Often mistaken as buzzards, Turkey Vultures are scavengers. You will most likely see Black Vultures not too far behind, especially if there is carrion.
These are one of my favorite birds that I truly have the utmost respect for.
Don’t forget International Vulture Day is September 7th. (First Saturday in September)
Links:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/turkey-vulture
Unlike the Anhinga who spear their food with their sharp straight beak the Double-Crested Cormorant hooks it’s prey.
Juveniles have pale white/brown chests with patches of darker brown and the adults are dark brown/black. These birds are powerful swimmers.
By the sizes of these, I am assuming a couple of years old. I occasionally drive around Bayport, and I am surprised that I didn’t see them when they were younger, or maybe they were breed somewhere else and moved to this location.
Links:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/overview
https://www.fws.gov/southeast/faq/double-crested-cormorants/
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/double-crested-cormorant
It’s is amazing how wildlife kids transform, how this juvenile little blue heron is pure white and within a year will turn all blue.
The photo above is one of two juveniles with one of the parents not far behind.
These are wading birds that forge for minnows, crayfish, and frogs on the edges of marshes and ponds.
Wading Bird. They can be found in both freshwater and saltwater areas, though more species tend to favor freshwater habitats. Bogs, marshes, mudflats, shorelines, ponds and flooded areas are all popular habitats for wading birds, and they can even be found in urban and suburban areas such as along golf course ponds. Source: https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-a-wading-bird-387103
So how to tell if you are seeing a Little Blue? Legs and beak… The legs are greenish and their beak has bluish tint color with a dark blue tip.
Links:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/little-blue-heron
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/waterbirds/little-blue-heron/
