welcome to pjf farm
Waterbirds include all bird species that make their living in or on the water, including ducks, wading birds, anhingas, cormorants, and others. Wading birds are long-legged water birds that hunt for aquatic prey by quietly wading through shallow water. They include the herons, egrets, ibises, the Wood Stork, and the Roseate Spoonbill.
Many waterbirds form mixed species rookeries within the cypress swamps of the southern Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, where they breed, nest, and raise their young each year. In addition to wading birds, the PJF Farm Rookery also hosts nesting Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Wood Ducks, Neotropic Cormorants, and Anhingas. Wood Storks do not nest here, but they use the rookery for roosting when they arrive here in the summer months.
Cypress swamps like this one are the preferred waterbird rookery habitat type. They are almost always flooded and usually host alligators. Both the permanent water and alligators are effective deterrents to would-be nest robbers, such as raccoons, minks, most tree-climbing snakes, and other bird-eating animals.
Here at the PJF Farm Rookery, courtship displays begin as early as late January, involving mostly Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. As the days go by, more species and more individual birds get involved in courtship, nest-building/nesting, and brooding young birds, peaking in April through much of May.
The Rookery
Photo by Charles Bush.
Photo by Bill Fontenot.
Our Birds
Anhinga
(Anhinga anhinga)
Length - 35 in | Wingspan - 45 in | Weight - 2.7 lbs
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Not a wading bird, the Anhinga belongs to a primitive bird group known as the Darters. Cormorants are a primitive family as well, with six species inhabiting the North American continent. Anhingas and cormorants lack the oil gland possessed by most other birds to waterproof their feathers. Because they lack waterproofing, Anhingas and cormorants can be often seen perched on branches with spread wings in order to dry their plumage in the sun and wind.
Instead of wading and stalking their prey, Anhingas and Cormorants swim underwater to chase down fish. Anhingas hunt alone and use their long sharp-tipped bills to literally spear their prey, earning them the Cajun nickname, bec a lancette (“lance beak”).
Cormorants most often hunt in groups, herding shad and other schooling fishes. These three species can be difficult to identify, as all three are large, dark, long-billed swimmers. The cormorants are swift flyers using rapid wingbeats, much like geese, and the tips of their bills are hooked.
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Like the Neotropic Cormorant, the head/neck length of the Anhinga is also nearly identical to its tail length, but Anhingas possess much slower wingbeats than that of the cormorants. They can be seen soaring more often than flapping their wings.
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The Neotropic Cormorant is substantially smaller and slimmer than the Double-crested Cormorant. In the air, the Neotropic Cormorant’s head and neck are roughly equivalent in length to the length of its tail. On the other hand, the tail of the Double-crested Cormorant is notably shorter than its head/neck length. Double-cresteds do not nest here but show up each winter.
(Phalacrocorax brasilianus/auratus)
Length - 25-33 in | Wingspan - 40-52 in | Weight - 2.6-3.7 lbs
Cormorants
White Plumaged Waders
Four species of white egrets/herons live at PJF Farm and Lodge (the Farm). Telling them apart can be a challenge, particularly without the aid of binoculars or spotting scope, or when they’re flying at a distance. The best identification aid in all of these cases is to study the wingbeat frequency of the birds as they fly. Cattle Egret, being the smallest of the white waders, flaps its wings with the highest frequency when flying. Mid-sized Snowy Egrets and young Little Blue Herons (which are white for the first couple of months after fledging) possess wingbeats of intermediate frequency, not as hurried as that of the Cattle Egret. Then, there’s the Great Egret, the largest of all the white waders, with very slow, stately wingbeats.
(Bubulcus ibis)
Length - 20 in | Wingspan - 36 in | Weight - 12 oz
Cattle Egret
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The Cattle Egret was originally an African native. It skipped over the Atlantic Ocean to South America, and then traveled north, reaching Florida in the 1940s and Louisiana by the early 1950s. As the name implies, Cattle Egrets are more likely found in pastures and roadside ditches, in the company of cattle more often than not. There they hunt for insects along with small frogs and lizards. When breeding time comes around, however, they do use cypress swamp habitats and mixed waterbird rookeries for nesting purposes.
The combination of an orange bill and orange legs on adult birds separates the Cattle Egret from the other white waders. Additionally, breeding birds acquire rusty-orange plumage suffusions on their crowns, breasts, and backs. Leg color fades to blackish in non-breeding birds. Juvenile birds possess dark blackish bills and legs.
(Ardea alba)
Length - 39 in | Wingspan - 51 in | Weight - 1.9 lbs
Great Egret
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The Great Egret is by far the largest of the white wading birds. It is usually the most common nesting species in the PJF Farm Rookery. It also initiates courtship, breeding, and nest building earlier in the season than the other waders. The bill/leg color combination for adult Great Egrets is a yellow-orange bill and blackish legs. Great Egrets also have an exceedingly slow rhythm of their wingbeats when they fly.
Great Egrets are said to be the most ecologically adaptable of all North American wading birds. They can be found in nearly any wetland situation from cattle ponds to lakes and swamps, marshes, marine estuaries, rivers, streams, bayous, canals, and ditches! Like the ibises, Great Egrets are known to hunt in groups, especially during the winter months. Like the Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets are opportunistic when it comes to prey items, taking small fishes, crustaceans, insects, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and birds.
(Egretta thula)
Length - 24 in | Wingspan - 41 in | Weight - 13 oz
Snowy Egret
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We very nearly lost this beautiful bird back in the early 20th century, when egret feathers were all the rage in women’s hats. In the late 19th century, an ounce of Snowy Egret nuptial plumes sold for $32 – nearly twice the price of an ounce of gold! Now protected from hunting, the Snowy Egret has staged an impressive comeback.
Note that though 4-5” inches larger than a Cattle Egret, the Snowy Egret weighs only one additional ounce, due to its elegantly slim build.
Adult Snowy Egrets are easily identified by the combination of a black bill with black legs and, when visible, golden-yellow feet. Even when the feet are hidden underwater, Snowy Egrets are the only white waders with the black bill/black legs combination in adult plumage. Younger birds often show paler bills and legs, but not for long.
(Ardea herodius)
Length - 46 in | Wingspan - 72 in | Weight - 5.3 lbs
Great Blue Heron
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The Great Blue Heron is the largest and best-known of all North American wading birds. It is found throughout most of the continental United States. The species is not found in the deserts and higher mountain ranges.
Great Blue Herons are the most careful of all wading birds when it comes to selecting nesting sites. They are somewhat approachable by humans when on the birds’ feeding grounds. However, they usually place themselves as far from human access as possible.
These big birds are said to wade more slowly and stop for longer periods of time than any other wading bird species. Great Blue Herons are extremely flexible in their diet, eating all types of fishes, crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, lizards (including young alligators), snakes, rodents, and even other birds!
Great Blue Heron. Photo by Gary Meyers.
White Ibises
With long, curved bills, the Ibises are easy to tell apart from herons and egrets. However, they are classified as wading birds. Louisiana French-speakers call the Ibises, bec croche (“crooked beak”). Ibises do not nest in the PJF Farm Rookery, but both White and White-faced Ibises are commonly seen here on a year-round basis. Like the cormorants, Ibises are fast flyers. Their strong, rapid wingbeats are more similar to waterfowl than the slow, graceful wingbeats of their heron and egret cousins. Ibises also eat more quickly than herons and egrets, swinging their long downward curved bills below the surface of shallow waters as they steadily walk forward. Their favorite prey items are small crustaceans and minnows. The fossil record indicates that Ibises are more recently evolved Pliocene (2-5 million years) than the egrets and herons (Middle Miocene circa 15 million years).
(Eudocimus albus)
Length - 25 in | Wingspan - 38 in | Weight - 2.0 lbs
Young White Ibises are chocolate-brown in color, while adults are all white except for black-edged wings.
White Ibis
White Ibis. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Plegadis chihi)
Length - 23 in | Wingspan - 36 in | Weight - 1.3 lbs
White-faced Ibises of all ages are darker brown than young White Ibises. Iridescent green and purple tones can be seen on their upper wing and tail feathers through binoculars or spotting scopes under sunny conditions.
White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Egretta caerulea)
Length - 24 in | Wingspan - 40 in | Weight - 12 lbs
Little Blue Heron
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Little Blue Herons are often overlooked in aerial surveys due to the dark coloration of the adults and the fact that they most often nest under the cypress canopy. So, biologists are never sure of the actual numbers of this species. Additionally, Little Blue Herons are somewhat secretive in their food search habits. Their targeted food items are typically small fishes, frogs, and crustaceans. Little Blue Herons seem more at home hunting for food among dense mats of drifting or floating marine plant life than in unvegetated situations.
When breeding, Little Blue Herons take on rich wine-colored feathers on their heads and necks. This is in contrast to their naturally beautiful slate-blue bodies. Young Little Blue Herons are totally white in color, which often confuses observers. Even with young white feathers, they keep a dark-tipped pale-blue bill and greenish legs, for which they are known. In flight, they have a relatively slow and easy-going wingbeat – much the same as the similarly sized Snowy Egret.
Little Blue Heron. Photo by Gary Meyers.
The Night Herons
Short, stocky, and thick-billed, the Night Herons are known as gros bec (“big beak”) by Louisiana French speakers. Both the Black-Crowned and Yellow-Crowned Night Herons are often heard before they are seen. They are vocal, uttering a single “Quark!” The sound is muted in the Black-Crowned but loud and crow-like in the Yellow-Crowned. especially when departing or arriving at their roosts.
(Egretta caerulea)
Length - 24 in | Wingspan - 40 in | Weight - 12 lbs
Black-Crowned Night Herons are blackish above and whitish below. They hunt at night, preferring small fish, and spend the winter here instead of migrating.
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Nyctanassa violacea)
Length - 24 in | Wingspan - 42 in | Weight - 1.5 lbs
Yellow-Crowned Night Herons are easy to identify by their bright white cheek patches and slate-colored bodies. They hunt at night, preferring crustaceans, and migrate well south into Central and South America.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Platalea ajaja)
Length - 32 in | Wingspan - 50 in | Weight - 3.3 lbs
Roseate Spoonbill
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The Roseate Spoonbill is the glamor bird of the PJF Farm Rookery. This is the most popular species sought after by both visiting birders and photographers at this waterbird rookery. The species was almost eradicated from Louisiana, and very nearly the entire United States, 60 years ago. Only a few colonies of the species remained scattered along the central coast of Texas.
Thankfully, conservation efforts have brought the Roseate Spoonbill back to Louisiana in a big way. It is now common throughout coastal Texas and Louisiana, as well as south Florida. Most of Louisiana’s Roseate Spoonbill population remains in the state through the winter. However, they tend to concentrate further south, down in the marshes of Louisiana’s coastal parishes.
The Roseate Spoonbill’s spatula-shaped sea-green bill is nerve-rich, especially towards its tip. This helps it to instantly detect food, such as small fishes, crawfish, and other small aquatic organisms by touch. It feeds by dipping its bill tip into shallow water and swinging it from side to side as it slowly walks forward.
Young Spoonbills first molt or shed into white feathers. This plumage gradually changes to its signature pink shade once they begin feeding on adult food in marshes, rice fields, and crawfish ponds.
Since the 1960s, crawfish production has typically been rotated annually with rice crops. This expansion of the crawfish aquaculture industry has been credited with the return of the Roseate Spoonbill population to Louisiana and for the expansion of many other wading birds.
Roseate Spoonbill. Photo by Gary Meyers.
Tree Ducks
Wood Ducks and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are both cavity-nesting ducks that have also taken advantage of the “safety in numbers” factor that is offered in mixed waterbird rookeries.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
(Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Length - 21 in | Wingspan - 30 in | Weight - 1.8 lbs
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Lesser known is the Black-bellied Whistling Duck. Historically a tropical duck, this species has made its way northward into the swamps of Louisiana over the past few decades. Large aggregations of this species are now commonly observed year-round in New Orleans, and small numbers have also been reported as far north as Shreveport and into Arkansas. Its extra-long legs give it a somewhat more goose-like than duck-like appearance. Its diet leans more vegetarian (aquatic seeds, grasses, and grains), though they do eat insects and snails on occasion.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Aix sponsa)
Length - 18.5 in | Wingspan - 30 in | Weight - 1.3 lbs
Wood Duck
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The well-known Wood Duck is perhaps the most beautifully colored (male) duck in North America. Its numbers plunged dangerously back in the mid-twentieth century. Its population numbers have greatly expanded thanks to the popularity of Wood Duck nest box programs throughout its Gulf Coast breeding range. Wood Ducks feed on both plant and animal foods (omnivorous), preying upon seeds and berries along with aquatic and land-dwelling insects and other invertebrates.
Wood Ducks. Photo by Gary Meyers.
(Mycteria americana)
Length - 40 in | Wingspan - 61 in | Weight - 5.3 lbs
Wood Stork
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The Wood Stork does not nest here but arrives in late spring to early summer after nesting and fledging (feathering) are completed in the swamps of coastal Mexico. Here in the U.S., there are a number of existing breeding colonies in the cypress swamps of Florida and the Atlantic coast of Georgia and South Carolina. The birds here probably come from Mexico. Generally, they arrive here in May and depart in September.
Like the vultures, the Wood Stork possesses a scaly, unfeathered head that is dark gray in color, earning it the nickname, “Flint-head.” Adult Wood Stork possess black-colored bills whereas young birds possess yellow bills. The Wood Stock is smaller in both body length and wingspan compared to the Great Blue Heron. The Wood Stork still weighs about the same as the Great Blue, due to its heavier legs and bill.
Because of their bulk and weight, Wood Storks must wait until mid-morning for heat thermals to help lift them out of the cypress tree tops where they roost, wheeling them upward to 1,000 feet or so before they soar off to local rice fields, crawfish ponds, and marshes. There they feed upon fish, frogs, and crustaceans. Thus, the best time to look for Wood Storks here at the Farm would be around 10:30-11:00 a.m. each summer morning, and again from 6:00-7:00 p.m. when they return to roost.
Wood Stork. Photo by Gary Meyers.