wonderer
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During my next visit photographing the heron chicks as "teens" since my last post (here), they of course had grown even more.
Now they were clearly in competition for space and food. Feeding time became more frantic. Through hot sun, lots of wood smoke and longer periods without visits from the parents with food, their boredom (?) morphed into developing skill sets such as picking up sticks from the nest and learning how to hop onto, balance and dismount from branches.
Only one that I observed was aggressive toward its siblings. I watched but couldn't get decent photos of a chick losing it's balance, ending up upside-down clinging with its feet under the nest, while a sibling constantly stabbed at it with it's beak. The chick fell an estimated 60 feet, swam for a few minutes but ended up drowning.
Here's a few representative pictures of the heron chicks at this stage.
1. Flapping the wings seemed to be as much for flight preparation as for stretching.
2. I don't know if herons expel pellets, but it sure looked like it
3. A different nest, smaller chicks--testing and developing balance skills
4. Another showing developing skills with getting and balancing on branches.
5. Yet again, while a nest mate pulls on one of the nest materials.
6. Sibling interaction.
7. Parent flying in to feed chicks on a misty morning.
8. Chicks pulling frantically on parent to prompt feeding.
9. Wow--parent regurgitates multiple minnows at once into the nest!
They're dang-near to fledging now!
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Wow that last one shows are a nice serving of fish, not seen a GBH carry a load like that!!
