Gold Crested Night Herons

You don't have to be a bird watcher to appreciate natures wonders when it comes to these feathery creatures.Birds are one of the wonders of nature and have captured our imagination since time began. On a recent travel adventure Theresa and I had a new experience with birds that were unfamiliar to us. Close to where we were staying there was a rookery of Gold Crested Night Herons. These birds are large and very colourful. You would expect to see them wading in shallow water looking for food.

We came along at nesting time and watched, fascinated at the ritual of these birds building their nests in a huge Australian Pine. In this tree were at least 15 pairs of these birds each with a area staked out and in the process of building a fragile nest. With their bills ,more appropriate for scooping good than building they walked along thin branches picking these 10 long pine needles. They brought them back to what would become a nest and together put some semblance of order to what I saw as a messy  bunch of needles.

The only bird which made a poorer nest is the dove who are the worlds poorest home builders.After we watched this rookery taking shape I left with a greater appreciation for these birds and only prayed that the eggs and young would survive the ordeal of spending time up there among the pine needles.