Thursday, July 24, 2008

Jefferson Island Rookery

People know the famous Lake Martin rookery.... an area just outside of Breaux Bridge in south central Louisiana that supports thousands of nesting wading birds. It was a nature photographer's wonder world. The nests were within just a few yards from the road. The rookery mysteriously failed in 2005 and hundreds of nests were abandoned. The rookery has recovered a bit over the past couple of years but the birds have moved deeper into the lake, so they're not as easy to see and photograph.

Just south of Lake Martin there is another rookery. It's located near Jefferson Island plantation on Rip Van Winkle road near Delcambre (put that into your googler to find it). I visited it last year and it was allright...but this year was awesome! There were hundreds of birds...all the waders. I visited it twice during the season to see the birds at different stages. First time I saw White Ibis on the nest! Very very cool. Also has alligators, so once does have to watch their step...

Click here to see a panorama of the main islands of Jefferson Island rookery

And if you don't have a weak stomach, click here to see a gator having lunch

Gawky pink birds!


It looks like time for these teenager Roseate Spoonbills to leave the nest to me. Don't you think they look big enough to get a job and support themselves instead of mooching off mom and dad?

click here to see ==> Teenager Spoonbills

And some more Spoonbills for good measure

Fox kits -- how cute are they!



OK, so we'll get back to birds in a sec...

Wanted to show off these baby foxes... There was a park in Jackson Hole that was kind of sunken. There was a fence around it and in the bank that went down to the bottom of the park there was a den. And in the den there were foxes. Momma fox and 5 beautiful babies, fox kits. Such cute li'l kits.

Click here to see: Kits playing in the sun


Momma was letting them come out and play and practice hunting ground squirrels. One of the kits was a momma's boy. girl. kit.



Click here to see: Mom watching over them

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

A bird I won't see at home... Black-headed Grosbeak




A bird of the western states...we won't find this one at home in Louisiana.

Video: http://seejanebird.com/Perching/BlackheadedGrosbeak.avi

The circle of life - Bear eats deer


So while we were in Wyoming, we saw lots of wildlife. Want to know how to find wildlife in the Grand Tetons? Drive along the road and if you see a group of cars...stop! There's bound to be something good to see.

There was a big group at this stop...and it was quite a sight. They said the mama black bear was teaching the cub to hunt. The cub was enjoying the meal...but the meal wasn't quite...er, ready to be eaten. Don't watch this clip if you're squeamish.

http://seejanebird.com/Wildlife/Black_bears.avi