More Heron

Learning to Fly. Lesson 3. Practice flapping your wings - enough to move the branch. Go - Go -Go -Go -Go - chanted the siblings. Next? DO NOT LOSE YOUR BALANCE!!!! 7/17/2004
I took this picture last Saturday, July 3rd-when there were 3 Heron babies in the nest on the left. Today, Saturday July 11th (just 7 days later) there were only 2 Heron babies in that left nest.) Note the nest on the right, there are 2 babies. One of them tends to stick its head up. The other baby is/was much smaller and has not ventured, until now, out of the nest much. When Charlie and I went out back to show Marg the Heron babies on Sunday, we watched the gruesome sight of just how a heron baby can meet it's demise. Right in front of our binocularized eyes, we watched the baby furthest out on the branch as it explored the branch. Then to our horror, it was suspended upside down by 2 legs, then by 1 leg, until it could hang on no longer. My theory now, is that maybe big sibling brother/sister did have something to do with the smaller baby wandering further on the branch than it may have preferred? Charlie speculated that it was 'walking the plank'.
Mother protecting younger babies from me. 6/8/2004