Show us your baby / juvenile birds

[Garnerfoto]

I searched and didn't find a similar thread already running.

It's spring time (here in the northern hemisphere) and that means mating, nesting and babies. Show us your baby birds, juvenile birds and bird families.

By no means do I endorse people encroaching upon nesting sites or rookeries. Please keep your distance and use your long lenses and crop to your hearts delight.

I'll start with this shot of a Great Blue Heron family. The Utah Department of Wildlife Resources has erected eight towers, each with six to eight platforms for the herons to build their nests on. It is located a short distance from a visitor center at Farmington Bay on the Great Salt Lake. This was taken from the parking area with my EF 600 f/4 with 2x TC.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Ducklings

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Baby Egyptian goose.

 

[Lester Wareham]

Cygnets
birds Trumpeter swan A_002_10-06-13 by Lester W, on Flickr

 

[Lester Wareham]

Whitethroat, Sylvia communis (juvenile)
birds Whitethroat juv A_001_14-06-13 by Lester W, on Flickr

 

[OhLook]

Scrub jay (adults look much the same but have taken up grooming)

 

[Garnerfoto]

Great Horned Owlets in the nest with Mom. Near Bear River Bird Refuge.

 

[recrisp]

Itty-bitty Babies
Mallard ducklings following their mother.

 

[mike.cambridge]

A family of egyptian geese - would the much bigger one in the middle be from an earlier hatching or a completely different family, do you think?

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

A family of egyptian geese - would the much bigger one in the middle be from an earlier hatching or a completely different family, do you think?

I think it's too early in the year for a second brood. And if it were born last year, it would be matured by now. It's also unlikely it's adopted. So maybe it's a strong, aggressive bird that got most of the food? I have no idea. It's odd because the size difference is so substantial.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Cygnets, from a long time ago...

 

[KD_Reno]

A family of egyptian geese - would the much bigger one in the middle be from an earlier hatching or a completely different family, do you think?
View attachment 64564

I think the larger one is an older bird from another family. It's very common among waterfowl for young to mingle with other broods.

I did some quick reading, and learned that Egyptian Geese young are fast growing, reaching 50% of adult size within a month. The small brown cheek mark develops by 21 days. The young, like most ducks and geese, are self feeding, so there's not really competition for food like there is with some raptors, for example.

It does make an interesting composition.

 

[Garnerfoto]

Pintail (I think) hen with her ducklings at Bear River Bird Refuge.

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

It is baby season around here. Working on some new photos. Here's one from last season.

Tres hombres. NIght heron chicks. by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

From a few years ago

Mottled duck family by Ed Spenser, on Flickr


Black-bellied whistling duckling learning to forage by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

Wood ducks

Wood duck ducklings by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

Great egret chicks. Little dinosaurs by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

 

[Garnerfoto]

Great Horned owlet in a nest box.

 

[joayne]

Some young American Kestrels venturing out...

 

[Capn Jack]

Yellow-vented Bulbul chicks
Singapore

JAK_8539 by Jack Silver, on Flickr