Great White Egret

The Great Egret also known as Large Egret, Common Egret or Great White Heron, is a large, widely distributed egret.The Great Egret has white plumage. Breeds near fresh or salt water. in woodlands. and thickets. Nests in trees of woodland and cypress swamps, often high up ( 60-80 ft. recorded, but 15-40 ft. more usual); in mangroves or nearby trees on saltwater keys; in willow thickets of glades, or waterside thickets of rivers and streams; and in Texas in tule and the scrub of dry islands. Nests singly or in colonies of varying size, large at times, often with other heron species or with Wood Storks.

Great Egret 

Image Source:Wikipedia

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Scarlet Ibis Bird Facts

The Scarlet Ibis belongs to bird family Threskiornithidae.Scarlet ibis inhabits marshes, swamps, lakes and streams.Scarlet Ibis breeds near water. fresh, brackish or salt, nesting on low trees or shrubs growing in or by water. and in palmetto.

Also nests farther west in prickly pear, and in Scirpus, or long grasses on the ground.Scarlet Ibis nests in colonies. often with herons and other water birds. Nest sites tend to be low (though up to 15 ft.), and at times on ground of crowded tree colonies.Scarlet Ibis bird uses its long beak in a process called preening to clean and smooth its feathers.

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Roseate Spoonbill Habitat Information

The Roseate Spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family.Roseate Spoonbill Breeds in mangroves, and elsewhere uses trees by or in water if available: in bushy scrub of dry coastal islands in Texas. 6-15 ft. up.

Sometimes in Scirpus. or on the ground in mixed colonies where tree sites are not available. Nests in colonies, often with herons or other waterbirds.Both the female and the male incubate the eggs.The roseate spoonbill spends a lot of its time in shallow water feeding.Roseate Spoonbill is an omnivorous animal that uses it's spoon-like beak to catch small animals in the water.

 Roseate spoonbill habitat

(image source:wikipedia)

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Brown Pelican Bird Information And Facts

The Brown Pelican is a small pelican found in the Americas.The brown pelican is about four feet in length.Breeds on low, preferably bare, islands, in large shallow lakes. Also on islands in shallow coastal areas of Texas. Nests in colonies. Usually a large mound of earth and debris, 2-3 ft. across and c. 1 ft. high, with a central. unlined hollow. Sometimes just a slight depression.

Brown Pelican

(image source:wikipedia)

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Horned Grebe Diet And Habitat

The Horned Grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds.Horned grebes resemble small, compact ducks with short, pointed bills. They are 31 to 38 cm long and weigh 300 to 570 g.Male and female horned grebes are similar in appearance, but the male is slightly larger than the female and has brighter breeding plumage.

Horned grebes begin breeding when they are 1 year old.Horned Grebe Breeds on large and small lakes and ponds, floodwaters, sloughs, wet marshes. and calmer river and stream backwaters; where vegetation is present. Often solitary. but with a number of nests near each other at times. Nests usually in small bays. with tall vegetation in the water providing cover.

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Pied Billed Grebe Facts And Diet Information

The Pied billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds.Pied billed grebe is the most widely distributed grebe in the Americas.pied-billed grebe has brownish feathers and a short whitish bill.Pied Billed Grebe Breeds on lakes and ponds. often very small, floodwaters, marshy borders of large lakes and rivers: exceptionally on quiet parts of estuaries.
 Nest usually floating in vegetation bordering open water.During the breeding season, pied billed grebes reside in freshwater ponds or lakes to moderately brackish waters. They usually live in areas with emergent or aquatic vegetation which provides good nest site locations.It eats small fish, crustaceans, and aquatic insects but is especially fond of crayfish, which it crushes easily with its stout bill. They are very shy and solitary.The pied-billed grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver. It often dives to evade predators.

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White Ibis Bird Diet Habitat And Breeding Season

The American White Ibis is a species of bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.Breeds near water. fresh, brackish or salt, nesting on low trees or shrubs growing in or by water. and in palmetto.

Also nests farther west in prickly pear, and in Scirpus, or long grasses on the ground Nests in colonies. often with herons and other water birds.White Ibis Nest sites tend to be low (though up to 15 ft.), and at times on ground of crowded tree colonies.

Breeding season: 
Variable. beginning late March to mid-May. but eggs have been found in Florida up to mid-August.
Eggs:
Usually 3-4.
Typical Diet:
Insects,worms, crustaceans, frogs, fish, lizards, small mammals, eggs, carrion.

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Snow Goose Facts And Breeding

Snow Goose is a North American Species.Its name drives from white color, mostly occur in Greenland, Canada, Alaska and northeastern tip of Siberia.During the winter season they migrates towards warmer parts of North America.

Some important Facts about Snow Goose:

Weight:                               5.5-7 lbs.

Length:                               26-33''

Wingspan:                          4.3-5.5'

Sexual Maturity:                2 years,but doesn't breed until 3-4 years old 

Breeding Season:              June–Sept.                       

Number of eggs:                2–10, but usually 4 or 5.                 

Incubation Period:            23–25 days                    

Fledging Period:               40–50 days             

Breeding interval:            1 year   

Typical diet:                     Wide variety of vegetation.        

Lifespan:                          Up to 17 years.    

Breeding:

The snow goose does not start to nest until June.Food is still insufficient after the deep Arctic freeze. The breeding pairs rely on the food reserves built up while overwintering. Insufficient food may cause abandon the clutch or even die of starvation. Usually female lays 4 or 5 eggs, and incubates for about a little less than a month. Youngs are able to fly in about 50 days.Time for migration comes just after the chicks learn to fly.

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Canada Goose Facts, Habitat, Migration And Breeding Information

Canada Goose

Some Important Facts about Canada Goose:

Weight:                                    3–11 lbs.

Length:                                    22–44"

Wingspan:                               4–6'

Sexual Maturity:                     2–3 years

Breeding Season:                    March–July

Number of eggs:                     Usually 4–7

Incubation Period:                  24–30 days    

Fledging Period:                     6–12 weeks 

Breeding interval:                  1 year         

Typical diet:                          Grasses, grain and aquatic vegetation

Lifespan:                               Up to 23 years

The Canada goose belongs to genus Branta.It has blackish head and neck and has white colored patches on the face and brown body.It is mostly found on arctic and temperature regions of North america and sometimes also migrates to northern Europe.

Habitat:

Canada goose is an open-country bird and favors a variety of freshwater wetlands e.g. lakes and swamps.However in winter season it favors cultivated fields and coastal marshes.

Migration:

These birds are generally non-migratory although sometimes migrate locally. Bird migration is not a completely understood phenomena. It is still unknown that how birds find way to same place every year. Probably they use a variety of aids helping in navigation like landmarks, sun, stars and their built in sensitivity to earth's magnetic field that helps in determining direction.

Those living in far north travel the longest distances sometimes more than 3000 miles.while southerly species travel a hundred miles or some do not migrate at all.They when travel form a V-formation.

Feeding:

Canada Goose eat a variety of plant parts like seeds, leaves, roots, stems, fruits and rhizomes.Mostly feeds on land but also in water upending like a duck to reach juicy growths at the bottom.While grazing sentry birds keep the flock alert.They can also raid cereal crops, sometimes entire field is covered by the flock.Agricultural advancements in north lead to greater availability of foods, this can be the reason that why migration from the north is decreased as compared to previous decades.

Breeding:

Canada goose mate for life and selects its partner at wintering grounds.Courtship involves neck movements and honking duets. Even the established pairs also repeat this routine annually.Female builds nest and also incubates eggs.Male defends the nest until eggs are hatched.Then both parents protect their young ones whenever on the roam. The chick called gosling nibbles plants and eats insects until it is strong enough to feed properly.

Significance to Humans:

In north america non migratory species of Canada Goose are on the rise they have been found on golf courses, parks, and parking lots.They are suspected to be a cause of an increase in high fecal coliforms at beaches.They can also raid cereal crops.

They can also attack humans whenever they feel themselves or their chicks threatened.When goose attack, first the goose will stand erect and will produce a whistling sound and then attack by wing or may also bite. 

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Mallard Duck Information

Mallard Duck: Breeds near any type of fresh water, in a variety of habitats, though may be far from water.Mallard Nest usually in cover on the ground, among tall vegetation, grasses, bushes, etc., and on small islands: or in raised sites in tree crotches or holes, in old nests of large birds, on buildings and ruins.

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Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Duck: Non-feral population of Muscovy Duck breeds rarely along the lower Rio Grande along the river, by woodland resacas. or pools.Muscovy Duck Nests in a cavity in the trunk or larger limbs of a tree, or a natural hole. (9-60 ft. up in the Neotropics.) Nest-boxes are also used. Males mate promiscuously.

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American coot Incubation period Breeding season Food And Other Facts

American coot

American coot:

Breeds on lakes, larger pools, and slower rivers, usually with waterside vegetation. Also in swamps with some open water and tall reeds or similar cover.American coot Nest usually on the ground among reeds or growing vegetation in or by water, or at water level in branches lying in or hanging into water. Extra nests (brood platforms) may be built and used by young for resting.

American Coot Nest:

A bulky cup of dead leaves and stems of waterside plants. Often well raised. Both sexes build, the male coot bringing most materials, the female coot building it in. Outside diameter: 14-20 in.; inside diameter: 7 in.

Breeding season: 
American coot breeding season Begins mid-April in south to mid-May in north.

Coot Eggs:
Usually 6-9, sometimes 5-15. Sub elliptical. Smooth and slightly glossy, Pale buffish-stone, fairly uniformly marked overall with specks and fine spots of dark brown and black. 49 x 34 mm.

American coot Incubation period: 

Eggs laid on consecutive days. Incubation by both sexes male and female coot. beginning early in the laying of the clutch, or with the first egg. 21-24 days.

American Coot Food: Aquatic plants; also snails and insects.

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