Spring Visits to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- Part Three

The Audubon Swamp in Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

            Once a nature lover contemplates the continuum of change throughout Spring at Magnolia Gardens, the lure to return regularly is inevitable.  Just ask all the regulars on the Magnolia Gardens Sunday Morning Bird Walk!  With the deadline for taking photos for possible submission in the Magnolia Gardens Photo Contest just around the corner, Carl and I found it easy to succumb again to nature's beckoning for a final try for contest-worthy photos on the afternoon of May 30, 2012.  In case you missed my posts on Spring Visits to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Part One and Part Two, you may want to peruse them.  Part One serves as Introduction to the Return of Spring to Magnolia Gardens and the theme of Part Two became "Waders and Gators."  Here, Part Three's theme is "The Youngsters!" 

           By late May, in the heron and egret rookery in the Audubon Swamp, many, but not all, of the Great Blue Heron chicks had fledged.  Some chicks were still branching.  "Branching" is when the birds begin moving about the limbs around the nest before actually flying from the nest or the nest tree.   Often for herons and hawks, even after fledging, the nest though still serves as rendez-vous point (read: dinner table) for the family.  In the 2 photos below, you see a Great Blue Heron parent returning to the nest tree with dinner.  See his thick neck!  In the second photo, you can see his chicks approaching him through the foliage just under his tail.

Great Blue Heron returning to the nest tree with dinner -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Great Blue Heron returning to the nest tree to feed his chicks -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

              Many Black-Crowned Night Heron Chicks had also fledged.  We found this guy exploring the swamp shortly after our arrival.

Black-Crowned Night Herons Fledgling -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

 
            Nearly all of the Great Egret nests contained fairly well-developed chicks.  Yet, I did not see any Great Egret fledglings.  Do you remember this photo from Part Two?

Great Egret on the nest with eggs -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- April 1, 2012

 Well, in 2 months time, those eggs had hatched and grown into these chicks!

Great Egret Chicks still in the nest -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Like all children, they were experts at making funny faces!

Great Egret chicks -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

As we progressed around the loop, we found another nest whose occupants were easily within range of the lens.

More Great Egret nestlings  -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

These nestlings could compete with the others in a "Funny Face Contest."

Great Egret nestling -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

In another nest, the fledglings were very agitated because the parent (dinner) has just left the nest.  Apparently, like all growing children, they wanted seconds.

Great Egret chicks are agitated by the departure of the parent after a dinner delivery -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens May 30, 2012

             You may be wondering where the parents were for the other nests?  Obviously many of them were hunting for food.  Some, however, were simply taking a break, elsewhere, from the commotion of energetic, squabbling, and confined kids.  I am not a parent myself.  But as a teacher, I can empathize.

Great Egret -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Great Egret -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Great Egret -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

           Green Herons nest in dense foliage making their nests hard to see, let alone photograph.  I followed though this Green Heron who was very busy hunting.  Presumably he had hungry beaks to feed!

Green Heron on full feather alert -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

           Snowy Egrets nest at an inconvenient (for photographers) distance so I do not have any pictures of nestlings.  I do believe the adults were mostly on eggs.  Some adults were no longer in breeding plumage ...

Snowy Egret -- back in normal plumage -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

 ..... but others were still sporting their fuchsia-colored lores and long elegant feathers.

Snowy Egret grooming in breeding plumage -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

               The Little Blue Herons love to nest in dense foliage also but occasionally, I can find an opening through which to shoot the delightfully cute chicks!

Little Blue Heron chick -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Little Blue Heron chick -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

            The end of May turned out not to be as dreadfully hot as expected -- which is why Carl and I were still outdoors on this partly cloudy May afternoon.  The Spring flowering season had arrived early and seemed to also have faded fast.  Thus, this visit did not lend itself well to flower photography,   However, I did like the light and the wind moving through the just-past-peak mimosa blooms.

Mimosa -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

            As I completed my first tour around the rookery, I heard a Prothonotary Warbler singing in the adjacent graveyard.  The Prothonotary sang from the foliage and I never did locate him.  Carolina Wrens and Northern Parulas were also singing but were busily moving from branch to branch as well.  They did not seem interested in sitting still for me.  This bold and beautiful Northern Cardinal was not going to be bothered by my presence though.

A frisky Northern Cardinal -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

 He had a song to belt out to define his territory.  And so he did!

            A few young Wood Ducks, like the one below, were floating about without their Moms.  
            

Young Wood Duck -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Perhaps his Mom felt he was old enough to paddle about on his own.  Or, had his Mom become a casualty of life in the Swamp?  He does not look as though he is big enough to fly!  Wood Ducks are known to produce a 2nd brood sometimes in May or June.  I certainly saw some frisky adults thinking of something other than the welfare of the youngsters.

Wood Ducks - Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

           Rain clouds had begun to build.  Less bright light can help when shooting white birds and did help in the case of these newly arrived White Ibis with their blue eyes and breeding-plumage red lores, beaks and legs!

White Ibis -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

 

 

 

White Ibis -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

White Ibis -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

                After shooting these birds, I rounded the corner to find Carl videotaping something. 

Carl using his Canon 7D to videotape a young Black-Crowned Night Heron -- Magnolia Gardens -- May 30, 2012

             Here's one of the youngsters -- a Black-Crowned Night Heron fledgling -- that he was attempting to capture in a video.

Black-Crowned Night Heron fledgling -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Black-Crowned Night Herons fledgling -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

And this one is perhaps a sibling, perhaps a neighbor.

Black-Crowned Night Heron fledgling -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

           Due to the hour and the clouds, the light had now faded significantly.  Carl packed up and headed to the car.  I decided to take a few moments more as I knew Carl would sit in the car and review his photos for awhile.  I had returned to the area of the first Great Egret nest and could not resist another picture.  I find the corrugated cardboard look of the youngsters' legs so entertaining.  Is it because the legs have not yet grown into the skin?  Adult legs are smooth by contrast!  You can also see that corrugated appearance on the legs of the Black-Crowned Night Herons fledglings above.

Great Egret chicks -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

 
             The Little Blue Herons were becoming more active in the evening light.  This was a tough situation though for shooting dark birds.

Little Blue Heron -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

Little Blue Heron looking for some supper -- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

         A damp, cool breeze and a roll of thunder definitively announced, "Time to go!"  The frogs on the other hand began to sing strongly after the thunder. For them, the thunder announced rain, always a happy event for a frog!  I could not find a live one to photograph but this one seemed to be singing for all of them!

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens -- May 30, 2012

           Another Spring Season in Magnolia Gardens has passed.  I ended up submitting just one photo to the contest.  We were only allowed to submit two.  Apparently it did not place and there has been no on-line announcement of winners.  Nonetheless, I appreciate the challenge as it helps me to improve overall as a photographer.  As in Springs past, Carl and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to observe the passage of Spring at Magnolia Gardens from the greening of the trees, the blooming flowers, the mating rituals, and the youngsters growing up in the Audubon Swamp.  The photography pass is an incredibly sweet deal.  If you have a camera, sign up next year for the contest (if it continues) and you can come as often as you wish during that three month period.  Magnolia Gardens also a offers reasonably-priced annual pass giving you access throughout the year.  However you come, I highly recommend not just one, but multiple visits.  The lure of nature will certainly beckon you to return again!