Snowy Egret

As we drove along Rookery Road beside Lake Martin, I spotted a couple of Snowy Egrets as they foraged for food in the nearby water.  Snowy  Egrets are medium-sized herons with long, thin legs and long, slender, bills.  Adults are all white with a black bill, black legs, and yellow feet. They have a patch of yellow skin at the base of the bill. Immature birds have duller, greenish legs.

During the breeding season, adult Snowy Egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads. In 1886 these plumes were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. Plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed many Snowy Egrets and other birds until reforms were passed in the early twentieth century. The recovery of shorebird populations through the work of concerned citizens was an early triumph and helped give birth to the conservation movement.

Snowy Egrets wade in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals. While they may employ a sit-and-wait technique to capture their food, sometimes they are much more animated, running back and forth through the water with their wings spread, chasing their prey.

They are most common along the coast, though they do breed patchily in inland wetlands. Snowy Egrets nest colonially, usually on protected islands, and often with other small herons. They concentrate on mudflats, beaches, and wetlands, but also forage in wet agricultural fields and along the edges of rivers and lakes.

Information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org.  

Along Rookery Road

Rookery Road winds along the eastern half of Lake Martin.  Mostly consisting of rock gravel, it's a dusty and bumpy  ride.  At least it's wide enough to park without blocking others from passing. My husband and I made several trips along this road in our pursuit to seek out birds and other wildlife in the area.  

Portions of the swamp near the southern end of the road are literally covered in duckweed which gives it a bright green, slimy appearance.  The duckweed dissipates and water hyacinth dominates the swamp near the northern end of Rookery Road.  

On my right side (heading north) I viewed some tropical appearing plants (I don't recall the botanical name of these green fan-shaped plants), beautiful yellow wildflowers growing alongside the road, several turtles warming up on logs, a unique camp house, an old wood-framed house (I like old houses), cows in a pasture of yellow wildflowers (signs of spring), squirrels and a variety of birds.

Among the birds we viewed- Red-winged Blackbird, Pied-billed Grebe, Barred Owl, Killdeer, Yellow-rumped Warbler and White-throated Sparrow.  

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful, safe weekend!
Linked with Eileen for Saturday's Critters

Double-Crested Cormorants

During our swamp tour of the Cypress Island Preserve (Lake Martin) we saw numerous Double-crested Cormorants resting upon the bare branches of bald cypress trees.  These are the most common Cormorants in North America.  

Double-crested Cormorants are gregarious birds that are almost always near water. Their main two activities are fishing and resting, with more than half their day spent on the latter.  A cormorant’s diet is almost all fish, with just a few insects, crustaceans, or amphibians. They eat a wide variety of fish (more than 250 species have been reported), and they have impressive fishing technique: diving and chasing fish underwater with powerful propulsion from webbed feet.  

Cormorants often stand in the sun with their wings spread out to dry. They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed.

Before a cormorant takes off in flight, it tends to stretch its neck in the direction it intends to fly. When it comes in for a landing, a cormorant will puff out the orange skin on its neck and, after touchdown, give a ritual little hop. If one cormorant encroaches on the space of another, such as in competition over a nest site, the cormorants will face off, stretch their necks, and open their mouths wide open to show off the blue color inside while shaking their heads and hissing at each other. To attract a mate for the season, a male cormorant will choose a nest site and then stand with his breast down and bill and tail up, showing off the crests on his head and bright colors of his neck and his eyes, grunting and slightly waving his outstretched wings. When a female arrives, she is greeted by the male opening his mouth into a gape, showing off the blue inside.  Information obtained from Cornell Lab of Ornithology online @ www.allaboutbirds.org.

Linked with Stewart for Wild Bird Wednesday

Thank you for visiting.  Have a great day!

Louisiana Swamp Tour, Part 3

These are the final photos of our swamp tour which we thoroughly enjoyed.  

I must do this again...

One of my favorite swamp photos

Great Blue Herons are commonly seen around the lake

Our tour guide informed us that this tree was estimated to be about 500 years old.

Louisiana designated bald cypress as the official state tree in 1963.

Bald cypress trees grow slowly.  Over a span of 200 years, they reach heights of about 150 feet.

The trees can survive from 600 to over 1,000 years.

Tupelo gum trees are also common in these wetlands.

The tour guide told us that the term “Don't let the bed-bugs bite,”
literally resulted from using Spanish Moss to stuff mattresses!

Alligator breeding area- off limits during a certain length of time each year

This gator is about 6 to 7 feet long.

They grow from 2" to 12" per year, depending upon their habitat.
Growth rates slow down as the reptile becomes older.

This female didn't want our presence in her sunning area.  

She's attractive- for a gator, that is.

I don't recall the name of these bright green plants- they're pretty but uncommon around the lake.

Some people choose to navigate the lake in a canoe.

Fishing is a popular sport in this area.  Good luck, Mister!

Wildflowers are common around the banks of the lake.

I thought these were lovely.

Thank you for touring along with me.  If you happened to miss the previous two parts of the tour, you can view Part 1 here and Part 2 here.  I will soon post more photos of the Double-crested Cormorants that are common around the lake.  

If you're interested in a swamp tour in Louisiana and you're in the Baton Rouge/Lafayette area, I highly recommend Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tours for their comfortable tour boats and knowledgeable guides. 

Have a wonderful Sunday!