3 chicks with dad

All 3 chicks are alive and well.  They have had  lot of changes in their lives over the past couple of weeks.

Right leg orange, left leg yellow

When the chicks were a couple of weeks old,  they received identification leg bands.   All three have the same colour combination- orange on right leg and yellow on left leg.   Then they each have a silver band with its own unique ID number.

Dad brooding chick

Another big change is that they are being looked after by just the dad now.   Mom left when they were about a week and a half old.  We thought she had taken off for Florida but she has been seen at Darlington beach to the west of here.  She also returned to Presqu’ile last Wednesday but was chased off by the dad, who is claiming sole custody of the chicks at this point.

Chick getting ready to fly

Dad has a lot on his plate, as the chicks are starting to take short flights up and down the beach, and running all over the place.

Watching for flying predators

When he perceives a threat, dad calls in his distinctive “piping” call, and rushes to collect the babies near him.

Can you find 3 Plovers in this picture?

Last Saturday evening I was babysitting the plovers, and everything started out pretty quietly.  All 4 family members were resting on the beach.

Preening

A little preening, a little wing stretching and flapping, but pretty mellow.

Ahhh – nice stretch

Look at those beautiful primary feathers.

nap time

Two of the chicks stayed together, pretty sleepy. Sometimes it’s really hard to find all 3, they are so well hidden.

Perfect spot for a nap

There’s number 3.   I love this scene.  What perfect camouflage.

AH there you are

stepping out

While dad and the other chicks slept, one of the chicks ran down to the water’s edge and started to feed.    It stayed down there for about 40 minutes on its own.   This was the first time I had seen one of the chicks at the water- they usually stayed further up on the beach.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Dad did not seem too concerned.

I’m awake!

Eventually around 8:00 pm dad and the other two chicks woke up and joined the first chick down at the water’s edge.

Sundown on Presqu’lie Beach

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the 4 Piping Plovers were still feeding at the water’s edge.   In another week or so the chicks will be flying well enough to go wherever they like.   Then at some point in August, our Piping Plover family will begin to head for their winter home in Florida.

Presqu’ile Piping Plover Chick

With help from the Park staff and over 50 volunteers, the Piping Plovers have had a very successful nesting season here in Brighton.

Next May when migration is in full swing, we will all be keeping our eyes open for newly arrived Piping Plovers. Especially three young adults with an orange band on the left leg, and yellow band on the right leg.   Bon voyage little chicks!   Hope to see you in the spring.

If you are like me and can’t get enough about Piping Plovers, Check out these links:

-Watch this cute video by Anja showing the chicks at a couple of weeks old!  They are so funny!   Anja has done a great job capturing them as they scoot all over the place. More videos of the plovers on her Youtube channel: Brighton Events

-Hear an interview with Presqu’ile’s David Bree and Elizabeth Steadman on CBC Radio Morning:

– Revisit Protecting Piping Plovers :  my blog from when they were just a few days old.

The post Presqu’ile Piping Plover Update: Flapping and Napping! appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Well hello there…

Move Over

Humph!

Oh my…

Let me introduce you to one of our more photogenic baby birds in the area – Great Blue Herons.

We are lucky to have a nesting colony of Great Blue Herons (more specifically, a “heronry”) north of us on the Trent River system.   There are about 15 nests up in trees on a very small island.  The herons like to build there so they can avoid land based predators like racoons.  The nests are mainly made of sticks, and are reused and added to each year.   The male does most of the gathering of nesting material,  and can also be seen presenting the female with sticks during a fancy courtship display. The female does the most of the nest building,

Apartment Style Living: 3  Nests in a Great Blue Heron Colony

Heronry

These photos were all taken from our canoe.

Pair of Great Blue Herons Embrace in Nest

Ah love!  In late April and early May the Herons return to our area, pair up, and begin to build their stick nests.  They exhibit amazing pair-bonding displays such as this happy couple, who intertwined their necks in various ways upon returning to their nest. A pair of herons will remain fairly faithful to each other during the breeding season, but will pair up with someone else the following year.

Nesting Pair in Great Blue Heron Colony

Herons lay between 2 – 6 eggs, and incubate them for about a month.

Great Blue Heron watches over baby

In our area, the chicks appear in mid to late May. They grow extremely quickly.  Because the eggs are laid a few days apart, the older chick in the nest tends to be much larger, and begs for food quite aggressively.

Waiting to be fedFeeding Time

Herons eat pretty much anything they can strike with their long sharp bill.  They will stand motionless and then snap their S-shaped neck out quickly to spear fish, amphibians, rodents, insects, and other birds.

3 mouths to feed

Both parents will feed the chicks at the nest by regurgitating down into their throats.  Mmmmm.

Juvenile Great Blue Heron

By the time the juveniles are about 2 months old, they are ready to take their first flight, but will follow their parents around for another few weeks, and return to the nest site to be fed.   They are looking more like their stately and graceful parents, and a bit less like something out of a Dr.Seuss book.

We have been watching this heronry for 3 years now.  It is one of my absolute favourite spring activities to take the canoe out and see what’s happening there.   The herons fly in and out with their huge wingspans and slow wingbeats, hunting and feeding their babies, greeting their mates, and performing bonding behaviours I can’t even begin to understand.

Here’s a link to the Cornell University “All About Birds” website.   I use it all the time to help identify birds, and learn about them.

Cornell University All About Birds

The post Life in a Great Blue Heron Colony: Check out these Babies! appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.