YCNH, three chicks jumping into the nest

This is what happens when Yellow-Crowned Night Heron chick parents aren't around.

Papa Yellow-Crowned Night Heron is standing on the side of the nest, asleep.

The chicks are asleep in the nest. But then, quick as a snap of my fingers, the young bundles wake. Papa's beak-point-skyward response makes me think he is making a bit of a "get ready, the kids are up" gesture.

In a papa-night-heron mimic or feed me gesture—chick says, "I can do that, too."

What is clear—the chicks are up!

Papa night-heron stretches his wings. "I'm going to fly this coop!"

Wait, wait. We'll settle down. Too late, Papa night-heron takes off. When he leaves, the chicks get active. Real active. 

They step on the edge of the nest. 

Out of the nest. 

(The nest is about 30 feet above in a Slash Pine tree.)

There's wing-flapping.

One flapper ignites another flapper! 

I can't contain my laughter. They stand on the edge and flap-hop into the nest. 

They take turns. (Sort of.) I get nervous. I don't want to take a chick to wildlife rehab.

(I'm counting on you knowing that this is all projection—you know, my imagination creatively adding narrative to this observation.)

As quick as it all starts, it ends. Exhausted from play, the chicks plop in a restful heap inside the nest. There they stay, though twice raised up, perhaps looking for parent night herons bringing a fiddler crab meal.

Devoted to chicks, a Yellow-crowned Night Heron

May 12, 2023, Mother's Day weekend

I got a peek at one of the four Yellow-crowned Night Heron chicks with its parent, a female. I took the photo just a few minutes after a feeding.

 That gaze! Oh my gosh. It made me smile.

And then it made me think of those who need our support. Just like the chicks, some are dependent on others for life-sustaining help. Like those homeless or near homeless in our community. If you haven't discovered the helpful goodness of Turning Points, here's a link describing one of Wonder Anew's projects. Too many families are homeless.

And in other communities. 

Here is a beautiful story of a woman once homeless, but no longer. Inspired by the birds in her life, she now makes and sells nesting houses to support herself. Photo and story credit: KGW.

 

Same tree, same time: Yellow Crowned Night Herons nesting

Yellow-crowned Night Heron, female and male. 

Female (left) has dark mustard color on its crown.

Over a month ago I saw from our window a Yellow-crowned Night Heron glide above the pond. So when I approached the nest sight, a place I've observed and documented for 5 years, I was not surprised to see a pair. Their nest was already in progress (March 13, 2023; 7:35 am, ET).

Courtship takes a week or two. They will be near the nest until they finish raising their brood. When is that? July.

These birds are shy. That we get to observe their process of continuing their species is a gift. 

I looked up at the moment of mating. Prior to this moment, they likely spent an hour or more preening. This pair will spend a couple of weeks mating and nest-building. The laying of eggs might have week-long intervals. Hence, a difference in chick-hatching times. 

The process goes like this. She sits low in the nest. He steps onto her back.

Using his wings, he balances. Here is a post from 3 years ago showing the mating, preening, touching beaks, and back-caressing gestures of courting.

The actual mating, a precise touch, lasts 3 - 5 seconds. Then he immediately hops off to get another twig for their nest. 

She waits in the nest and watches him.

Each twig takes effort and balance, pulled fresh from live trees. Malleable for weaving. In the years I've observed, the twigs are taken from native Southern Live Oaks. I timed the twig-fetching process: about a minute and a half to 4 minutes for each twig. This video is edited to 57 seconds.

He has a twig!

He flies over and climbs up to give her the twig. She weaves, he watching her for a minute or so, and then turns to fly off to find another one. This photo shows the deeper mustard color on her crown. This is a distinguishing factor between the sexes.

Other YCNH posts HERE. Courtship HERE. Their extended gazes HERE. 

How fortunate we are to live in a place where we support wildlife care and get a peek into Florida's wetland habitat.

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron nest is crowded

May 27, 2022

Two weeks ago I checked one of the Yellow Crowned Night Heron nests. I arrived just as the female parent was flying in to feed the chicks. 

The arrival signaled to the other parent that it could leave.

With a whoop (of thanks?), off it went!

The chicks appeared as sunshine fluff balls.

Visiting today, the chicks had already been fed. Look at the growth in two weeks! 

They're playful!

This next bit - skip if you're afraid of snakes (Betty, that's you 💛).

First, I say again how important snakes are to our environment. Besides bird food, they maintain the vermin population - without having to use poisons that are harmful all the way up the food chain. 

Though fiddler food is the YCNH's fave, a non-venomous Scarlet Kingsnake is tasty too. It almost reached the nest. (Not living, disposed of.) I found it under the nest.

This nest is a few branches higher than past years, so it's hard to get photos. However, it's clear that they are out-growing the nest and nearing the branching phase of their lives. 

Eggs! Tom has an egg update

May 3, 2022

A few days ago, Thomas Couillard sent this photo showing 3 new Yellow-Crowned Night Heron chicks have hatched in one of the nests in our neighborhood (halves of the 3 eggs shown). 

He reminds us to mark our calendars for 6 weeks from now when the chicks grow into fledges and start playing - and frighten us with hopping all over the nest. What?! Look here. 

Sometimes falls happen from activity or the way nature works things out. (From a couple years ago - this chick was rushed to Wildlife, Inc., a wildlife rehab and release organization.)

Tom also shared this surprise. At 6:30 AM while he was swimming at the lap pool, a duck laid an egg on its edge. This is not an embellished story - look!

Yellow-crowned Night Herons lay their eggs in nests they build high in Slash Pine trees. The (p)layer in this case looks like a Mallard hen. 

A peek at the courtship of the Yellow-Crowns

Male Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, left, female on the right.

Wildewood Springs, March 2022.

This is a post devoted to the Yellow-Crowned Night Herons (YC) with a honey bee endnote. 

Currently, the couples are mostly preening and courting. 

She (more mustard color in yellow crown) seems to poke him with her beak.

They weave sticks.

Together, they both weave twigs into a nest to hold their future chicks. 

It seems there is appreciation.

Sometimes they appear silly. Like when he sat on her.

They often whoop and then get to preening or weaving or stroking each other.

Here's a whoop, poke.

Then gentle slow strokes with the beak. They seem to really like each other. In bird speak that means they think they have a good shot at furthering their species.

So that's where the chicks get the habit of holding their sibs beak!

Beak bite, then hug around the neck.

The hug around the neck ends with a long feather stroke.

That brings a perk to their crown feathers. 

The ending is surprising. She takes a nap on his back. 

No wonder. Look at these preening calisthenics. I'd nap, too.

An endnote. Literally. 

Bees inhabited the Barred Owl Box. That means it's theirs now. A few Wood Ducks thought it would be their nesting box. That's over, too. Why? Because the pheromone released by the queen bee lingers.

Bee keepers moving the live bees. This box is too close to units to let it remain as a bee box. (The other bee box is across the Pineneedle pond in a native area away from units. A swarm inhabits it annually.) The box will come down. Neighbor Kathy took this photograph.

The Wood Duck box is full of eggs. Woodlawn neighbor Steve checked and I got a peek. Fingers crossed for chicks. 

Wood duck eggs.