Precocial Chicks

In June we went to Utah to see little fuzz balls with legs. Those would be precocial chicks. We researched and discovered Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (underlined text below indicates there is a link to additional information. Click an underlined word to follow it.) on the north side of Salt Lake. This special place provides ideal habitat for shorebirds and waterbirds to breed and raise their young. It has mud flats, open fields, shallow water ponds and marshes, catering to different species' needs, so attracts a huge variety of birds every spring and summer.

And did we ever see chicks!!!

So why fuzz balls with legs?

Baby birds are born either altricial or precocial.

They hatch either bare skinned, eyes closed and

helpless (altricial)

or with feathers, eyes open and soon able to walk (precocial).

For some reason, most shorebird and waterbird chicks are precocial, and among these are some of my favorite birds (avocets, grebes, black-necked stilts). We enjoy seeing those birds here in South Carolina in the winter and wanted to see them in breeding mode. And to see those precocial chicks in person.

The experience exceeded our expectations. We spent hours watching the behavior of these birds interacting and raising their young. It was beautiful, touching, surprising, fun. Lots of ooh, ahhh, did you see that!, and wow! We spent a good part of two days in awe. The variety of birds kept us looking around every corner and examining all the shorelines. The number of adults and chicks kept our heads swiveling. We were so close to these birds that we were able to see details and behaviors with and without binoculars.

Some highlights….

Grebes

Grebes captured my heart. We saw Western, Clark’s, and Pied-billed grebes. Grebes ferry their chicks around on their backs from the time they are so small you can’t even see them hiding in the back feathers until they are about half the size of the adults. They are fed by both parents. These parents are delicate and generous and the chicks eager and intense. Very engaging to watch.

We watched as one parent dump her chicks off her back into the water, swim away from them a couple of times, then let them back up onto her back. Swimming lessons!

Avocets

Avocets have long been one of my favorite birds. Their coloring is beautiful and that beak is so graceful and delicate. Most shorebirds tend to stay out of water that reaches their belly. But not avocets. They will forge right into the deeper water and plunge their heads in to find food. Fun to watch.

The picture on the right above is actually the picture that inspired this trip to Salt Lake. We saw hundreds of avocets in all their delicate grace of breeding plumage. And many chicks. I'm not sure if it is reality or just my imagination, but even the chicks seem elegant.

At one spot we observed several adult avocets nervously fussing over 4 - 5 chicks that were scooting along the edge of the mud and water. The chicks were running, dodging into the grasses, pecking in the water, bumping into each other. Soon, the adults chilled out and we realized that there had been two sets of parents and chicks mixed together. The parents chilled once they had their chicks separated and back under their control.

Coots

Boring, I know... except those feet are pretty cool. However... come to find out, not so boring!!

Do you know that coot chicks have two molts?! We saw an adult coot with 5 little orange and black fuzzballs swimming behind. Mom was feeding them pieces of vegetation she found. In another location, we saw a couple of larger, grey and white chicks in the area of a couple of adult coots and realized these were also coot chicks, just older. They were foraging on their own under the protection and guidance of the adults.

Upon further research, it is complicated story involving coots trying to get other coots to raise their young, natural selection, and being noticed. Read about it here: The mysterious case of the ornamented coot chicks has a surprising explanation. Once that drama plays out, the chicks molt into a more subdued grey and white plumage.

Pretty ugly

Black-necked Stilts

These birds have such long legs. And they are not embarrassed to show them off in bright pink.

The black-necked stilt chicks we saw were almost out of their chick phase but still walked around proudly in their fuzzy tuxedos.

When they are small the chicks will stand under the parent, creating the illusion of a six-legged bird. Note that mom "kneels" down so the chicks can get up into her belly feathers.

Additional Birds

As a bonus we saw many other very cool species. American White Pelicans, Long-Billed Curlew, White-faced Ibis, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Cinnamon Teals, and more.

Take a look at this video of American White Pelicans foraging. It is mesmerizing. We have seen them soaring on thermals and they are ballet-like in the air, too

I have never seen a bill length to head size ratio as large as on the long-billed curlew. And it is a big bird, about the size of an ibis.

Love the strong colors of these birds.

There were many new species to us and many old friends. It was a wonderful experience.

A Special Place

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a very special place, and May - July is an important time there. In order for these species to endure, that specific place must be available at that time of the year so that the thousands of birds that depend upon it can reproduce.

It started me thinking about the many such places in the world and here in the Lowcountry. And reminded me that we need to protect these places year-round so they are available at the special moment a species must have it.

Think of the monarch butterflies that winter in that one specific forest on a specific kind of tree in Central America. Read that story here.

Red knots land on our beaches to recover from a thousands mile nonstop flight and to prepare for the next segment of their migration. They desperately need the abundant feast of horseshoe crab eggs provided them on the sandy beaches of the southeast just at the moment they are arriving.

And even the ephemeral pond on the grounds of Magnolia Plantation we came upon that was there when the toads were ready to reproduce. It had rained hard a few days prior to our visit. We came across a "puddle" in which there were thousands and thousands of tadpoles ready to burst into toads and renew the population for another year.

Special, unique places providing specifically what the animals need, at precisely the time they need it.

Let’s work to ensure these places are protected. For all the species. And for our joy in the little fuzz balls with legs.

Lets delve into the details, observations and stories of nature to spark curiosity and connect to the natural world

Precocial Chicks