Couldn't resist...

Sefferdog, hubs and I met at Circle B Bar early this morning ... and what a fun time we had.  While we initially thought that things were a little slow, it turned out to be very fruitful indeed.  The best discovery of the day was when we came across not one but TWO Great Blue Heron nests with babies!  This youngster is at least a couple of weeks old and is starting to take on the appearance of his elders... at least a little.  The other nest had very young babies, still all fuzzy and white so possibly only a few days old.  

This fellow had gathered quite a herd of photographers all snapping madly away with long lenses trying to get "the" shot.  Yep, Sefferdog and I were right in there with them.  Before you go getting all gooey about this young 'un, I should tell you that one of the other people there told us that this one pushed it's sibling out of the nest recently, killing it.  This is not all that uncommon in birds, especially when food is scarce - the strongest will survive.  We were probably there a half hour, watching, but neither parent showed up during that time...so maybe they are having a hard time providing for the little guy/gal.  This youngster, however, seemed very alert and was moving around alot so appears to be in excellent health.  

We also saw a young wood stork, a first-year GB Heron, some HUGE alligators, an armadillo, a snake, and hundreds of tree swallows who must have just arrived from their wintering grounds in S. America.  I've posted an assortment of  eight shots starting HERE with another look at the young GBH

And because I know you are curious, here's what the 'dog posted ... and may I just add that he took this with a MACRO lens from a distance of no more than 3 feet!  Yep, he was face to face with the serpent!  No screaming, no running...

Happy trails...

Debbi