Hi Y’all!
It’s not what y’all think!
We were outside for our second walk of the day, just past 
sun up, and the air was filled with bird songs. Overhead we heard a strange “whoosh, whoosh”, “whoosh, whoosh”. My 
Human and I looked up and there was a huge flight of geese and all around them and behind them were maybe a hundred Egrets! Out over the water, flying low over the water streamed hundreds and hundreds of cormorants. Some of the Egrets settled along our shore line accompanied by a couple of Herons and some cormorants.
The darker birds in flight are the Herons. The little guys swimming there are cormorants or anhinga.
The main difference between the two birds is the bill. The anhinga has a pointed bill. It dives and spears fish. Then it surfaces and tosses the fish in the air, catches and swallows the fish. See how the one just under the left wing of the front Heron seems to be only a head and neck? It is water logged. They don’t have oil glands so have to stretch the wings out to dry periodically. Often you’ll see them perched on something while drying.
The cormorant has a hooked bill. It scoops then holds the fish, rather than spearing them.
Of course the white birds are the Egrets. 
In this picture a Heron is hunting for his supper while two Egrets court each other.
Coming in for a landing!
Below the Egret coming in has his supper in his mouth. The two anhinga are looking up at him, but the Heron doesn’t appear to have lost his concentration on his own search for supper.
As two Egrets bring in their catch, they seem to have caught the Heron’s attention.
Check out the fish in the bill of the Egret on the left. The one laying down has a fish also.
Hope y’all enjoyed sharing some of the sights of the waterfront in spring. Now, I have to go check out the pollen. As you can see it’s quite HEAVY! 
Check back tomorrow when I take up the conversation about allergies!
Y’all come back now!
Beautiful, beautiful picttures, and thank you for the explanation of the three different types of birds and what was going on in the pictures. It's always nice to learn something new. You are a good teacher!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
That's an eye-catching post title! ;)
ReplyDeleteI always like looking at your pictures. They're always so interesting because there's such wonderful wildlife where you live! The best I could do is a couple of pictures of bunnies or crows!
You have lots of birds and fun things to see. We need to come visit. Your headline caught our attention.....
ReplyDeleteMogley G. Retriever
Thats a lot of birds you get to watch!
ReplyDeleteKAri
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
It's like an estuary where you live, Hawk! Thanks for sharing your beautiful sights with us!!
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog and your descriptions of nature. Being from Northern Ontario, I have experienced different kinds of nature and so it's cool to learn something different. I haven't been able to experience too much of the wilderness down here, but you give me a little glimpse. Thanks for that. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful sight! We have a few herons and egrets in these parts, but mostly there are just a whole lot of seagulls. Parker likes to chase them, but Skye thinks it's scary when they all start flying around. What does Hawk do?
ReplyDeleteWell, you got my attention....great pic and information! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit your title got my attention!
ReplyDeleteGlad I stopped by, they are beautiful and I learned something new!
that is very interesting to know about birds!
ReplyDeleteChewy
Wow! What an amazing sight. Thanks for sharing the photos!! :) -Tammy
ReplyDelete