UTSW Rookery

Spring 2016 I started visiting the bird rookery at UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. It was my first time to see a rookery. In this gallery I am attempting to document what takes place in a rookery for each species of aquatic bird that comes here. It has been an amazing journey that I am sharing here. There are 8 species that nest here and I will divide them by species in the order that they show up.

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Sibling Rivalry

Sibling rivalry is common with many bird species and it is not cute. Eggs hatch at different times and the baby chicks compete for food. It is common for older chicks to push younger ones out of the nest or sometimes even stab them to death. These are older great egret nestlings starting a squabble.
Great Egret Nestlings(Ardea alba)
UT Southwest Medical Center Rookery

great egret egret white egret aquatic bird aquatic water fowl waders dallas texas ardea alba Rookery Southwest Medical Center Bird Rookery breeding season nesting SMC rookery great egret nest chick great egret chick egret chick siblings chicks nestling nestlings egret nestlings great egret nestlings rivalry competition Sibling Rivalry