#3 The Audubon Swamp Garden - Herons and Egrets

Herons and Egrets visit this link for more information about the variety of Herons.

Here are a few more lovely birds from our Swamp trip. I never tire of seeing a Great Blue Heron even if they are abundant in our area. They are majestic birds, so stately. They can stand perfectly still and wait for that one little crab or minnow or frog to cross its path...such patience.

Great Blue Heron

The Little Green Heron is very beautiful in its coloration. Here is one in the marsh just looking for his lunch.

Little Green Heron
above & below

Several Egret species breed and raise their young in The Rookery (a kind of bird nursery) in The Swamp. It is difficult for me to know exactly which species is which. There is the Great Egret (which is the symbol for the Audubon Society), the Snowy Egret, and the Cattle Egret.

Adult Great Egrets foraging for themselves
and their young who are sitting in nests
in the Rookery.

Immature Egrets in The Rookery

Immature Egrets and Anhingas in the Rookery.

A shot of the Rookery at a distance with a normal lens.

Other birds nesting in The Swamp are a variety of Herons: Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Green Heron. I believe the little guy in the photo below is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron who has just fledged. We didn't see his nest nearby (although it could have been), but he is sitting on the tree limb either thinking about flying or waiting for an adult to bring food.

Immature Yellow-Crowned Night Heron in The Swamp

In Battery Park in Charleston we did see many nests of Yellow-crowned Night Herons with many babies peeking out from the nest. These were all located in a very busy area but in great Oak trees right on Charleston Bay where the adult can fly off and get food then return to regurgitate into the nest for the babies to eat. The photos below are also of the immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron, but these were taken in Battery Park in downtown Charleston.

Battery Park on Charleston Bay
and home to nesting
Yellow-crowned Night Herons

Waiting for Mama.


Out on a limb.

Baby peeking out from its nest.

In this photo several babies are eating regurgitated
food that the mother has brought.
They are in a frenzy to eat and all that
can be seen are tail feathers.

Storm clouds over Charleston Bay.
Hunting grounds for Night Herons.