The parent bird of the chunky, juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron was on the railing. I was surprised to see a Gadwall was hunting not far from the bird. I thought that for the parent Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron, the Gadwall was not considered as threatening. Also, I was surprised that the sensitive Gadwall did not mind the presence of the parent Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron, but the bird sensed my presence, and flew away toward the other side of the wetland as usual.
Both juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Herons, and even the young Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron, were not in the wetlands or the lake this morning.
From the boardwalk, I saw a Great Blue Heron flying high in the air, just like a glider. The bird was making circles above the wetlands, and with each circle the bird descended a little, and finally flew on the branch of the tree on the edge of the other side of the wetlands, near the river. Another Great Blue Heron appeared from the Landing. The bird was flying low, close to the surface of the water, toward the feeding place. Then the one that was perched on the tree branch flew down and the two birds flew around the wetlands. One flew down to the territory of the Great Blue Heron, indicating that it was the mother Great Blue Heron, and the other bird perched on a tree branch not far from the mother. It was wonderful to see two Great Blue Herons standing near each other and facing toward the feeding place.
Five Snowy Egrets flew down to the feeding place and started hunting hungrily right away. But one of them flew up and started circling high in the air. I could see that bird flying around the river area and the wetlands for a while, and then disappeared. I thought that the bird might have found the Great Egret.
Since the Snowy Egrets came back to the wetlands last week, I saw a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret in the feeding place a few times. Yesterday, I came to the wetlands twice to see whether the juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Herons came back or not. At that time, the juvenile Herons were not there, but in the feeding place three Snowy Egrets and a Great Egret were hunting. When I was watching, The Great Egret shooed two Snowy Egrets away, but kept one close by. The Snowy Egret did not care that the others left. It moved around the feeding place and kept hunting, and the Great Egret stood in the feeding place and looked into the water again. From observing the two birds, they act as if they prefer hunting together rather than joining with their own flocks.
This special relationship, an attachment or a friendship of two birds, started last summer, and it is amazing to watch them resume their friendship as soon as the Snowy Egrets showed up at the Wetlands last week. Even though they were apart during the winter and spring, I believe that they recognized each other.
In my diary, I wrote of my first sighting of their friendship on July 22, 2009:
“When I got the boardwalk this morning, there were six Snowy Egrets with the Great Egret in the feeding place. I saw a Great Blue Heron standing the same place as yesterday, near the territory of the Great Egret, and another one was perching on the tree near the river. When I was watching the birds, one by one the Snowy Egrets left toward the river. It was interesting to see the way that the Great Egret and one of Snowy Egrets acted close to each other. The Snowy Egret that stayed with the Great Egret stood side by side as if they were a mother and child, or a big sister and a little sister. And, the Great Egret changed her hunting behavior as if she was one of Snowy Egrets, walked around with the Snowy Egret, picking small fishes around her, and stayed side by side with the Snowy Egret for quite a long time.”
Hunting styles of the Great Egret and Snowy Egret is different. Great Egrets usually remains in one place for an amount of time, and hunts fish or crayfish around there. The Snowy Egret, however, moves around constantly to pick fishes. Sometimes, the bird hurries after the fish to catch it. It was interesting to watch the Great Egret imitate the Snowy Egret at that time. This summer, I have not seen the imitating act that the Great Egret displayed last summer, but it seems the Great Egret prefers hunting with that particular Snowy Egret without other Snowy Egrets in the wetlands.
Near the Landing, the Chinese Domestic Geese family was trying to cross the concrete path toward the Swiss Sky Ride, but the mother goose suddenly sat on the grass under the Bald Cypress tree near the water. I thought that her leg could not go any further. The other two crossed the concrete path and the young bird sat on the grass, but the father goose stood and watched the mother goose, as if he was waiting for her to follow. He stood there waiting for a while, but it was sad to see the mother goose unable to join the other two.
The flowers on the top of the Century Plant stalk have turned brownish. A Blue-Throated Hummingbird was collecting the honey from the Turks Cap in front of the Century Plant.
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