A hatchling!
This is one of five. Five. That's how many bundles of feathered fluff night-heron chicks are in the nest. How do I know? I counted the baby blue egg shells under the nest. One time I saw Mama flick one out. She keeps a neat nest.
The chicks remain low in the nest. Soon they'll be climbing and Mama knows it, too, because I watched her rearrange twigs to make sure they stay in the nest for now. Like putting playpen rails on the highest rung.
In the days since my last post, I sit and watch. This is mostly what I see. Mama lying low in the nest. For hours. I had a thought that I might be witnessing transcendent patience.
Sometimes I am distracted by other birds, like this Great Crested Flycatcher.
You can really see the crest in this photograph.
And many Red-Bellied Woodpeckers. A female in this photo.
And a male Red-Bellied Woodpecker in the same tree.
I also noticed many tree swallows soaring playfully in the wind. Here's one - I can hardly believe the swallow is in the photograph! They are very fast.
I also feel lucky to get a photo of this Carolina Wren singing nearby, so loud that the first melody startled me. They're fast, too.
Now, Mama spends a lot of time standing on the edge of the nest. She keeps her eye on the chicks.
The white spiky-looking feathers below her, that's one of the chicks.
It seems as though she tries to simultaneously get some rest and keep her eye on them.
The next post will have better photos of the chicks. When they are older, they poke their heads higher. If you're like me, you'll laugh with delight when you see them.
Oh, the second nest. Mama night-heron spends most of the time incubating. I'm counting the days. In another week to ten days, this family will be active, too. Here is a photo of sleepy Mama on the second nest.
