#Badlands Visitors Center #Signs

#Evolution of #Horses

#Alligators?!

@mitch

No question that these baby birds are one step away from baby dinosaurs. 🙂

This is a #GreatEgret chick tossed out of its nest by its siblings (while the parents watched and did nothing). We witnessed the whole thing from our kayaks and I pulled it out of the water almost comatose. Just warming up in the sun did it some good. We are fortunate to have a local volunteer animal rescue so I think it survived.

Things I learned from them: 1) That's normal green skin color for egrets even the adults. 2) All adult wading birds are faster than you think. 3) Their necks are longer than your arm, and 4) They go for the eyes! Be cautious if rescuing such a bird!

Months later I attended a presentation about bird rookeries in the #Everglades. The scientists told us that having a sacrificial chick is sort of "baked in" for these #birds. They favor tall trees (bald cypress) growing in water because the resident #alligators help stop nest predators like raccoons and snakes. The birds basically yield up one of their own to keep the gators patrolling below their nests.

https://richard.mdpaths.com/nature/birds/natural_selection_2018/index.html