Chicks of two species close together cause pandemonium in the wetlands.
1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A week ago today, while I was attempting to photograph the adult Wilson’s Phalarope and his four chicks that I posted photos of four days ago, a pair of American Avocets walked into the area and caused quite a ruckus. For some reason the avocets were unhappy about the close presence of several phalaropes and they made their displeasure known by trying to chase the phalaropes off.
Repeated attempts (this is one of the later ones) by the avocets had little effect on the much smaller phalaropes, who of course were reluctant to leave their youngsters behind. So other than avoiding the attacks of the larger, slower avocets, the phalaropes just went about their business. Or tried to.
At first I was curious about why the avocets seemed so grouchy and aggressive but soon the reason became obvious.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A single avocet chick came out of the grasses on one of the small islands in the standing water and walked toward the shore, generally in my direction. ‘He’ wasn’t particularly close and he was hard to focus on but I managed to get a few sharp shots of him.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But there was light in his eye in only two of them. As you can see by the position of the catchlight at the very top of his eye, by this time it was later in the morning and the sun was high enough in the sky to make getting catchlights difficult.
After I took this photo he walked down to the water and spent all his time feeding with his head down and mostly with his back to me. Then he disappeared into the grasses again. But that didn’t appease his parents, who continued to harass the phalaropes who were just trying to mind their own chicks.
Parenthood is never easy, particularly for birds.
Ron
It’s been so much fun looking at these chicks that are all legs, feet, and fuzz! 😍 Catchlight or no, that avocet chick is just as adorable as the phalarope chicks.
I know what April means too. I feel so lucky that my parents were never like that — kids were kids and people were people. Unfortunately, some of my peers’ parents were not like mine.
Marty, growing up on the farm, 17 miles from town, most of my friends were gophers. 🙂
Parenting is indeed (I believe) NOT easy and always a worry. Thank you for sharing the beauty and the wonder of your day.
Thanks, EC. If you’re human, parenting is also expensive. At least birds don’t have to deal with that… 🙂
I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around the fact of their weights.
That the Phalarope is only 2 ounces. All those pieces – the bill, the legs/feet, the feathers, the organs, skeleton, all only 2 ounces! 1/2 a stick of butter! So the babies you showed us the other day really are just fluff balls! Wow!
Carolyn, I think I said in that phalarope post that I couldn’t believe how tiny their chicks were. I wasn’t kidding! That’s part of the reason they were so darn hard to focus on.
An action-packed day.
Those chicks with the outsized legs and feet are fun to look at. They are like a Dr. Seuss character.
“An action-packed day.”
Michael, it was at least an action-packed two minutes or so.
Very nice. Not much different from humans. There was drama in my neighborhood over children playing with other’s children who were not deemed the right type.
Thanks, April. I know what you mean by the “right type”.
Thanks for recounting this story Ron – things always get a little edgier for wildlife when young are involved.
And great shots of the chick – those legs and feet are really built for some growth 🙂
Thanks, Bill. I think of the legs of avocet chicks as being “stout”. In contrast to those of their parents.
I think all parents can be a little edgy when anything that even looks like a possible threat is near. Nice shots of that very cute chick.
Thanks, Everett.
Always something! 🙂 Prime feeding areas are to be protected! 😉
Ugly/cute chick for sure. Sure a size difference in the adults.
“Weird” scene this morning – VERY light frost on the wheat by the house probably from some fog last night. Of course, by the time I got back with the cell it was fading and didn’t show well.
“Sure a size difference in the adults.”
Judy, when you see them in the same photo that becomes very apparent. Avocets are more than five times heavier than phalaropes (11 oz. versus 2.1 oz.)