All Grown!

It is sort of strange to watch friends go from tiny infants to full grown adults. Sometimes this happens in just a matter of months here on the Bayou. By friends, I am referring to some of the critters that roam the area. I feel that I am a kindred spirit with most of the wildlife here as we both live and breathe the Bayou! It is our life!

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

One such friend is the Yellow-crowned Night Heron. This is one of the wild birds that I can hand-feed as they have no fear of me. Maybe they just look upon me as a free meal instead of a friend but I am thrilled that they trust me to that point. This hand-feeding is not a steady thing since I do not want them to lose all fear of humans but it still excites me to no end to have one take a shrimp from my fingertips.

Young Night Heron hunting for grasshoppers!

I watched this juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron from the time it started roaming around in the lower yard. Obviously, the mother had plopped it down and told it to stay put knowing that there would be a steady supply of foodstuffs in the area. At first, the little thing survived off of the grasshoppers and katydids that it could catch in the grassy areas of the yard. It did not venture into the marsh nor on the pier. It would hang around the palmetto clumps as this was an easy escape from any impending danger. I almost expected it to fall prey to the Red-tailed hawk, a fox or a bobcat. It did not..it was a survivor!

Young adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Late summer to early fall, it occasionally moved off onto the pier and surrounding areas but still hunted the grasses for insects. It would shuffle its feet in the tall grasses trying to flush out a possible meal. This is the only one of the shorebirds that I have seen scouring the lawn for insects..most are out wade-fishing or tending the mudflats. This is the only one of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons that seems to have a predilection for insects. All of the others seem to have a marked fondness for seafood! Is this Night Heron confused? Or is it just smart? Hunting for insects sometimes seems a tad easier than trying to spear a fish! Hunt on, my friend..hunt on!!!

All grown up and still hunting grasshoppers!