"Avian Architecture" and a Cattle Egret building a nest...

Let's jump all the way back to the first week of June when I was in Hilton Head, SC. Just before I had left for the trip, I had started reading "Avian Architecture; How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build" by Peter Goodfellow. Since I was headed to a heronry, I knew I'd be able to see lots of examples of nest building, and I did. I found platform nests, cup-shaped nests, hanging, woven and stitched nests, domed nests, holes and tunnels, and aquatic nests. If I had not been reading "Avian Architecture" at the time, I don't know if I would have been as intent on finding all the different types of nests. In years pasts at the heronry, I always admired and was amazed by the nests, and I had a cursory understanding of their structure, but it took reading "Avian Architecture" to really bring the engineering to life and deepen my appreciation of the building process. It's a great book to add to your birding library. I love it. Blue prints, photographs and lovely watercolors help you assimilate a lot of information quickly. It won't take long to help you understand another facet of bird life.

A Cattle Egret adds another stick to the nest. Cattle Egrets are colonial nesters and build platform nests near water, so it was no surprise to find them nesting in the heronry at Ibis Pond.

Male and female Cattle Egrets look similar and both parents participate in nest building, but often the male brings the sticks and the female places them; therefore, I'm deducing this is a female Cattle Egret.

...the nestlings seem to be saying something like, "Adding to the nest is all fine and good, but we're hungry. Feed us!"

...the perfect stick...in the perfect place.

Here are a few videos of the mama Cattle Egret arranging her nest. In the first video she's adding a new stick and in the second, she's trying to reposition an older twig that doesn't seem to want to budge. Also...in the first video you'll hear a conversation between me and Paul Krusling (the Cincinnati birder and expert herpetologist I had to travel 12 hours to meet! Click here for a previous post on Paul.)

Cattle Egret Building Nest from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

Cattle Egret continues tidying her nest... from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.