City Park rookery

City Park is big. This land includes the Zoo, the Denver Nature and Science Museum, an area for music performances, a few lakes, gardens and more.  Double crested Cormorants have been nesting in a set of Cottonwood trees on an island in a small lake for many years.  A larger lake has an island covered with shorter trees that serves as a nesting area for Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned  Night-Herons.
     Here is Mama Night-Heron with her 2 little heronlets.   (above)

Snowy Egret parent with 4 little Egret nestlings.

Some weeks later I returned to City Park to check on the nests.   3  mostly grown Snowy Egrets from that same nest are flapping their wings and demanding more fish from the parents.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron calling from the brushy tangle of branches.

At a different lake a family of Wood Ducks stands together at the edge.

Mama Wood Duck watches.











All photos are taken with serious zoom on my camera and did not always focus well.  Branches do get in the way sometimes.