The goofy photo I posted yesterday (sorry, I do have a slightly bent sense of humor) has filled my mailbox this AM with the common question, “What’s going on in that photo?” This pair of Tricolored Herons are just about to fledge from their nest. They have stepped out from their nest platform to a branch where they literally had space to stretch their wings. They were very busy preening and ignoring the photographer just ten feet in front of them (photo was taken at St Augustine Alligator Farm).
In this particular frame both youngsters are working their feathers along either side of their head. In that process they bent their necks back to rub either side of their head on their shoulders (the advantage of having a long neck). That’s what the upper chick is doing in this photo. The lower chick is doing the same thing the difference between the two is the upper chick is at the end of his head rub, the bottom one is just starting. Seeing the humor with one seemingly to have “lost its head” I stood there for a while ripping off the frames to catch what you see here.
And now you know, the rest of the story!