Sleepy Tree Penguins…by Brad Marks

I must say, I am coming off a really enjoyable weekend. Linda and I went up to one of our favorite Illinois parks to the north – Chain O’ Lakes State Park in Spring Grove. The boys had an agility competition and I was looking forward to a final outdoor fling before the shut-down. The boys did well, although they definitely felt the heat on that second day as the Midwest ovens were turned on full. Ron met me there and we got some good birding in despite the heat, adding 4 more birds to my annual count which now sits at 386+3. Just 11 more to go to reach that once thought unattainable 400 unique species plateau. Capping off the weekend, Linda and I added multiple biking excursions and a fantastic day of kayaking all while enjoying camping in the woods. All those outdoor activities also erased any doubts I might have about going through with the ankle surgery as it is pretty swollen at the moment. I want to continue enjoying those outings with Linda and add back in the long runs into the mix – the ankle fix is the path to get me there (I really appreciate all the well wishes everyone has been sending my way). While I get ready for that change, Brad is going to bring you an encounter with a species that went through its own change, albeit less invasive. In 2024, the last hyphen was officially removed from his featured feathered friend.

Take it away Brad…

It’s February at home in Illinois, which means it’s cold.  Jan and I have made an annual escape, three years running now, to someplace warmer than Illinois in February.  This year, and probably the next few, we skedaddled to Hilton Head Island.  On one of our last full days, we decided to try someplace recommended by Ted (see his site here).  After driving for about 90 minutes, only getting lost once, I finally found one of the two parking spaces near the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands.  The wetlands seem to be right in the middle of the town of Port Royal, hence the name of the wetlands.  I’m sure there are more spaces available someplace nearby, but I couldn’t easily find them.  Ted probably knows the secret parking locations. 

The cypress wetlands remind me of Hall’s Pond in Brookline, MA (here); a nice respite in the middle of humanity’s hustle and bustle.  In actuality, I’m not sure Port Royal qualifies for “hustling and bustling” as much as Brookline, MA does.

The pond, or wetland, is only a couple of acres of water surface area.  Once the car was parked, cameras made ready, and the car was locked, I walked to the end of the elevated deck above the edge of the water near the parking area.  There were so many birds and turtles on an island in the middle of the water, with a couple of alligators slowly circling, that I completely missed all of the birds napping in the trees right next to me.  Once the first was spotted, then they all started popping out of the branches.

Hit the jump to read more about this Tree Penguin and all of its friends.

The Black-crowned Night Heron (BcNH) is not a +1 for Jan and I.  We seldom see, or notice, Black-crowned Night Herons in the wild.  This is the first time we’ve seen more than one, or 10, or 25 at a time. 

After a few photographs I quickly realized Jan was nowhere to be seen.  Hearing the iconic Nikon rapid-fire shutter sound told me she was moving along the path to my right.  I walked back to the parking area (both spaces) and turned left to start the trek around the trail.  Think of the wetlands as a clock.  The parking spots and overview area were at the 3 o’clock position.  Jan was already at the 11 o’clock position, moving anti-clockwise.  The chase was on. 

After not very many steps along the path, this guy appeared sitting motionless in the branches.  This BcNH may have indeed been resting, or on a very prolonged grooming activity.  It didn’t move for the 1 to 2 minutes I was watching it sit on the branch.

Moving slightly further along the path to the 12 o’clock position I was lucky enough to spot a couple of juveniles hiding in the trees.  At first thought, the brown lump might be a squirrel nest.  A few photos will help my memory later.  But seeing those photos on the big screen at home, I discovered it was a juvenile BcNH hiding amongst the twigs.

The BcNH juveniles look very much like a Yellow-crowned Night Heron, or YcNH (see here).  The heads of the two species are shaped slightly differently.  The eye color is also just a little bit different; one is reddish-orange and the other is orangish-red (think back to your Crayola 64-pack of crayons).  The angle of the sun can affect the eye color when you see them, at least it has in my limited experience.  Juvenile legs are also a differentiator.  While they bird body shapes and streaky brown colors are nearly the same, it’s the amount of leg you can see that makes the difference.  The YcNH juveniles show a bit more calf/thigh (too racy?) whereas the BcNH looks, well, like a penguin with very little of its leg showing above the ankle.  Most of what I just said I learned from Sam.Rappen (see here) and her stories about them.

At this point in the path around the wetland there is a boardwalk that crosses the water, from roughly the 9 o’clock to the 6 o’clock position, right along the middle of the water in a gentle arc.

Partway across the boardwalk, I spotted a few BcNH sitting in a tree.  A few were awake enough to work on their preening.  Though one can’t help but think they have an itch to scratch.

In the one instance a BcNH decided to make a noise, I did not have Merlin running to catch it.  The rest of the time, they were very quiet and were either preening, resting (eyes open), napping or head-buried sleeping.  In most of our photos, their eyes were closed. 

This solitary BcNH was sitting on a branch low to the water.  I thought this was brave (or ill-advised) with the alligators cruising right underneath the boardwalk where I was standing.  Yes, it was February.  This was the most active we had seen alligators for the entire week.  It was also one of the warmest days (about 60F) we had during our week on Hilton Head Island.

As I mentioned earlier, we rarely spot BcNH’s on our excursions.  My 200-500mm lens would not back up far enough for me to capture the collection of birds in the trees, so I had to rely on my smart phone.  Even that wouldn’t capture the volume of birds very well because it wasn’t very far from where I was standing at the time.

Black-crowned Night Herons nest in groups that usually include other species of heron, egret or ibis.  A breeding BcHN will brood any chick that is placed in its nest.  They apparently don’t distinguish between their own offspring and nestlings from other parents.  Young night herons leave the nest at about one month of age, but can’t fly until they are six weeks old.  A pair of BcNH appears to be monogamous during a breeding season.   Each parent shares incubation duties and brooding chicks.  They will greet each other with calls and feather displays when tag-teaming responsibilities.

BcNH will spend their days perched in trees, hidden among the leaves and branches.  I found them doing precisely this, but the trees weren’t in full foliage yet; probably explaining why I haven’t easily seen them the rest of the year. 

Black-crowned Night Heron populations are fairly stable and are of relatively low conservation concern.  BcNH can live past the 20-year mark in the wild.

The walk from where the boardwalk joins land again and getting back to the rental car wasn’t very long.  I was back at the parking lot in no time at all, with Jan already outside the car waiting for me to unlock the doors and put her camera away.

We’ve reached the end of the path around the wetlands and of my story.

Thank you for reading.  If you would like to see more Black-crowned Night Heron photos, please visit here.

Credits:

Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing.   Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this story.