Here are a few images of one of an adult bird showing the best breeding plumage I have seen in a long time
Just recently I am bumping into Squacco Herons wherever I go. Most of them are adults in breeding plumage. Here are a few images of one of an adult bird showing the best breeding plumage I have seen in a long time Lovely black and white streaked nape plumes and greenish-blue base to bill are visible here Head scratching shows off the nape plumes once again Here the golden brown colouring is nicely visible with the sun reflecting off its back As it takes off the wings give the bird a mostly white look It lands adjacent to the reed bed, showing off its Summer plumage nicely in the sunlight
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Quite by chance I discovered the nest building activity of a female Black-crowned Sparrow Lark. When I first saw her she had a small pebble in her beak which seemed unusual. When I watched her movements for a while they guided me to where she was busy building the nest. The small rocks were being used as the outer perimeter then course material was used inside that and then finer material again was used to line the nest. It was being built at the base of a clump of grass out in the open. The female was doing all the work, with the male keeping and eye on proceedings from a short distance away. Watch here for the next post as I monitor their breeding attempt Carrying in a rock for the perimater Course material to line the outer edges of the nest Fine material to line the nest cup Shaping the nest cup The well camouflaged nest placed at the base of a clump of grass
There is lots of small wader breeding activity in progress at the moment. Here are some more images from another walk about at the waters edge. Here a concerned Kentish Plover parent keeps a good eye on me as I approach close to their nest It then employs the broken wing technique to draw me away from the nest I found two nests in close proximity to each other on a small area of higher ground a short distance away from the water In the second nest one chick had already hatched out. Note how the egg shell has been removed Whilst the majority of birds were Kentish Plovers I also came across a couple of Little Ringed Plovers This Little Ringed Plover chick makes use of the dried out vegetation to blend in against as I approach
I was told that Collared Pratincoles had bred here this year. I went of to see if I could connect with the chicks or juvenile birds. Unfortunately all I could find was what looked like adult birds to me. I don't know if the chicks had already reached adult size or were staying hidden out of sight. Either way it was great to be able to get some images of the adults from close range Collard Pratincole Collared Pratincole
Here are a few images comparing an adult bird in summer plumage with a juvenile bird An adult bird complete with black and white nape plumes and blue bill base Note the extended gullet. It has just caught and swallowed an insect Here it is waiting to spear dragon-flies off the branches off this bush The juvenile by comparison is more brownish-buff with a streaked neck and upper-breast Here the streaking on the juvenile is clearly visible as the bird takes a rest at the waters edge
An adult bird still hunting at the waters edge Flying across the pond to find a better position About to land. The white nape plume denotes the bird is coming into summer breeding plumage Getting in to position on the other bank
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March 2024
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