more

After all the fancy display of feathers and courting, nest building and mating, the Egrets get to work incubating and then raise their young. This one was being watched for very well. The normal clutch size is 1-6 eggs. This one seems to be the only one for this pair.

Great Egret at Nest with Chick at Gatorland by Lee

Great Egret at Nest with Chick at Gatorland by Lee

Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. (Psalms 34:11 NKJV)

“The Great Egret feeds in shallow water or drier habitats, feeding mainly on fish, frogs, small mammals, and occasionally small reptiles and insects, spearing them with its long, sharp bill most of the time by standing still and allowing the prey to come within its striking distance of its bill which it uses as a spear. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.” (Wikipedia) From this remark and the photos we have shown, they are in a habitat that allows them to feed their young.

See 

Here are photos of this Great Egret chick taken at Gatorland. As you can tell, the little one has a way to go. Its feathers on the wings, its skin, legs, etc. all need to grow.

*

*

*

4 thoughts on “Gatorland II – Great Egret Chick”

  2. What wonderful pictures of the great egrets — and they are great in both size and beauty! It’s a joy to watch them fish for fish, frogs, and snakes, at the shoreline of the pond behind my house.
    Reminds me of a story my mother told (the 6 of us, when I was a boy), about a zoo that was overly congested with visitors. The curator decided to put a sign up, by the exit hallway (which led to an exit door that was one-way traffic only!. The sign said “THIS WAY TO THE EGRESS”. Soon many visitors stopped their sluggish loitering and walked briskly to inspect the advertised “egress” — and out of the zoo they suddenly were, curing the traffic congestion problem.

    Like

    Reply

Please leave a Comment. They are encouraging.