Sept. 5, 2010 - Juvenile Tri-colored Herons at Gatorland

Last week I showed you photos of adult Tri-colored Herons that were nesting at Gatorland in Kissimmee, Florida. Here are the juveniles from those nests. These photos were taken in May, 2010.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519

Most of the juvenile Tri-colored Herons were out of the nest and well on their way to being fully feathered. It appears that the downy fuzz on the head hangs on and is the last to be replaced.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519

If you’ve ever had a “bad hair day” you can sympathize with this bird.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519

This one is testing its wings. Note that not all the feathers have grown in at the leading edge of the right wing. It isn’t ready to fly yet; that takes about 35 days from the time it hatched.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519

This photo just cries out for a good caption. Feel free to enter one in the comments area below.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519

I included this photo so you could see the large feet. Just like a gangly teenager, this bird hasn’t “grown into” its feet yet.

HeronTricoloredjuvGatorland20100519