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The Watery World of Wading Birds

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The Watery World of Wading Birds Audubon aThere’s lotsd more Audubonv Adventurese online,n with fun,t interactiveu features!r AudubonAdventures.orges The Watery World of Wading Birds From Hunted for Hats... Hats decorated with bird feathers were the height of fashion in the late 1800s. The large, beautiful feathers of egrets and other wading birds were the most popular. Eventually these birds were hunted almost to extinction. But in 1896 two women began the fight to ban the use of bird feathers in hats. They succeeded! long-legged bird with an S-shaped The federal neck waits at the marsh’s edge. Migratory Bird Suddenly it stabs its long, sharp bill Treaty Act was Ainto the water and snatches a frog! The bird passed in 1918 and is a wading bird. Look at wading birds closely remains one of and you’ll see an animal adapted for living the strongest laws and finding food in and around water. protecting wild Long legs mean these birds can wade North American into shallow water without getting their birds. feathered bodies wet. Big feet with spread-out toes keep them from sinking into the gooey mud. A long neck and a long beak help them reach out and grab the food they spot in the water or on the ground. You’ll find wading birds—herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, storks, and others—in ...To Symbol of all kinds of soggy habitats, from the edges Conservation of lakes, ponds, and rivers to swamps and People were able marshes to saltwater bays. Get ready to find to work together out more about these amazing big birds! to protect the Great Egret. That's why it became the symbol of the National Audubon Society in 1953. Great Egret Audubon ADAPTATIONS adventures Way to Go, Wading Birds! Wading birds have some very special hunting and feeding skills! See, Feel, Grab, Stab! Different wading birds have different techniques for getting food. Herons and The Reddish Egret Great Blue Herons Green Herons Wood Stork Snowy Egret egrets find food by sometimes shades the and other wading birds stand very still or When a Wood Stork When looking for sight, grabbing and water with its wings swallow their food move slowly, stalking feels a fish with its bill, food, Snowy Egrets sometimes stabbing as it wades to hunt for whole. After catching a frogs and other prey. the bill automatically shake and swirl their fish, frogs, snakes, fish. This draws fish fish, a Great Blue Heron They have been snaps shut. This reflex bright yellow feet in or other prey. Ibises into the shadow and flips it until it can be observed dropping action happens in 25 shallow water, forcing use their sensitive also helps the bird see swallowed headfirst. leaves, small twigs, milliseconds, and is fish, crayfish, worms, curved bill to probe better on a bright day, That way the fish’s berries, and even considered to be one of and other animals in the sand, mud, just as you see better sharp fin barbs don’t feathers onto the the fastest reflex actions they eat out into the or grass until they when you shade your scratch the heron’s surface of the water as among vertebrates open. touch prey. Then eyes with your hand. throat or get stuck. “bait” to lure fish. (animals with backbones). they grab it. Their diet includes crayfish, crabs, insects, worms, and snails. Wood Storks have a similar hunting technique, holding their large bill partly open in the water until they feel a fish, than snapping it shut to capture the prey. Roseate Spoonbills have an unusually-shaped bill. Instead of ending in a point, it is flared and flat at the end. They find food by holding their bill slightly open in the water and sweeping it from side to side. The bill snaps shut when it comes into contact with a fish, shrimp, crab, or other prey. Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills hunt for food in shallow water. IN THE FIELD Audubon adventures For example, raccoons like to eat birds’ eggs, but if the nests are on an island, raccoons swimming there Danger: risk being eaten by alligators. Fishing Another part of Ann’s job is to take members of the public—especially those who make policies Line and that could affect bird habitat—to the islands so Fishhooks they can see with their own eyes why it’s important to protect birds and their nesting sites. Birds that live in “I have always been interested in animals and near water face and their wonderful adaptations,” says Ann. a danger that may (Adaptations are characteristics developed over surprise you: fishing many generations that help an organism survive in line and fishhooks. its environment.) She studied biology and ecology People who fish in college, and now she gets to do what she loves sometimes throw for a living. “It is exciting to see birds making their used fishing line in nests, courting, catching fish or insects or whatever the water or leave Meet Ann Paul: they are especially designed to eat.” it on the dock or With more and more people moving to coastal shore. That’s the Working for the Birds areas, there are more threats to habitat for birds worst thing they A scientist explains that birds need in the region. Protecting places like Audubon’s can do. The line can coastal sanctuaries is important so that these easily get wrapped our help to protect their habitats. birds and their habitat will be part of our natural around the beaks, heritage in the future. wings, and feet of You might say scientist Ann Paul is wading birds’ wading birds as well best human friend, at least in and around Tampa If you have a question for Ann, send an email to: as birds that swim. Bay in Florida. Ann works on the waterways and [email protected]. The resulting injuries islands of Audubon’s Florida Coastal Islands often make the Sanctuaries. Her job is to continue the work this bird unable to hunt sanctuary has been doing for more than 80 years: effectively and it protecting nesting bird colonies so that they can starve to death. remain “islands of life.” So if you fish or you “My job is to help people understand that we know anyone who must let these birds have these islands as protected does, remind them: sanctuaries while the embryos in the eggs develop Don’t leave fishing and the chicks grow up,” she says. Every workday line behind! is different for Ann. “Some days we install ‘no trespassing’ signs to help boaters know where birds are nesting and to please stay off that island and let the birds successfully raise their young. Some days we go to the islands and count the nesting birds.” The goal is to get an estimate of the population of each waterbird species in the region. Large birds nest together in groups called colonies—also called rookeries—as a way of protecting their young. Ann explains how this helps them survive: “Large birds such as pelicans, herons, ibises, storks, gulls, terns, and skimmers can’t hide in the trees or bushes to raise their young the way mockingbirds or warblers do.” These birds and their nests are much bigger and it takes a long time for their young to be able to fly and find food for themselves. Their nests are pretty easy for predators to spot, but by choosing good nesting sites—mostly on small Young people observe nesting birds at the Venice Area islands—the birds are able to keep their chicks safer. Audubon Society Rookery, Venice, Florida. Audubon adventures GET INVOLVED Standing Tall Wading birds have long legs and long necks, which makes some of them very tall. See how you measure up! Calculate your height in inches. Then create a bar graph showing your height compared with the heights of these wading birds. (We've started the graph for you.) Protect Watery My Height Great Blue Sandhill Wood Great American Roseate Heron: Crane: Stork: Egret: Bittern: Spoonbill: Habitats ____ inches 52 inches 48 inches 44 inches 41 inches 34 inches 32 inches Wading birds live in a watery world, and 60" clean water is essential for their survival. Rain that falls on streets, yards, parks, and farms flows 50" through pipes and soil back into rivers, lakes, and other waterways where 40" wading birds live, feed, and breed. You can help keep their habitats clean even if you don’t live near 30" water. Here’s how. 1. Learn the names and locations of the waterways and 20" wet habitats in your town, city, or region. 2. Start a clean water ecology club in your school. 10" 3. Conserve water: Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth. Catch 0" rainwater in barrels to water gardens and lawns. Audubon Adventures is published by Wilsdon, Lorin Driggs, writers; Lorin Photographer; Lia Bocchiaro, Photo We’re correlated! For correlations to National Audubon Society Driggs, principal editor; Bonnie Godfrey, Researcher Common Core Standards for English Lan- 4. Always carry 225 Varick Street, 7th floor, Program Assistant; Felicia Pardo, Content Credits: Cover: Photo by Don Holland/ guage Arts and Next Generation Science away trash and New York NY 10014 Production Manager; Rebekah Angona, Audubon Photography Awards; P2, clock- Standards, go to: audubonadventures. Carrie Barron, Kelly Hunt, Trude Hurd, wise from top left: Adobe Stock; Valerie org/Teach_Standards.htm anything else you Audubon Adventures is a registered Kenn Kaufman, Geoff LeBaron, Ann Paul, Parry/Audubon Photography Awards; trademark of National Audubon Society. Zachary Slavin, scientific and educational Brian Kushner; Michael Greer/Audubon Follow us on Facebook: bring when visiting All rights reserved © 2016 reviewers Photography Awards; Chandra Jennings/ facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety Subscriptions and customer service: Please Audubon Creative Services: Kevin Fisher, Great Backyard Bird Count; Gilberto lakes, ponds, rivers, call Bonnie Godfrey at (800) 340-6546.
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